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#926096 01/27/18 07:07 PM
Joined: May 2010
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January 27th - here are my top three Editor Picks

1. Once in a Blue Moon

"Once in a blue moon" is a common English expression and it refers to a rare event. But why a blue Moon? And what is a blue Moon if it isn't blue? There is no unique answer, but here are a few things it could be.


By one definition, the full Moon on January 31 is a "blue Moon". Many people will also be able to see it partly or fully eclipsed.

2. Astronauts – in Memoriam

Traveling into space is an astronaut's dream. However it's a dangerous occupation, both in the realization and in the training. A number of astronauts, almost all American or Russian, have paid the ultimate price for their dreams. Where are their memorials?


NASA's 2018 Day of Remembrance was held at the Kennedy Space Center in memory of fallen astronauts, attended by many friends and family.

3. Johannes Hevelius

Which 17th century brewer created ten new constellations? Johannes Hevelius, astronomer, civic leader, instrument-maker, writer, engraver and publisher. He died before finishing his great star atlas, so his wife Elisabetha - also an astronomer - finished the editing and oversaw its publication.


Johannes Hevelius was born on January 28, 1611 and died on January 28, 1687.


Mona Evans
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Joined: May 2010
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BellaOnline Editor
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January 29th - More Editor Picks

4. Heavenly Aviaries - Bird Constellations
The night sky is full of starry birds. Here is a selection, ranging from the majestic swan to the exotic birds of the southern skies: the peacock, bird of paradise and toucan. There is also an emu whose image appears not in the stars, but in the dark nebulae.

I suppose it makes sense that the sky is full of birds. There are many other heavenly features named for birds which I didn't include in the article.

5. Columbus and the Flat Earth Myth
Doesn't everyone know that in the 15th century people thought the Earth was flat? And that brave Christopher Columbus sailed westward from Spain to get to Asia to show that the Earth was round? Once I'd have answered “Yes” to both of these questions, but it turns out that they are myths.

Flat Earthers seem to be making the rounds of social media. No one thought Columbus would sail of the edge of the Earth - they knew it was a spheroid. Columbus underestimated its size - people said he'd run out of supplies. We now have satellites in polar orbits. Flat? Seriously, people?

6. Doodles for Women Astronomers
Since 2013 four outstanding women astronomers have been honored by a Google Doodle. None of the Doodles have had a worldwide reach, but there is a link to each delightful drawing and I've given some biographical details. Read on to meet this stellar quartet.

A Google doodle isn't quite a Nobel Prize, but it's some sort of recognition. It's almost understandable that doodlers don't recognise the brilliant achievements of women astronomers when they're still often not getting the recognition they deserve within their own fields.


Mona Evans
For news, activities, pictures and more, sign up to the Astronomy Newsletter!

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February 1st - more Picks from my recent top ten

8. Phantom Planets and Moons
Moons of Venus and Mercury? An unknown planet nearer the Sun than Mercury? Astronomers can misinterpret what they see, too. Happily, other observers, better instruments and new theoretical understandings can put it right. Here are some phantom objects that many astronomers once thought existed.


It makes me wonder how many things we're misinterpreting now, but with more data will become clearer. There's more to see now, but also more eyes to see it.

9. Four Historic Eclipses

An empire lost, an empire saved, lives lost, lives saved. Read about some unexpected outcomes of solar and lunar eclipses.


I'm not a Columbus fan. He should have kept his sailors in line in the first place.

10. Jumbos of the Solar System
Our Solar System is full of wondrous things. Did you know that the mass of Jupiter is two and a half times greater than all the other planets put together? And which is the biggest moon, tallest mountain and biggest ocean? The answers may surprise you.


Record-breakers always hold a certain fascination for us.


Mona Evans
For news, activities, pictures and more, sign up to the Astronomy Newsletter!

