Yearly Archives: 2013

How to take a picture of the universe

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Astronomers take pictures of stuff in the universe all the time, but it’s not every day that we get to take a picture of the universe. Today was one of those days, and this is the picture. This is a … Continue reading →

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New title

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

I decided I needed something snazzier than just putting my name across the top of the page, especially since it’s already in the side bar and the address bar. After Googling a few phrases to see if they were taken, … Continue reading →

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Book review: Stone Spring by Stephen Baxter

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Stephen Baxter is one of the most versatile speculative fiction authors writing today, with works ranging from near future to far future to parallel universes to the distant past. He won fame for his award-winning Vacuum Diagrams and his bestselling … Continue reading →

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The Sun plays nice…for now

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

The Sun has been acting kind of weird for close to five years now. The good news is that it’s been oddly quiet. The less good news is that we don’t really know why. The Sun undergoes an 11-year magnetic … Continue reading →

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250 words per day: the dark side

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

I wrote before about the Magic Spreadsheet, which is the only thing that has ever really gotten me to write daily. I’m happy to report that I am at 51 days and counting, but it’s been getting harder, and the … Continue reading →

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In the sky: Comet PanSTARRS is here

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

The first bright comet of 2013 is entering the northern skies this weekend. Comet C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS) will be brightest for the next three days or so, rivaling the stars of the Big Dipper. The exact position in the sky … Continue reading →

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The planet that thinks it’s a comet

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

With all the talk of comets lately, let’s take a look at what happens when planets start acting like them. But surely, no planet could have a crazy, elongated orbit like a comet, right? They’re too big to get kicked … Continue reading →

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First look at Comet PanSTARRS

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

2013 could be a banner year for comets, with not one, not two, but three of them being visible to the naked eye. Two are already visible in the Southern Hemisphere, as seen in the video, and they’ll be coming … Continue reading →

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The Magic Spreadsheet, or, Self-discipline = 250 words per day

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

One of the hardest parts of being a writer is finding enough time to write. Writers are busy people, with any number of things like day jobs, classes, families, and always being within arm’s reach of the Internet on their … Continue reading →

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Rise of the mini-planets

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

I’ve said before that when looking for planets, we must expect the unexpected. NASA’s latest discovery, Kepler-37b, was not unexpected, but it raises interesting questions nonetheless. Kepler-37b is a hot, rocky planet, but it’s not a super-Earth, because it’s smaller … Continue reading →

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