Book Review: “Lilith’s Brood” by Octavia Butler Lilith’s Brood, a trilogy by Hugo and Nebula Award winner Octavia E. Butler, is a compelling read about saving humankind by genetic manipulation. Manipulation, that is, by an alien species. The Oankali have come to Earth to save a remnant of its population after its near extinction by…
Why Do Subaru Cars Have a Logo that Seems to Refer to the Star Cluster, the Pleiades? I always thought that the logo on Subaru cars (we own one) was incorrect in the number of stars shown (there are six: five small ones and one large one). Afterall, in Japan the Pleiades is also known…
Superconductivity: A Tutorial for Laypersons I spent the last 15 years of my professional career doing research in the design, development and demonstration of superconducting power systems. Superconductors are new to the power industry, as in not yet commercial. In the belief that they will be someday, I continue in retirement to keep a low…
Solar Eclipse – April 8, 2024 I used my homemade Pinhole Camera telescope again to capture photos of the solar eclipse today (4/8/24). Here in LA area it was less than 50% at maximum (about 1115 am). The problem with this Camera is the translucent window I used. It has a wavy surface that distorts…
Superconductivity — A Layperson’s Primer Presentation on the Everyday Spacer Show, March 22, 2024 Ever wonder what superconductivity is? Or, maybe you’ve never heard of it. But in the coming years this amazing feature of the natural world will increasingly become part of your world. Spoiler Alert: It already is a part of your world!…
Andromeda Galaxy – Photos Show Effect of Our Light-polluted Skies Here are two photos of the great Andromeda Galaxy that I took with my telescope. The top photo was taken under a completely dark sky in northern Maine in 2021 and the second photo was taken from my backyard in Southern California, near LA, in…
Notable Women in Astronomy As has been true in other branches of scientific endeavor, it has taken a long time for women astronomers to be given their place alongside men. Notwithstanding this injustice, women have been making tremendous contributions to the field of astronomy for more than 100 years. Yet, their contributions have not been…
Photographing the Rare Transit of Venus A pinhole camera is an inexpensive means to capture images of the Sun, including the transit of the inner planets, Venus and Mercury. When a planet passes in front of a star (e.g., our Sun) between the viewer and the star, one can see the dark spot passing across…
Photos of Oct. 14, 2023, Solar Eclipse I was able to capture some decent photos of the annular solar eclipse today. (Annular eclipse = a “full” eclipse that does not fully cover the sun because, due to the position of the Moon and Earth relative to the Sun the shadow the moon casts on the…
Telpher Power Conduit Telepathic Teleportation of Electric Power Remnant, the fourth novel in my Telpher series, improves the Telpher to provide telepathic teleportation of power over long distances. In addition to teleporting a person, a mini-Telpher can teleport a superconducting electrical cable (ordinary copper cable could also be used). Two mini-Telphers are used, one at…