This summer I went to see a movie in the theater. This was sort of a big deal for me because, between one thing and another, I hadn’t been to a movie theater in many years. (Also, the last movie I saw in a theater was…ah…disappointing. (IT WILL LIVE FOREVER IN MY MIND IN INFAMY!)) But I saw that Twisters was in theaters, and a) an action movie is usually a safe bet at a theater—the big screen makes action…
And what did Anna earn for her data-monitoring work today, Jim? It’s a NEEEWW artifact! (And this is why I was a theorist in grad school.)
Okay, so ordinarily outreach astronomy isn’t my jam. I just really don’t have a bent toward teaching, though I am ever grateful for all those out there who do. But this recent Annular Eclipse had an interesting confluence of events for me that made me realize again that, of all of the sciences, I’m grateful my path took me to Astronomy. I do think that Astronomy is super great. It’s also a lot more accessible than you might expect, both…
If you find yourself nodding off in a talk about solar flare(s), know that it’s not the speaker’s fault. It’s the solar flare(s).
Remember: Just about any topic of scientific research can be made fascinating by the right speaker. Except solar flares. You’ve been warned.
Warning: This post contains thoughts about a big, existential sort of topic, triggered, in part but not in total, by the recent devastating fires in Maui. At the moment, I am able to approach it with curiosity, but that’s certainly not always the case, and it might not be the case for you right now. If you don’t want to be thinking about climate change and other slow-moving disasters, and what some of the potential follow-on affects might be, even…