Jeri Smith-Ready

A different kind of star

It's never too late for a new (or old) career.

Brian May, the guitarist for the rock group Queen, completed his doctoral work in astrophysics on Wednesday. He abandoned his coursework at Imperial College of London back in 1970 when Queen made it big, but always wanted to finish the degree.

May, 60, plans to turn in his dissertation, "Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud," within the next two weeks.

What unfinished business do you plan to take care of when you retire from your current line of work? Write a novel? Finish a degree? Learn to play the banjo?

I don't plan to ever retire from writing (they'll have to pry the keyboard from my cold, stiff fingers), but I wouldn't mind getting back to the piano one day.


A-Z Update: "Rollin' Stone" by Muddy Waters

HP Update: page 111 of Deathly Hallows

Labels: astronomy, music

• posted by Jeri @ 8:05 AM
• 4 comments

Look, up in the sky! It's a...

This just in from SpaceWeather.com:

On Tuesday morning, June 19th, space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station. On Tuesday night, the pair will fly in tandem over many US towns and cities including Detroit, Washington DC, San Francisco and Denver. Typical flybys take place shortly after sunset, with the pair first appearing in the northwest (look for the Big Dipper) and soaring overhead from there. The space shuttle appears first, followed by the ISS. Both spacecraft are bright and easy to see with the naked eye. Double flybys continue on Wednesday night, June 20th, before Atlantis returns to Earth on Thursday, June 21st.

Go to Heavens Above to see when and where to look for these spacecraft in your neighborhood. You can register with the site and get exact times and maps, or you can just look at the picture of the globe on their home page.

Don't forget to wave at the astronauts!

A-Z Update: "Just Go Away" by Blondie

Labels: astronomy

• posted by Jeri @ 8:29 AM
• 0 comments

Celestial affair

Venus kissed the Moon tonight
We watched her in the Sky
She's been flirtin' with him for centuries
Too bad he's so shy
He's waxing
He's waning
You don't see Venus complaining
She'll steal a kiss whenever she can.
--"Venus Kissed the Moon," Christine Lavin

This just in from SpaceWeather.com:

"When the sun sets tonight, go outside and look west. Venus and the crescent Moon will pop out of the twilight barely 1-degree apart. It's a spectacular pairing of the two brightest objects in the night sky. The display will be visible from brightly lit cities and even through thin clouds."

Here's a skymap to show you how close they'll be. Don't miss it!

Labels: astronomy

• posted by Jeri @ 8:36 AM
• 4 comments

All Hail the Mighty Hexagon

Jerry: All right, we're taking a car service. So we'll swing by and pick you up. How about six? (Laura looks offended). Six is good. (Laura looks offended and angry). You got a problem with six? (Laura opens the door and gets out). What? What?
--Seinfeld, "The Lip Reader"

The Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan (which gets my vote as Coolest NASA Mission Ever) has recently discovered a strange hexagon surrounding the planet's north pole.

Earth apparently has a similar polar vortex, but ours is a circle, which has been established by Raising Arizona as an entirely normal shape*.

However, hexagons have been spotted on many Earthling breakfast tables, in their crispy form. Which gets my vote as Most Tell-It-Like-It-Is Product Label Ever. Ask for them by name.

I'm adding this last bit here as proof that I can write an entire paragraph without using the word 'which.' Which It seems to be my verbal tic, if you haven't noticed.

*Evelle: [about the balloons he just bought] These blow up into funny shapes and all?
Grocer: Well no... unless round is funny.

Labels: astronomy, food

• posted by Jeri @ 12:35 PM
• 2 comments

Oh to be down under

As Comet McNaught approached the sun last week, it was visible even during the day. Now it's a breathtaking spectacle for the southern hemisphere. Here's a shot of it at twilight over Auckland, NZ:

Photo Credit: Jamie Newman, Auckland New Zealand

The tail has curved enough that it can be seen just after sunset in the northern hemisphere in places like Colorado and California.

For more beauteous pics, visit Spaceweather.com's Comet McNaught Photo Gallery.

This has nothing to do with writing. It's just freakin' cool.

Labels: astronomy

• posted by Jeri @ 2:22 PM
• 4 comments

The Rockets' Red Glare

Thanks, Discovery, for giving the country something to celebrate on its birthday.

Just return home safe now, y'hear?

Labels: astronomy, holidays

• posted by Jeri @ 6:27 PM
• 4 comments

Going...going....

In the absence of a place to be,
she stands there looking back at me,
hesitates, then turns away.
--Counting Crows, "Mercury"

According to NASA, tonight is the best chance all year to see Mercury. The fickle little bugger will be visible just after sunset, appearing as a "pink star" above the horizon. Before long, it'll be too close to the sun to see from our vantage point, so check it out tonight if you can.

Or just live with the regret forever. Your choice.

Labels: astronomy

• posted by Jeri @ 3:09 PM
• 1 comments

Shadow of Venus

No, it's not the title of a goddess-possessed serial killer novel; it's the real thang. According to SpaceWeather.com, the planet Venus is at its closest and brightest during the first weeks of December this year. If you can find an area with little to no artificial light (yeah, good luck), you can actually see a faint shadow cast by the planet's light.

If you can't find that kind of place, you can check out these pictures of a British photographer who did.

Labels: astronomy

• posted by Jeri @ 7:15 AM
• 0 comments