“Comets are like cats. They do precisely what they want” –David Levy, Astronomer Sometimes, being an astronomer is a lot like being a weather forecaster. I would love to predict astronomical events with 100 percent certainty. However, experience has taught me to hedge my predictions with a healthy dose of skepticism. Halley’s Comet Was Hazardous […]
Alexei Leonov is the Russian cosmonaut who was the first person to ever “spacewalk.” It was March 18, 1965. Going to space in 1965 meant climbing into a teensy-weensy capsule (about the size of a small car) perched over 90,000 pounds of explosive rocket fuel and hoping for the best as the countdown reached zero […]
This is the time of year when we are awarded a few spring-like days that remind us that the Vernal Equinox is near and summer is not far behind. Warm Sun, Cold Air. When I was little, my mom would make me wear a coat on brisk, early spring mornings. When I protested, she would […]
Every four years, we have a U.S. presidential election. In that same year, we also have a Summer Olympics. Not coincidentally, that year also is a leap year, a year with 366 days rather than 365. Why is this? Can’t we make a better calendar? To understand why we need leap years, we must first […]
