Category Archives: Look! Up in the sky!

A giant SPACE SNAKE is going to swallow the Earth! Wherein Fr. Z rants!

From Space Weather: BIG SUNSPOTS: After more than a week of quiet, solar activity is picking up with the emergence of two large sunspot groups on the sun’s northeastern limb.  The active regions are crackling with C- and M-class solar … Read More

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Transit of Venus

I mentioned in a post the transit of the Sun by the Space Shuttle, and in the course of that post the Transit of Venus, which is coming in 2012. No sooner but… the blogosphere is so cool… but I … Read More

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Transit of the Sun

Too bad about the ending of the Space Shuttle program. But on the way back to earth, the Shuttle made a transit of the Sun which was caught on film.  You can see the images at spaceweather.com. Small versions.. but … Read More

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New Mars Rover News

We haven’t forgotten poor Spirit, but… NASA to Announce Landing Site for New Mars Rover July 18, 2011 WASHINGTON — NASA and the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum will host a news conference at 10 a.m. EDT, Friday, July … Read More

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The US Space Program – WDTPRS POLL

With this final Space Shuttle launch, the US now “leads from behind” also in the exploration of space. Whither the US manned space program? Chose the best answer and give your opinion in the com box.

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Of 4th of July Space Station Flybys and Noctilucent Clouds

From Spaceweather: NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS: Last night, a bank of rippling electric-blue noctilucent clouds spilled across the Canadian border into the lower United States. In doing so, the glowing clouds made the farthest excursion of the year away from their usual … Read More

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QUAERITUR: Who is bishop of the Moon?

Under the recent entry about titular sees, the question arose about which bishop would have jurisdiction over the Moon. I think there are conflicting claims.  I heard once that Rome itself had jurisdiction. However, there is another claim. Sometimes it … Read More

Posted in ASK FATHER Question Box, Just Too Cool, Lighter fare, Look! Up in the sky! | Tagged , , ,
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Our Sun has a flare for the dramatic

I learned of this via Spaceweather.com: [wp_youtube]NJN0hWMrugE[/wp_youtube] Solar flares. You can see the material crashing back into the sun. Want another view? [wp_youtube]14vlh_537V8[/wp_youtube] Apparently this wasn’t pointed directly at the Earth but we are getting some of the blast.  There … Read More

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We’ve got Spirit, yes we do! We’ve got Spirit… well… not so much.

Sad news from NASA: NASA Concludes Attempts to Contact Mars Rover Spirit The full version of this story with accompanying images is HERE. PASADENA, Calif. — NASA is ending attempts to regain contact with the long-lived Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, … Read More

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CRABBY ALERT!

I am not saying Post hoc ergo propter hoc, but… you decide. “DANGER! CRABBY LIBERALS! DANGER!” There was a photo on Astronomy Pic of the Day: Just before the release of Universae Ecclesiae there was a flare from the Crab … Read More

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