You decide… SciSchmooze 6.17.24
Herb Masters
Happy Father’s Day (and Everyone Else Too!),
Well here we are, not to far from summer now. It seems like there have been a lot of distractions in the past few months. Both good and bad depending on your perspective. Let’s acknowledge that politics has taken too much time and attention for what has actually been accomplished or done. I like to think that science is more efficient at getting to it’s goals even if some of them take many years to get done. I think there is a lot more joy in science to.
Of course we mark the start of summer with astronomical events and now with astronomical precision, Thursday 20 June at 21.51 BST (20.51 GMT). As with so many natural events there is a rich history of how they have been noted and celebrated by humans longer than it seems possible. For instance this week we get a bonus moon! Did you know that it will also be a Strawberry Moon on Jun 21, 2024 at 6:07 pm PDT?
There are many other fascinating things that we are always learning as we study and celebrate our amazing universe. Science is more than appreciation of pretty stars and planets. We are here because of and in spite of many chance and intentional discoveries over the past many years… A Lesson in Science Appreciation
So what sort of plans do you have for the next week? Here are a few opportunities to consider…
Nerd Nite SF#143: Felines, Freedom, and Fairies – 06/19/2024 07:00 PM
Snapshot Cal Coast – Point Molate Intertidal Bioblitz – 06/20/2024 10:00 AM
After Dark: Summer Solstice – 06/20/2024 6:00 PM
Here are a few more ruminations for the week!
Voyager 1 is back online! This is mindblowing to me! The spacecraft has resumed full science operations after a technical issue began creating complications in November 2023. Something launched so long ago and now so far from us can be repaired!
In the Skeptic communities there is a lot of fascination with magic. Magic Died When Art and Science Split
The Burden – Lonely fish that walk upright. Rodents that tap-dance through the fast-food night shift. (Be warned it is absurd!) I occasionally like absurd!
Set to reach Earth orbit in 2029, this small satellite will serve to fine-tune telescopes on our planet.
Between Mathematics and the Miraculous: The Stunning Pendulum Drawings of Swiss Healer and Artist Emma Kunz
We are heading in to fire season here in “the west”. It seems like fire season is becoming much longer and covering more area here. Consider that drought has helped spread intense, early-season blazes in one of the world’s largest wetlands. The Pantanal, famed as a paradise of biodiversity saw 2,387 fires in the first 13 days of November ‘23 alone. Fires in Brazil wetlands surge to record start in 2024. Having had the good luck to have visited there in 2022 I know a bit about the area. That is one of the many parts of travel we all share after a travel to somewhere unfamiliar. Go see something amazing, it might just change you. It seems that we may really be screwing up the planet. In case you missed this… Siberia’s Spectacular ‘Garbage’ Beach
Of course, who doesn’t love a good cat story? How Schrödinger’s Cat Got Famous
Have a great week watching the moon, the planet, and life around you. Did you know that the SciSchmooze is archived? Share the SciSchmooze with someone you care about!
herb masters
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects!”
Notebooks of Lazarus Long
Upcoming Events:
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.