Category: astronomy

By Posted on Posted in astronomy, Food for Thought, Science, Space Tagged with ,

But before we blast off into the cosmic deep end, let me give you fair warning. This journey is going to mess with your head in ways you’re not prepared for. The numbers we’re dealing with are so large that mathematicians had to invent new ways to write them down. The concepts are so bizarre that they sound like science fiction, except they’re not. They’re the cold, hard reality of the universe we actually live in. So, if you’ve ever wondered just how insignificant you really are, or if you want to experience what it feels like to have your entire world view completely demolished and rebuilt, then stick around because what you’re about to learn will change how you see everything forever…

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By Posted on Posted in astronomy, Photography, Space Tagged with , , ,
This illustration compares the size of our own Milky Way galaxy to gargantuan galaxy LEDA 1313424, nicknamed the Bullseye. The Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years in diameter, and the Bullseye is almost two-and-a-half times larger, at 250,000 light-years across. NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)

Many of us are familiar with several types of galaxies, but what the heck was this?

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By Posted on Posted in astronomy, Geology, Photography, Space, Weather Tagged with , , , , ,

Given enough time, Earth (4.543 billion years) and Mars (4.603 billion years) have created some interesting topology thanks to the effects of wind, erosion and other meteorologic and geologic forces, and this is what you get. The sands of time can be quite creative.

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By Posted on Posted in astronomy, Biology, Research, Science Tagged with , , , ,

14,300 years ago, a pine forest in France bore witness to an event that has never been experienced in modern times: a bombardment of solar particles so fierce that it would likely knock out all communications satellites and fry power grids across the globe if it were to happen today. While we often point to the Carrington Event of 1859, (that knocked out all telegraph communications around the world), as a worst-case scenario, for solar storms, the 774-75 AD storm was at least 10 times stronger.

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By Posted on Posted in astronomy, Space Tagged with , , , , ,
Taken by Paul Martin on January 1, 2025 @ Fermanagh, Northern Ireland

Many throughout the world were able to experience another great evening of auroras on New Year’s Day 2025. However, there’s a catch, some actually saw what are known as SAR arcs. These were first discovered in 1956. Researchers weren’t sure what they were and gave them the misleading name, Stable Auroral Red arcs.

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