Bob Siederer
27 September 2026

Hello again Science Fans!

Despite the temperatures forecast for this week, we’re now officially in Autumn. I was in Lowes two weeks ago and Christmas decorations were already on sale!

Before we get into the news, a reminder that Andrew Fraknoi’s six-session class on Aliens in Science and Science Fiction starts this Wednesday. Look at our listing for the first session for instructions on how to register, if this intrigues you. This is a hybrid course, with in-person or online options.

Weather, Climate, and Energy

Historically, September is the peak month for hurricanes. The season has been quite prolific over the Pacific Ocean whereas the Atlantic hasn’t seen a single storm. Yes, El Nino has a lot to do wi…

Bob Siederer
24 August 2026

Hello again Science fans!

August has been a month full of astronomical events, what with the total eclipse of the sun over much of Europe coinciding with the Persied meteor shower earlier this month. The fun continues with an almost total eclipse of the moon (96%) on Thursday evening, August 27 that will be visible here.

Eclipses occur when one astronomical body crosses in front of the sun with an alignment that blocks light to another body. For a solar eclipse, the Moon passes between us and the Sun at just the right distance to totally block sunlight from view, if you happen to be in the path of totality anyway.

For a lunar eclipse, Earth gets between the sun and moon su…

Bob Siederer
10 August 2026

We generally don’t send out more than one newsletter a week, but occasionally omit something important and timely. So here’s a quick SciSchmooze extra to cover two astronomical happenings this week.

This Wednesday evening and Thursday morning one of the better meteor showers of the year, the Perseids, will be visible. The shower is caused by Earth’s passage through the debris trail of comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle each August. This year, the shower will occur at the same time as a new moon, so the night sky will be darker than usual, meaning more meteors should be visible.

Andrew Fraknoi has provided details and viewing instructions for the Perseids here.

Also, on August 12 a total solar eclipse will be visible over much of Europe. We won’t see anything he…

SciSchmooze

Bob Siederer
27 July 2026

Hello again fans of Science!

I’ve just returned from a long road trip. Maybe I’m outside the norm about this, but I enjoy long drives. I always have. I rarely listen to music, or audio books. I enjoy the quiet reflection such time can give.

The scenery doesn’t change much from year to year, but it does change over the course of hundreds miles…from lush, green forests to farmland, then grasslands, then dry desert, from flat lowlands to mountains and everything in between.

One other thing that can change is roadside hotels, both existing ones being remodeled and new ones being added. Both bring the science of design to bear on what should be fairly straightforward…a qui…

Bob Siederer
15 June 2026

Hello again Fans of Science!

Before we get into the news this week, a few housekeeping items:

• Lick Observatory, one of the South Bay’s hidden gems, sustained substantial damage during the winter when winds as high as 114 mph tore much of the roof off of the dome over Christmas, 2025. Recovery work has been ongoing, and the Observatory is happy to announce that a modified summer program schedule is happening. Usually, Lick holds talks and concerts on select weekend nights that include viewing through both the 140+ year old, 36 “ Great Refractor and the Shane Reflector telescope. While the Great Refractor was not damaged, it is out of commission as construction continues on the dome. So instead of the usua…

Bob Siederer
1 June 2026

Hello again Science fans!

I’ve been overseas for a while. Thanks to David for swapping dates with me last month. While I was able to keep up with calendar updates while I was away, finding time to reliably write the newsletter wasn’t going to be easy. But I’m back now, and over my jet lag (I think).

This weekend marks the unofficial start of summer here in the US. We tend to mark summer as running from Memorial Day to Labor Day. This year that means the longest possible summer period, as Memorial Day is as early as it can be, and Labor Day is as late as it can be. In many parts of the world, the unofficial start of summer is May 1. But it sure wasn’t summer-like in…

SciSchmooze

Hello again Science Fans!

I’ve been thinking about the Artemis missions for a while. I’ve been wondering why we’re going back to the moon, somewhere we already visited several times, instead of going somewhere more challenging and uncharted, like Mars. If you think about it, the challenges of the Apollo program were greater than those today, given the technology limits of the time. The flight computers were rather basic back then, requiring programming at a machine language level. They were small, with limited interfaces, and relatively slow. But they got us to the surface of the moon!

Then I read Tuesday’s New York Times science newsletter about the Artemis II mission, which also…

Hello again Science Fans!

The vernal equinox occurred Friday morning, ushering in the astronomical start to spring in the northern hemisphere. However, if felt more like we skipped spring and went straight to summer in the western US, what with highs in the 90s this past week. The heat wave is an example of extreme weather pushed by climate change, according to climate scientists. The temperature reached 110 F in the Arizona desert on Thursday, marking the highest March temperature ever recorded in the US!

To add to the situation, La Nina is finishing and forecasters predict not only an El Nino to replace it, but a super El Nino! NOAA says there’s a 62% chance of an El Nino starting between June and August, wit…

Bob Siederer
23 February 2026

Hello again Science Fans!

Let’s start with a little biological history. On this date in 1997, scientists in Scotland announced that they had successfully cloned a mammal for the first time. The animal was a sheep named Dolly, shown above with the embryologist who led the cloning research. Dolly was born on July 5, 1996, but public announcement wasn’t made until February 22, 1997. Dolly was cloned using a cell taken from a mammary gland of an adult sheep, and was named after country music singer Dolly Parton, proving the Scotts have a sense of humor. She went on to give birth to six normal lambs and was euthanized at the age of six due to lung disease unrelated to her cloning. Dolly’s preserved…

Bob Siederer
26 January 2026

Hello again Science Fans!

Before we get into the news, here are my recommendations for this week:

1. COP30 Debrief: Reflecting on Belém and the Road Ahead – Livestream, Tuesday 1/27 at 11:00 AM
2. Wonderfest: The Physiology of Consciousness, Thuesday 1/27 at 7:00 PM, Novato
3. SETI Live: Life After Ice – 46,000 Year Old Worm Wakes Up – Livestream – 01/29/2026 12:00 PM
4. Tilden Fungus Fair, 10:00 AM – 4:30 PM, Saturday 1/31 and Sunday, 2/1, Berkeley

It is really difficult to keep up with all the happenings around the world these days, and there is a strategy in that. The more strange happenings assault our senses, the more we tend to disconnect from all the noise, all…