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March 11th - here are my new top three Editor Picks

1. Valentina Tereshkova - the First Spacewoman

Three days orbiting Earth strapped into a space capsule so primitive that no one could land in it. So how did the cosmonaut get home? That's part of the story of the first woman in space, on a solo flight twenty years before NASA sent Sally Ride into orbit on a Space Shuttle.

Tereshkova's birthday was on March 6th, a reminder of the accomplishments of this extraordinary woman.

2. John Herschel

John Herschel was the son of William Herschel, discoverer of the planet Uranus. But he earned his own reputation as an astronomer, mathematician, chemist, translator, artist, writer, and pioneer of photography. When he died he was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey near Sir Isaac Newton.


I'm a great admirer of the talented Herschels who contributed so much to astronomy and other fields.

3. Photography and the Birth of Astrophysics

Saturn's rings, spiral galaxies, solar flares. Astrophotography has shown us some wonderful images, but it's more than pretty pictures. It has allowed us to discover objects too dim for the human eye to see. Partnered with spectroscopy, it moved astronomy from mapping to understanding the stars.

Henry Draper - who shares a birthday with John Herschel on March 7th - was a pioneer of astrophotography. It was his widow Anna Draper who sponsored the catalog of stellar spectra carried out by Harvard College Observatory.


Mona Evans
For news, activities, pictures and more, sign up to the Astronomy Newsletter!

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March 13th - here are three more of my Editor Picks

1. Saint Patrick's Day – Wearing the Cosmic Green

Saint Patrick's Day is associated with the shamrock and the color green. Although there don't seem to be any cosmic shamrocks, there are many green phenomena in the skies. Discover a beautiful green nebula, what excites electrons, and why con men sold “comet pills”.

St. Patrick's Day is a popular holiday wherever people of Irish descent live. And although it's not an astronomical holiday, the color green makes a nice theme for an interesting miscellany of astronomical objects and phenomena.

2. Yuri Gagarin – The First Spaceman

There was no fanfare or countdown when Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth. On April 12, 1961 with a “Let's go!”, Vostok 1 blasted off. Gagarin was an exceptional individual who came from humble beginnings, and at 34 his life ended all too soon.

I couldn't overlook Yuri Gagarin's birthday. Interesting that the birthdays of the first man in space and the first woman in space fall so close together.

3. Who Discovered Neptune?

Neptune is the planet discovered mathematically and whose detection led to a heated rivalry between British and French astronomers. But who was the first person actually to see Neptune?.

What is discovery? The first to see something - or more usefully, the first to see something and realise they've seen something new? I don't feel that Galileo discovered Neptune. What do you think?


Mona Evans
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Thanks for the info, Mona.

Joined: May 2010
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March 18th - here are three more of my Editor Picks

1. Who wants to go to Venus?

Some people think that Venus could be habitable. And perhaps you might daydream about being closer to the Sun when the long winter nights come, and the temperature drops. After all, "Earth's twin" should be a nice place, shouldn't it? Let's talk about that.

I was surprised to find that anyone thought you could live on Venus. Or even visit. Certainly the technology is somewhat beyond what we could do now. In any case, I wouldn't be volunteering.

2. Rosetta's Story – Facts for Kids

It's gone where no space mission has been before! Rosetta caught up with a comet in deep space and went into orbit around it. The lander Philae was the first ever to land on a comet. At the end of the mission Rosetta also landed on the comet to join it in its journey.

To me the Rosetta mission is one of the great episodes of space exploration - daring, amazing, beautifully executed.

3. Gemini – the Celestial Twins

Gemini. A story of the love and loyalty of two brothers parted only by death. Includes a star that's actually a system of six stars, and a giant star that can help us measure distances in space. Contains an object that completely baffled astronomers for twenty years.

I like the story of Gemini, and the two bright stars of the twins are easy to pick out in the sky.


Mona Evans
For news, activities, pictures and more, sign up to the Astronomy Newsletter!

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I like your post.


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