Stars
Category archives for Stars
Weekend Diversion: A Green Fire
Posted by Ethan on March 17, 2013 
“Build a man a fire, and he’ll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he’ll be warm for the rest of his life.” -Terry Pratchett Whether it comes from without or within, there are few things in this life that captivate our attention better than a brilliant, hot and colorful display.…
The Unseen Lights in Our Backyard
Posted by Ethan on March 13, 2013 
“As a boy I believed I could make myself invisible. I’m not sure that I ever could, but I certainly had the ability to pass unnoticed.” -Terence Stamp When we look up at the night sky from a dark location here on Earth, somewhere around 6,000 stars greet you on a clear night. This is…
Messier Monday: A Star Cluster on the Bubble, M52
Posted by Ethan on March 4, 2013 
“Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will forever bubble up, if forever you dig.” -Marcus Aurelius Welcome back to yet another Messier Monday! Each week, we’re taking a look at one of the 110 fixed, deep-sky objects — not to be confused with comets — that made up Messier’s original catalogue.…
Messier Monday: The Most Northern Galactic Globular, M53
Posted by Ethan on February 18, 2013 
“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if the simplest things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive.” -Eleanora Duse Welcome to another Messier Monday, where each week we take a look at one of the 110 deep-sky objects that make up the Messier…
Messier Monday: A Lost-and-Found Star Cluster, M48
Posted by Ethan on February 11, 2013 
“Always try to keep a patch of sky above your life.” -Marcel Proust Welcome to another Messier Monday, where each week we take an in-depth look at one of the 110 deep sky objects that make up the Messier Catalogue! Messier was not the first person to try and make an accurate, large catalog of deep sky objects,…
From Nothing to You in 10 Sentences
Posted by Ethan on February 1, 2013 
“It surprises me how disinterested we are today about things like physics, space, the universe and philosophy of our existence, our purpose, our final destination. It’s a crazy world out there. Be curious.” -Stephen Hawking One of the most existential questions humanity has ever asked is the question of our origins: where do I come from? Inspired by…
Messier Monday: The Owl Nebula, M97
Posted by Ethan on January 28, 2013 
“A wise old owl lived in an oak The more he saw the less he spoke The less he spoke the more he heard. Why can’t we all be like that wise old bird?” -The Immortal Poet Bromley To your naked eye, the night sky appears littered with thousands of individual points of light: the…
The Evolution of Starlight
Posted by Ethan on January 16, 2013 
“Aristotle taught that stars are made of a different matter than the four earthly elements— a quintessence— that also happens to be what the human psyche is made of. Which is why man’s spirit corresponds to the stars. Perhaps that’s not a very scientific view, but I do like the idea that there’s a little…
Messier Monday: Messier’s Oldest Open Cluster, M67
Posted by Ethan on January 14, 2013 
“The ruins were just a reminder that what had been was no longer. That everything we are will be gone someday. That I will be forgotten.” -Megan Miranda Some four-and-a-half billion years ago, a ultra-massive cloud of cold gas and dust collapsed, giving rise to thousands of stars of all different types, from hot, massive,…
Messier Monday: The Dog Star’s Secret Neighbor, M41
Posted by Ethan on January 7, 2013 
“These are strange and breathless days, the dog days, when people are led to do things they are sure to be sorry for after.” -Natalie Babbitt The dog days may come at the tail end of summer, but it’s the winter months that brings us the best views of the Dog Star, Sirius, the brightest…
