Recently your SciSchmooze has come all too often with ‘cosmic’ images: Sunday’s lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse by Phobos, low temperatures of the James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble’s image of Earendel, etc., etc. This week i was planning on an image of something closer to home, but along came the image of the supermassive black hole that warps space and time at the center of our galaxy. In spite of my intentions, the first ‘category’ is again, “SPACE.”

SPACE

Sgr A* (pronounced “Sagittarius A-star”) is our galaxy’s supermassive black hole. It has never been observed, only surmised, 

Hello again fans of Science!

Today is Mother’s Day, that day where we honor mothers everywhere. I had always thought that, while certainly mothers are worth celebrating, the day itself was the invention of the hospitality industry. Not so!

According to historian and fellow Substack writer Heather Cox Richardson, 

Hello again, dear reader,

Of all the unexpected phenomena in our unfathomable universe, ambergris shat by sperm whales rates pretty high. A lump the size of a Costco muffin could sell for thousands of dollars - if it had 

Hello again Science Fans!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always had a pretty good sense of direction. Way back when I was young, my mother would take my sister and me to New York City during spring break from school. We would come up out of the subway and I’d always be able to figure out which way to t

Hello again Science Fans!

First off, Happy Easter, Passover, Ramadan, or whatever you are celebrating today.

I’m happy to report that my Ukrainian friend successfully got out of the country to safety with her daughter. So many have not been able to, or lost their lives trying. Imagine the uncertainty she faces now, in a country where she doesn’t speak the language and has no social support. Her daughter fell and chipped one of her front teeth yesterday. At home, that would prompt a quick visit to the doctor. Now, she’s unsure what to do. It is a daunting situation, but much better

Hello to the Science Inclined and Science Embracing,

My friends have all heard me say that I still want my winter and all this “great” or “beautiful” weather is really not! I still want my winter and it looks like we might get a small sampling of 

Dear friend of science and reality,

Thank you for putting up with my bent on reality. Today i'm starting out on the topic of ‘Space’ since the above photo is so amazing, but don’t miss the section on ‘Optimism’.

SPACE

The 

Hello again Science fans!

When I last wrote the SciSchmooze a month ago, the war in Ukraine had just started. Little did I expect things would go in the directions they have. From the attacks on civilians, health care facilities, and whole cities, to the resistance, ingenuity, and persistence of the Ukrainian people and army, this has been a month full of surprises. News r

Hi Fellow Supporters of Science and Reason,

Did you feel it? It happened at 0833 (PDT) this morning. March 20 also marks another 

The Pi Edition

Greetings Science Advocates and Supporters,

There’s so much going on it’s hard to decide where to start. Until recently a lot of people had no idea what, where, or why about Ukraine. Like many things, the more you learn the more you realize that you probably forgot important parts of the story. Many people would say that this didn’t start a few weeks ago but started in 2014. It’s hard to keep how th