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I like to use Mars as a comparison to Earth, so I hope this helps my students get used to it.
Today is the third anniversary of the Great American Eclipse, which was the day I started to suspect I had diabetes. Here is one of my comments on Magic (Memorial Day) Monday about the event.
My personal experience with the Great American Eclipse was that it was the day when my diabetes symptoms all appeared, thirst, weight loss, and nearsightedness. In fact, I noticed both the thirst and vision changes while the eclipse was happening about when it was at its local maximum. Only when I went to the doctor a couple weeks later did I find out that I also had hyperthyroidism. Two for one!
I noticed the weight loss the next morning, when I saw that I had dropped three pounds in two days. I wanted to lose weight, but not that way!
My personal experience with the Great American Eclipse was that it was the day when my diabetes symptoms all appeared, thirst, weight loss, and nearsightedness. In fact, I noticed both the thirst and vision changes while the eclipse was happening about when it was at its local maximum. Only when I went to the doctor a couple weeks later did I find out that I also had hyperthyroidism. Two for one!
I noticed the weight loss the next morning, when I saw that I had dropped three pounds in two days. I wanted to lose weight, but not that way!
Three Facebook statuses about nature
Jul. 21st, 2020 12:32 pmLast week, I saw a new bird in my front yard, an Eastern Kingbird. It only took me 30 years!
The sky was so dark a half hour ago, I checked to make sure it wasn't green!
I saw Comet Neowise. I was not very impressed, but at least I can say I saw it.
The sky was so dark a half hour ago, I checked to make sure it wasn't green!
I saw Comet Neowise. I was not very impressed, but at least I can say I saw it.
The first full moon of 2012 will be tonight, the first of 13 full moons this year. Each of these moons has a name (and one of them has two names), as Space.com (via MSNBC) explains.*
How 2012's full moons got their strange names
Origins credited to Native Americans and early European settlers
By Joe Rao
updated 1/7/2012 3:07:59 PM ET
The start of 2012 brings with it a new year of skywatching, and lunar enthusiasts are gearing up for a stunning lineup of full moons. But, where does the tradition of full moon names come from?Tonight's full moon is the Full Wolf Moon which will reach maximum on January 9th (technically tomorrow) at 2:30 a.m. EST. The association of wolf with a full moon has cross-cultural connotations, particularly with superstitions about what else happens involving wolves, people, and full moons. Everyone, enjoy the light show and sing along with Warren Zevon. A-hoo!
Full moon names date back to Native Americans of a few hundred years ago, of what is now the northern and eastern United States. To keep track of the changing seasons, these tribes gave distinctive names to each recurring full moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred.
There were some variations in the moon names, but in general, the same ones were used throughout the Algonquin tribes from New England, continuing west to Lake Superior.
European settlers followed their own customs and created some of their own names. Here is a list of all of the full moon names, as well as the dates and times for 2012: (Unless otherwise noted, all times are given in Eastern Standard Time.)
Now that the show is over, surf over to Crazy Eddie's Motie News for the rest of the full moon names, along with important astronomical events associated with some of them.
*This article is among those I excerpted for last night's Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (100 Year Starship edition) on Daily Kos. The headline article of that diary entry is one that also deserves a "Beginnings" entry of its own, especially given the science fiction slant of this blog. Like Anonymous, expect it.
Fall officially begins today
Sep. 23rd, 2011 01:29 am
Huffington Post: Autumnal Equinox Kicks Off The Beginning Of Fall
Goodbye, sweet summer. The autumnal equinox kicks off the beginning of fall, and the end of a season cherished by most students.Happy Autumnal Equinox!
In fact, you can expect the change to occur at 5:04am EDT on Friday, September 23, reports NBC-2 weather blog.
More at Crazy Eddie's Motie News.
Happy Yuri's Night!
Apr. 12th, 2011 11:38 amBelow originally posted to Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Yuri's Night 2011 edition)
Welcome to Science Saturday, where the Overnight News Digest crew informs and entertains you with this week's news about science, space, and the environment.
This week's featured story comes from the Yuri's Night website.
Human Spaceflight became a reality 50 years ago with the launch of a bell-shaped capsule called “Vostok 1” on April 12th, 1961. The capsule was carrying Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who took his place in history as the first human to leave the bounds of Earth and enter outer space.This is the fourth Yuri's Night I've covered for Overnight News Digest. Time flies.
Exactly 20 years later, the United States embarked on a new era in spaceflight with the inaugural launch of a new type of spaceship — the Space Shuttle (April 12th, 1981). Designed to carry a larger crew and large volumes of cargo to orbit, the Space Shuttles became synonymous with human spaceflight for an entirely new generation of young people.
When the next 20-year point arrived, that generation (often called “Gen X”) laid a new space milestone by connecting thousands of people around the world to celebrate and honor the past, while building a stairway to the future. That event was Yuri’s Night, and it continues to bring the excitement, passion and promise of space travel closer to people of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds.
( Two videos from NASA Television on YouTube about the event behind the cut. )
In a word: Supermoon
Mar. 20th, 2011 04:09 am
Australian Broadcasting Corporation via Discovery News: Biggest Full Moon in Decades to Appear This Weekend
Moon gazers are in for a treat this weekend when the full moon will appear 14 percent bigger.
Fri Mar 18, 2011 08:47 AM ET
Content provided by Carl Holm
Romantics, werewolves and other moon gazers are in for a treat this weekend as they witness the biggest full moon seen in nearly 20 years.
But experts are discounting predictions of earthquakes associated with the event.
The moon's orbit is elliptical, and as it follows its path, one side of the ellipse, known as perigee, passes about 50,000 kilometers (31,000 miles) closer than the on the other side -- apogee.
A perigee full moon appear around 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than an apogee full moon.
Discovery News: No Link Between 'Super Moon' and Earthquakes
The 'maximal perigee' tonight has only a minimal effect on seismic activity and cannot be linked with last week's earthquakes in Japan.
Fri Mar 18, 2011 10:50 PM ET
Content provided by Rachel Rice
Despite opinions being dispersed over the Internet that the 'super moon' will lead to natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions, geologist Bill Burton with the US Geological Survey says that this is unlikely.Above part of Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Supermoon edition) on Daily Kos.
"There are just too many factors that go into seismic activity to make that statement," Burton told Discovery News. "I think you'd be hard pressed to see a difference in tectonic activity during different lunar phases."
Severe natural disasters such as the earthquake off the coast of Japan last week can raise questions about all of the factors involved. Research geophysicist Malcom Johnston with the USGS says that blaming such events on the moon's orbit is not a new idea.
"This idea of blaming natural disasters on the phases of the moon goes way back to the Greeks. It has been around for hundreds and hundreds of years," Johnston said.
