BOB SIEDERER
29 July 2024

Bob Siederer
24 June 2024

Hello again science fans!

This is the first SciSchmooze of the astronomical summer, what with the solstice having occurred this past Thursday. Different countries refer to the start of summer at different times, some May 1, Some June 1. In the US, we tend to say it starts on Memorial Day. The astronomical start is celebrated by some as Midsummer’s Day.

Last Wednesday was Juneteenth. What seems like a recent holiday has roots going back to 1865. Heather Cox Richardson explains the history, as well as efforts since then to get around the freedom Juneteenth represents.

I want to follow up on two stories I’ve writen about in the past.

Bob Siederer
27 May 2024

Hello again Science Fans! It is a 3-day holiday weekend for most of us, so enjoy the unofficial beginning of summer. The astronomical start of summer, the summer solstice, occurs on Thursday, June 20 this year. If you want to know more about the solstice, check out this article from the Farmers’ Almanac.

Archeology

Way back in 1930, the

Bob Siederer
29 April 2024

Hello again Science fans!

If you are one of those people who, like me, is interested in how things work, you may enjoy this video. It is about Olympic Curling Stones, how they are made, and why they cost so much. The process is fascinating. The granite only comes from one place on earth, Ailsa Craig off the Scotish coast. Two types of granite are used in each stone.

Curling can only be described as an odd sport. It is sort of like shuffleb

Bob Siederer
8 April 2024

Hello again Science fans!

Are you ready for the big eclipse? It may be my imagination, but I don’t think there was this much press and excitement fo

Bob Siederer
March 31 2024

Hello again Science Fans! I’m filling in for David this week (and next). For those of you who celebrate, Happy Easter!

More about Time

In my February 25 SciSchmooze, I went into a discussion about time. There was one error (that I know of) in that discussion where I said how there was a two week difference between the start of Daylight Savings Time here in the US versus Europe, with them making the change later than us. The difference is actually three weeks, with Europe changing to Daylight time early this morning. They will return to st

Bob Siederer
Feb 26 2024

Hello again Science Fans!

This year is a leap year, when one day is added to the calendar to account for the difference between the tropical year and the common year. The tropical year is the time it takes Earth to make one complete orbit around the Sun, or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds. It would be pretty difficult to have a calendar that matched that exactly, so we use the common year length of 365 days. That means we fall slightly behind the actual year by almost 1/4 day. So every 4 years (with exceptions) we add one day to the calendar, that being February 29, to get back in synch, more or less.

Back in the day, namely 46 BC, the Julian cal

Hello to Those Who Schmooze Science,

I hope that you found what you wanted today with the Super Bowl. For me I found no lines at the grocery store or the gas station. I did have a lot of computer data issues with today’s SciSchmooze though. Which will make this one a bit briefer than usual. If you did stay home for the Super Bowl, I hope Taylor was able to join you, the ads were as good as hoped for, and my friend Jerry’s was a big hit with the clydesdale fans.

Now, on to the science! Did you know that Sunday 11 February was the International Day of 

Hello again Science Fans!

In the era of planned obsolence and less than robust construction, it is refreshing to see that some things are still over-engineered and over-built. The Mars helecopter, Ingenuity, certainly counts as one of the later. Ingenuity was designed to make 5 flights. It was intended as a test to see if it could fly through the thin atmosphere of Mars.

Ingenuity was dropped from the belly of Perseverance, the Mars rover, shortly after landing. It not only flew the planned 5 missions, but continued on in a new role, helping scout clear paths for Perseverance to take towards new exploration targets.

Hello again Science Fans!

Since it is Christmas Eve, many of you have plans for today or tonight, so we’re publishing earlier than usual today.

The holiday season is a joyous time for many. Please remember that for some, it is a source of stress. Check in on friends or relatives who might be alone at this time of year.

If you’re looking for something to do New Years Day, we’ve listed some First Day Hikes on our calendar. These are led at various California State Pa