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., 

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October 7, 2024

Bob Siederer
23 September 2024

Hello again Science Fans!

Did you notice a change today? Me either, but at 5:44 AM today, astronomical Autumn began in the Northern Hemisphere, the Autumnal Equinox. So happy fall.

Our calendar has gotten much more active now that schools are back in session and more seminars are on the schedules. We’re listing 94 events over the next two weeks. More will be added to our calendar as we find them, and some already listed will be updated as titles, abstracts, and speakers are provided. As always, should you want to attend an event we list, click through to the host’s website for any last minute updates or cancellations. Or 

September 16, 2024

Hello again, science fans.
Hallo nochmal, Wissenschaftsfans.
(Over 40,000 Bay Area residents speak German at home.)

SPACE

He emerged and then retreated back to the interior. He was not a groundhog, and his retreat does not suggest we will have 6 more weeks of winter.  Jared Isaacson and fellow Pola

Bob Siederer
9 September 2024

Hello again Science fans!

Let’s start out with something fun, and not truly science-related. It may make you laugh, may make you mad, may make you shrug your shoulders and go “so w

Hello again science fans.
Bonjour à tous les fans de science.
(Over 45,000 Bay Area residents speak French at home.)

CLIMATE

Above is the world’s second all-electric cargo ship. It’s 120m long, 24m wide, and has the battery capacity of a thousand Model Y Teslas (50,000,000 Wh). Like the other and smaller electric cargo ship - the Yara Birkeland - it is plying inland rivers instead of the open oceans. Ocean shipping ac

Hello again science fans,
Здравствуйте еще раз, любители науки!
(Over 50,000 Bay Area residents speak Russian at home.)

ENVIRONMENT

“You can’t always get what you want,” and you can’t always see what you want. That is thought to be why Brown Pelicans are starving in California. These prehistoric-looking birds hunt for fish near the water’s surface, then plummet ou

Dave Almandsmith
August 19, 2024

Hello again science fans,
سلام بازهم علاقمندان علم
(Over 50,000 Bay Area residents speak Persian at home. Only about 60% of Bay Area residents speak English at home.)

ARCHAEOLOGY

BOB SIEDERER
12 August 2024

Hello again Science fans!

These past few years have put us all through a bit of a wringer. Prior to the pandemic, 11% of Americans reported symptoms of anxiety and depression, according to the Household Pulse Survey, a tool of the Census Bureau. Then came COVID, and that number increased to 42.6%. Today, it is down to 20.7%, but that is still almost double pre-pandemic numbers. The political climate certainly contributes to this, I’m sure. But the biggest component seems to be young adults. According to “The Morning” newsletter from the New York Times on August 8, the percentage of young adults reporting symptoms had been rising for around a decade before COVID. Uncertainty about their future, inflatio