Look Up: Henrietta Leavitt (1868-1921): Measuring cosmic distances

Women have often been overlooked, unacknowledged, and underrepresented in Astronomy and other science disciplines.  In this column, I will enlighten you with the groundbreaking contributions of a remarkable woman whose work enabled Edwin Hubble to discover that the Universe is expanding.

Astonishment and awe are two things I feel when viewing images released during the first three years since the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Even if one objects to the ten-billion-dollar price tag on its development, construction, and d … (read more)

Joni Mitchell in the last verse of her song Woodstock writes: “We are stardust, billion-year-old carbon.” Our solar system along with distant stars brimming with exoplanets were formed from gases and dust.

The extra column this month was spurred by the global news of the probability of an impact by asteroid 2024 YR4 in 2032 rising to 3.1%. As of Feb. 26, the probability was downgraded by NASA to near zero, though an impact with the moon has a 1.7% probabili … (read more)

Clusters of stars abound in the heavens. Born of the same parent cloud of dust and gas, star clusters can be small, loosely bound groupings of several stars to those that number in the hundreds of thousands and even millions.

‏Where is our solar system in the vast assemblage of celestial objects in this island Universe we call the Milky Way? To answer that question, we can begin with the beautiful configuration of stars we call Orion, the brightest stars of which are mere hund … (read more)

The new year opens with a better than average meteor shower and a great display of planets, including a six-planet alignment. Venus, Jupiter and Mars shine brightly among the stars in January.

From pastels, paintings, and prints, much of his work was done en plein air. His work features limited palettes which capture the dreamy, airy quality of summer in Vermont.