My Favorite Things
Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens!
“Sound of Music” is one of my favorite movies. My baritone voice is nothing like Julie Andrew’s, but I digress!
Astronomy is such a diverse field. I think most people normally think of astronomy as science, but to me, and I think you’ll agree, it’s SO much more. Astronomy is also art (paintings like Van Gogh’s “Starry, Starry Night”), poetry and music (LOTS of examples of those), photography (which is arguably also art), history, mythology, and even astrology (in a historical context, I mean). And for those who ask “Why?” one can also add philosophy to the list! But all of that is for naught if not for the personal “Wow!” factor we all experience.
My hope is that this is the start of a monthly blog about astronomy (duh!) that I think SJAAers will find interesting. I’ve been a science buff since I was little, so most of what you’ll find on “MFT” will be science but on topics that I think has a “coolness” factor and that will catch the eye of the general public.
LADEE to Bite the Dustee
NASA’s LADEE lunar probe has completed its primary objectives and is scheduled to impact the moon around April 21. You can enter their contest to guess when the actual impact will occur (deadline is April 11). The NASA article and the link to the contest are here.
Incidentally our July speaker will present on LADEE!
Sky Safari 4.0 for Android — On sale!
The latest version of our favorite astronomy app is now available on Android and is half off until April 21. Observers should get either the “Plus” or “Pro” version. At half off the Pro version is just $20! [Note 4.0 is a completely different app from the previous version, so there’s no discount upgrade path.]
For details on their iOS, Android, and Mac OS products, see here.
Till next time, Clear Skies! (And of course comments are always welcome!)
I’ve always had the same idea, that astronomy has an intersecting point in all other topics, in all other areas of study. Name it, and I will draw a line from it to astronomy, easy. Teruo, you named a few of them already, and I have to say, you are really pushing the bounds by mentioning astrology! 🙂 Looking forward to more MFTs!
I wasn’t aware that LADEE was going to be crashed into the moon this month. In a way, that’s kind of sad, but I’m sure the bright minds at NASA will make the most of it. I bet that Brian Day will be hosting an ‘impact’ party to celebrate!
The new Sky Safari 4 is definitely a new app. It’s published by a new company, apparently, and it’s all new. I got the Pro version and it was a one gigabyte download, and I had to make some serious room on my Samsung Galaxy for it. Thanks for the heads up about the release, and the major discount!