Bob Siederer
26 May 2025
Hello again Science Fans!
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the trial of John T. Scopes, a science teacher. Scopes was accused of breaking a new Tennessee law that effectively banned the teaching of human evolution. Scopes was found guilty and fined $100, although that verdict was later overturned on a technicality. But the trial and widespread publicity surrounding it highlighted the differences between f
Bob Siederer
24 March 2025
Hello again Science fans!
June 5, 2024 was the day Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams left Earth on their way to a planned, 8 day visit to the International Space Station. Due to
Bob Siederer
24 February 2025
Hello again Science Fans!
In the two weeks since I last wrote the SciSchmooze, so much has happened in the world related to science that I’m not sure where to begin. I usually start collecting articles in the two weeks prior to the issue and have 10 - 15 to write about. Today, I have 28! Things have happened so fast, however, that some of them are sure to be outdated. So let’s see if I can make heads or tails of what I’ve saved for this issue.
Starting with … Space
Have you forgotten about Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the two astronauts who were sent to t
Bob Siederer
10 February 2025
Hello again Science Fans!
Have you ever suddenly wondered about a perfectly normal English word that you probably use now and then? I woke up the other day with the word “bushel” stuck in my thoughts. The more I wondered about why it was there, the stranger the word seemed.
I know how the word came into my head. The night before, I was in the YouTube rabbit hole again, watching a post from a young farmer in Nebraska who was talking about how many bushels of corn from her farm she was taking to the storage facility. My subconscous must have been working on this for me to wake up wit
Bob Siederer
27 January 2025
Hello again Science Fans!
It is the last week of the first month of 2025, and already it has been an unprecedented month. From the fires in and around Los Angeles to Trump’s first week in office, a lot has happened.
Let’s start with the end of the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission. Gaia saw first light in July, 2014. As the image above shows, it was busy, lasting almost twice as long as expected.
Gaia’s primary mission was to develop a precise map of the Milky Way, our home galaxy. Data from the mission is still being analyzed and we can expect more announcement of discoverie
| Bob Siederer 23 Dec 2024 |
Hello again Science Fans!
Bob Siederer
25 November 2024
Hello again Science fans!
Like me, most of you are probably preparing for Thanksgiving, that annual tradition of food, football and family. I’ve got my turkey and the ingredients for some sides, and am only short cranberry sauce. The deli counter in my local market hasn’t got theirs out yet.
We have a lot of news to report, mostly astronomical. So lets jump in, starting with Mars.
The Perseverance rover has been
Bob Siederer
28 October 2024
Hello again Science fans!
This is the last week of daylight savings time for us here in California. Early next Sunday morning we revert to standard time and, while it will
Bob Siederer
21 October 2024
Hello again Science Fans!
I’m sure this has happened to most of you. The “algorithm” adds a video to your feed on YouTube or Instagram, you click
Bob Siederer
Oct 14, 2024
Hello again Science Fans!
It has been a busy few weeks, so let’s get right into it.
As you may have heard, there’s a lot going on up in the night sky. The Aurora Borealis has been seen quite far south again, including some sightings in the Bay Area. Alex Filippenko, famed UC Berkeley astronomer, sent this update:
The Sun has been very active the past few weeks, with many big sunspots visible (e.g.,
