Closer to Home ~ The Solar System

The Sun
Our 2021 survey of our Solar System begins with the big heavy guy in the middle of the bed that keeps the planets – ever wanting to escape him – rolling somewhat towards him…

Neptune
Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto were the chief Roman gods ruling over heaven, earth, waters, and the underworld. I was curious about the choice of the name Uranus for the next planet out from Saturn …

Saturn
Let’s focus on some of the lesser known facts about the planet proper. STORMS, for example …

Jupiter
In 1610 Galileo discovered the first moons other than our own. He used a homemade telescope with 2 two-inch lenses …

Our Earth ~ Part I
These entries were inspired by the book Orbit, NASA Astronauts Photograph the Earth, by Jay Apt, Michael Helfort, and Justin Wilkinson…

Venus
Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system even though Mercury is nearer the Sun…

Mercury
The first rock away from the Sun suffered a major trauma earlier in its life. The Caloris Basin was created by …

Johannes Kepler
Curiosity, imagination, faith, persistence, and flexibility – those are the qualities that made Kepler a man of modern science

The Transit of Venus
A play in five acts, in which GREED, ARMED CONFLICT, PREMATURE DEATH, MISCALCULATION, AND ABJECT FAILURE are dramatically, yet factually portrayed ...