Andrew Fraknoi: Exploring the Universe: My Talk to the Commonwealth Club on the Moon

Andrew Fraknoi: Exploring the Universe: My Talk to the Commonwealth Club on the Moon: The Commonwealth Club of California invited me to give an illustrated public talk about the Moon on the occasion of the 50th anniversar...

My Talk to the Commonwealth Club on the Moon

The Commonwealth Club of California invited me to give an illustrated public talk about the Moon on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the first human steps on our neighbor world. The video record is now available free on the Web, so if you are any of your friends (or students) are interested, you can find it at: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/…/astronomer-andrew-frakno…

I wanted to speak not so much about the astronauts and their journey (which so many other media and articles are covering in vast depth) but about the Moon itself, and what we now know about it, 50 years later. Hope you enjoy.

An audio-only version of the talk is also available as a podcast, at: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/archive/podcast/astronomer-andrew-fraknoi-50-years-our-first-step

The photo shows the Moon in front of a full Earth as seen from millions of miles away by the Deep Space Climate Discovery Spacecraft in 2015.

Andrew Fraknoi: Exploring the Universe: Total Eclipse of the Sun in South America July 2; ...

Andrew Fraknoi: Exploring the Universe: Total Eclipse of the Sun in South America July 2; ...: Tomorrow, July 2, there will be a total eclipse of the Sun visible in Chile and Argentina. A live webcast is planned at:  https://www.ex...

Total Eclipse of the Sun in South America July 2; Future U.S. Eclipses

Tomorrow, July 2, there will be a total eclipse of the Sun visible in Chile and Argentina. A live webcast is planned at: https://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse

Another total eclipse will be visible from southern South America on Dec. 14, 2020.

Looking further ahead, an annual eclipse will be visible on a path that goes across the U.S. on Oct. 14, 2023.

And Apr. 8, 2024 another total eclipse will sweep across the U.S. from Texas to New England. For a clear map of this eclipse, see: https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/april-8-2024

(Shameless plug: Dennis Schatz and I have written a children's book all about eclipses, called "When the Sun Goes Dark," for the non-profit National Science Teachers' Association Press. See: https://www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx… )

A free app about eclipses, called "Totality" is available from astronomer Jeff Bennett, at: https://www.bigkidscience.com/eclipse/

[Our photo is by astronomer Rick Fienberg and shows a sequence of images before, during, and after a total eclipse.]

Andrew Fraknoi: Exploring the Universe: A Blog Features my New Catalog of Music Inspired b...

Andrew Fraknoi: Exploring the Universe: A Blog Features my New Catalog of Music Inspired b...: Over the years, I have collected many examples of music inspired by astronomical ideas and discoveries.  (I did this with help from stud...

A Blog Features my New Catalog of Music Inspired by Astronomy

Over the years, I have collected many examples of music inspired by astronomical ideas and discoveries.  (I did this with help from students and colleagues.) Now I blush to report that Sky & Telescope magazine has done a blog post on my latest catalog of astronomical music (with over 250 pieces listed.) 

You can read the post (and get a link to the catalog) at: https://www.skyandtelescope.com/…/…/music-astronomy-catalog/

I hope some of the pieces listed might bring you some musical pleasure.

Government Shutdown Expands: Moon Goes on Furlough Tonight

In the above table, you can see the timing of tonight total eclipse of the Moon for all the North American time zones. Click on the image to see it bigger.

Don't worry about the first and last rows of the table. Just focus on when the partial eclipse begins (when the Earth's shadow first starts to move across the Moon) and when the total eclipse begins (the Moon is full covered by shadow and turns red.)

Remember, if there are clouds, this eclipse last a long time, so come back out after a few minutes and see if you can glimpse the Moon. Often the Moon plays hide and seek with layers of clouds, and patience will pay off.

Full details of the eclipse and what to watch for are here:
http://bit.ly/mooneclipse2019

Thanks to Sky & Telescope magazine for the table.  The composite photo below is by amateur astronomer and NASA educator, Brian Day.  Note the Earth's round shadow in the outer images and the coppery red color of the eclipsed Moon (the Earth's atmosphere bends red colors of light more effectively than other colors on to the shadowy face of the Moon.)