Tag archives: universe
The human race can just get over itself now. On the other hand we are the exalted inventors of the Lunar Lander and Franco-American Spaghetti-Os™. This is the tormenting dichotomy of our species. We’re complicated, embarrassed, self-regarding busybodies who have daubed the whole of our vast canvas with the overexcited brushstrokes of a sugared-up preschooler, […]
“There is nothing new under the sun” comes from Ecclesiastes 1. It is a warning that all worldly efforts are futile. That all seeming progress is erased in history. For most of human history, progress really was not a visible thing. People used the same stone tools for thousands of years. Life was a subsistence […]
It’s globular cluster season at the Westmont observatory with this month’s viewing focusing on two conglomerations containing hundreds of thousands of stars. The free, public viewing of the stars is Friday, July 15, beginning at 7 pm and lasting several hours. Face coverings will be required at the event. Westmont hosts viewings on the third […]
Though the May gray wiped out last month’s public viewing, officials are counting their lucky stars and hoping for a break from June gloom for the event on Friday, June 17, at the Westmont Observatory. The free gathering, held in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit, begins after sunset and lasts several hours. In […]
Location: Earth. Star-date 75825.4 (May 12, 2022): the long suspected supermassive black hole named Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy is confirmed by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) team via millimeter-wave radio telescopes. Prior evidence and other phenomenon of Sgr A* was noted by astronomer Harlow Shapley in 1918, […]
Nearly 40 local high school students enrolled in an AP physics course visited Westmont on May 16 for a hands-on exploration into how the universe behaves. The event, Understanding Physics from Galaxies to Particles, was led by Ben Carlson, Westmont assistant professor of physics. “We are asking the fundamental questions: What is the universe made […]
The Westmont Observatory opens to the public Friday, March 18, beginning at 7 pm and lasting several hours. Face coverings will be required at the event. Due to the pandemic, this is the first time in two years the observatory has been open to the public. Westmont hosts a free, public viewing on the third […]
Since I was a child, I have asked big questions about life, the universe, and everything (credit to Douglas Adams for that expression). I was fortunate to have a scientist father and a psychologist/philosopher mother to offer helpful answers. Out in the real world I discovered that people will often offer “helpful” answers that are […]
On my first geological field trip as a new geology major at Caltech, I was amazed as we drove out into the Mojave Desert on Interstate 15 when my professor, who was driving, would point through the window at a distant rock outcropping and say: “There’s a Miocene (five to 20 million years of age) […]
Some years ago I was at a talk where I asked some questions. Afterwards, the speaker came over to me and commented that it seemed I had a great many interests. I said that was not true. I actually only have two interests: 1) What is the nature of reality? 2) What is the nature […]
