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Do you share a birthday with an astronaut? 11-17 March (no. 29)
Follow for a weekly list of forthcoming astronaut* birthdays. Maybe you share a birthday?! If not, perhaps it will be you who adds your name to the list?! If you do share a birthday, what does it mean to you? Do you feel a connection, pride? They take to the skies (on controlled explosions) to…
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“I have approximate answers and possible beliefs in different degrees of certainty about different things, but I’m not absolutely sure of anything.”
– Richard P. Feynman (11 May 1918 – 15 Feb 1988) From the Manhattan Project to the Challenger investigation, the physicist and Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman loved to shoot down what he called “lousy ideas.” Today, the world is awash in lousy ideas — so maybe it’s time to get some more Feynman in our…
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Atomic (and space/science-related) puns & jokes no. 34
Everyone loves a pune (or pun) or a joke. Here follows more ‘atomic’ (and space/science-related) puns/jokes – enjoy or groan or meh. More to follow! __________________________________________________________________ Q: Did you hear about the astrophysicist that upset the Godfather?A: He woke up with a horsehead nebula in his bed. X (Twitter) account – @Cathrinmachin __________________________________________________________________ PS: I…
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Do you share a birthday with an astronaut? 4-10 March (no. 28)
Follow for a weekly list of forthcoming astronaut* birthdays. Maybe you share a birthday?! If not, perhaps it will be you who adds your name to the list?! If you do share a birthday, what does it mean to you? Do you feel a connection, pride? They take to the skies (on controlled explosions) to…
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“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself – and you are the easiest person to fool.”
– Richard P. Feynman (11 May 1918 – 15 Feb 1988) “Cargo Cult Science“, adapted from a 1974 Caltech commencement address; also published in Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!, p. 343 From the Manhattan Project to the Challenger investigation, the physicist and Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman loved to shoot down what he called “lousy ideas.”…
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Atomic (and space/science-related) puns & jokes no. 33
Everyone loves a pune (or pun) or a joke. Here follows more ‘atomic’ (and space/science-related) puns/jokes – enjoy or groan or meh. More to follow! __________________________________________________________________ Q: What do you call a dog in space?A: An Astromutt. X (Twitter) account – @Cathrinmachin __________________________________________________________________ PS: I love coffee. BuyMeACoffee, leave a message with a date and time…
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Do you share a birthday with an astronaut? 26 February – 3 March (no. 27)
Follow for a weekly list of forthcoming astronaut* birthdays. Maybe you share a birthday?! If not, perhaps it will be you who adds your name to the list?! If you do share a birthday, what does it mean to you? Do you feel a connection, pride? They take to the skies (on controlled explosions) to…
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“The most remarkable discovery in all of astronomy is that the stars are made of atoms of the same kind as those on the earth.”
– Richard P. Feynman (11 May 1918 – 15 Feb 1988) From the Manhattan Project to the Challenger investigation, the physicist and Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman loved to shoot down what he called “lousy ideas.” Today, the world is awash in lousy ideas — so maybe it’s time to get some more Feynman in our…
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Atomic (and space/science-related) puns & jokes no. 32
Everyone loves a pune (or pun) or a joke. Here follows more ‘atomic’ (and space/science-related) puns/jokes – enjoy or groan or meh. More to follow! __________________________________________________________________ Russian spacecrafts designed in 1960s don’t come around often…Soyuz them wisely. X account – @Cathrinmachin __________________________________________________________________ PS: I love coffee. BuyMeACoffee, leave a message with a date and time and…
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Do you share a birthday with an astronaut? 19 – 25 February (no. 26)
Follow for a weekly list of forthcoming astronaut* birthdays. Maybe you share a birthday?! If not, perhaps it will be you who adds your name to the list?! If you do share a birthday, what does it mean to you? Do you feel a connection, pride? They take to the skies (on controlled explosions) to…
Stargazing Guy
Connecting people to the Stars
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“Science Fiction Is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.”
– Peter H. Diamandis, Metatrends substack, 17 July 2026 Why are people so pessimistic about the future – and view the past as some form of pastoral utopia? On these pages we promote hope – not cope or mope. Hope lives here. An interesting insight is from Peter H. Diamandis in his substack, where he…
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“I believe in evidence.”
– Isaac Asimov, The Roving Mind (1997), (2 January 2 1920 – 6 April 1992) Scientist and science fiction author Asimov’s output of novels and books popularising and explaining science was prodigious. As a rationalist he often railed against superstitious and pseudoscientific beliefs that tried to pass themselves off as genuine science and had this…
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What is a light-year?
A light-year is a measure of distance – not time (or anything to do with Disney’s Toy Story). It’s used to indicate the distance to stars and galaxies. It’s the distance light travels in one year in a vacuum, which is about: – 4.2465 light-years OR 5.88 trillion miles OR 9.46 trillion kilometres Light travels…
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How far is that star?
Basically, far! The Sun is the closest (and brightest) star. It is about: – 93 million miles – 150 million kilometres The next closest star (Proxima Centauri) is invisible to the unaided human eye and you need to be in the Southern Hemisphere to see it with a telescope (it’s too dim to see with…
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Death rates from disasters have fallen over the last century.
Good news. Recent data indicates that natural disasters are NOT going to kill us all. The global death rate from all natural disasters (drought, floods, storms, earthquakes, wildfires, extreme temperatures, etc.) has fallen by more than 90% over the last century. The total number of deaths has fallen substantially, despite there being four times as…
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“Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.”
– Maria Salomea Skłodowska Curie (Marie Curie) (7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) She was a was a Polish and naturalised-French physicist and chemist. The first woman to win a Nobel Prize. The first person to win a Nobel Prize twice. The only person to win a Nobel Prize in two different scientific fields.…
Stargazing Guy 