The Galactic Times

23/11/2022

Greetings! I have created The Galactic Times InDepth, an offshoot of the existing Galactic Times Inbox Magazine, in order to be able to write longer, more (ahem) in-depth astronomy feature articles in a New York Times Magazine style and level of detail, without cutting them into segments over several regular TGT issues.

The November Issue examines the idea that, once space tourism gets underway for the common folk (that's....us....you and me.....not the billionaires), where would we go after Low Earth Orbit and space stations? Why, the Moon, of course! Where we'd teeter on the edge of its many craters, figure out ways to get down into and to their centers or their peaks, whichever they have, or perambulate their perimeters. But until then.....let's try that on one of the slightly more than a dozen real craters one can visit on the surface of the US States. Specifically, let's take either of two Interstates to Wetumpka, Alabama and take three tours, to learn about crater ejecta you can see, climb up the crater's rim, and see its profile from one side to the other. Plus two more tours and learn how the features relate to craters formed under shallow seas.

The December Issue will examine the Gaia mission and use it to find out what is REALLY the North Star....on ALL the various North Celestial Poles we have.

Subscribe, and Enjoy!

Larry Krumenaker, Publisher
www.thegalactictimes.com/indepth
tgtindepth.substack.com

23/09/2022

Remember that planet parade in the dawn a few months back? It's back in a different way in the evening sky. All the visible outer planets lined up within a degree of the Ecliptic, one planet per zodiac constellation from Ta**us to Capricornus. And all at or near maximum size and brightness. Take a read in the Galactic Times Sky Planning Calendar. Read also about how astronomers don't always get to have the best reputations (say whaat?) and how Hedy Lamar had more than just a, um, celestial body. Subscribe to The Galactic Times, starting with Issue #31 at the websites in the graphic. Enjoy!

16/08/2022

It is good to know where you come from, and where you are going. Where we came from includes where the parts of the Earth were collected. Some may have come from the outermost solar system, like what was found in the asteroid Ryugu. Our continents were formed at the end of the Late Heavy Bombardment, we finally have evidence for that. And we hope to go to Mars and live there, right? Where are we going to find Oxygen? We might make it there with plasma!

These and other news stories, and deep looks at some findings of the Parker Solar Probe in the news section of Issue 30 of The Galactic Times.

In the skies of late August and early September, goings include the inner planets leaving out skies, and comings are the giant worlds taking over the evenings. And Ta**us gets two red eyes so watch out!

Subscribe, stay safe, stay cool, and enjoy!

03/08/2022

Astronomers like the dark. So here are a couple of challenges for amateur astronomers and educators: How much can see in bright light? Try on August 12-13, one night past the Full Moon---How many Perseids when normally you could see up to 60? And how about Comet C/2017 K2 (also masked in moonlight!) low in Scorpius (we give you a map), and Saturn two days past opposition and up all night. Challenge #2: How about Jupiter in broad daylight on the 15th, using the Waxing Gibbous Moon as your guide?

While you are waiting for bright nights to come, read about the future of Arecibo Observatory, and Europe's plans for missions to the planets and to moons out there where there might be zones of habitability? And speaking of missions, how about a look at the greatest cataloger of stars ever? Gaia, recorder of millions of stars, asteroids, galaxies and more. All in the August 1st, 29th Issue, of The Galactic Times. Information at www.thegalactictimes.com, subscribe at TheGalacticTimes.substack.com .

20/07/2022

Astronomy (and some astronomers) can be wacky. Like this quote heard at a recent European conference: "The Sun is not a solar-type star." [Perhaps the astronomer was a little too enthusiastic at a nearby Astronomy on Tap lecture? What's that?]

This issue of The Galactic Times brings you more, ahem, unusual astronomy news, and some serious looks into space news, from several recent astronomy conferences on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean (and, yes, you CAN get jet lag attending conferences in other time zones sitting at home all day on Zoom).

Satellite constellations are increasing by several powers of ten. Are the benefits worth the cost? Astronomical techniques are definitely worth it....to investigators in healthcare. And your wifi. How so?

There are exoplanets in binaries. Do you know which component has most of the planets orbiting it?

Remember the Grand Line-Up of OUR planets in our sky? The Parade is moving into our evening sky, and a very nice meteor shower, the best of THIS summer, is near the end of July. A comet is getting a lot of buzz, but it is not as grand as you think.

Finally, get your Space Ranger name as you contemplate the look-back time to the first five James Webb photos. What's the connection? Read about it in Issue 28 of The Galactic Times!

02/07/2022

Did you see the Grand Line-Up? No? While you are waiting for the next time--in the 22nd Century--here's some Big Issues to contemplate--in Issue 27 of The Galactic Times: How exactly DO planetary systems form (it doesn't seem to be like the old textbooks say; does Venus actually have life -- in its atmosphere no less?; when did J. Kepler have his Epiphany and become the only person on Earth to really realize Ptolemy WAS wrong? Did the Sun rise on time...or will set on time today---really?? These and other stories from the AAS, and the sky itself, in TGT. Subscribe and enjoy in your airconditioning while waiting for the next Line-up....

20/06/2022

If you wouldn't know a planet in the sky if it bit you, this is your week to see all five naked eye worlds! As time-lined in The Galactic Times #26, tomorrow, the 21st, the Moon is by bright Jupiter, Saturn is to its upper right (Moon was by it three days ago, before issue publication). Moon's by Mars the next day. The 23-25th, Moon stands in for Earth between Mars and Venus in the sky, then it passes Venus on the 26th and then it is 4-degrees from elusive Mercury on the 27th.

While you are out watching, check Mercury against the red giant star Aldebaran, to its right. Some say Mercury is also red and just as bright. Is it?

In our first group of news stories from the American Astronomical Society meeting: scientists discuss what they think turned on the lights in the early Universe; what makes one Mira-variable (those red-giant, long-period variables stars, the namesake of which is peaking in a month near Jupiter) differ in brightness and period than another; did you know your ancestors took a cosmic ray bath 2 million years ago?; and a star in Gemini was discovered to be the 4th nearest multiplanet system to us?

Speaking of Gemini, did you know "your planet" could have been in one of the OTHER 14 zodiac signs? What? Read about those and all the above, in the latest Galactic Times! www.thegalactictimes.com for information, and thegalactictimes.substack.com for subscribing and all back issues!

02/06/2022

It is rare to see something in the universe that occurs in your own lifetime in front of your own eyes, but this past week we had just that. Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 produced a meteor shower comparable to some annual showers like the Lyrids, July's upcoming Delta Aquarids, or even the every-33-years-a-storm Leonids [I calculated a ZHR of 15-25 per hour, how about you?]. The real story SHOULD have been that we were seeing the results of a 1995 outburst, not a potential 100s of meteors per hour, that clearly disappointed observers in its absence. Reality should have been cooler than hype.

We talk about that, plus the weather on the star Betelgeuse, and increasing the accuracy of dating the Late Bombardment in the early Solar System, plus details on the Grand Line-up all June....and into July and the rest of the summer if you know how to define it, in the latest free issue of The Galactic Times, #25. And some amusing real world astronomy in everyday life in Hollywood and the open road.

More info at http://www.thegalactictimes.com and subscribe at https://classroomastronomer.substack.com .

Subscribe, learn, and enjoy!

LK

17/05/2022

It's The Galactic Times' First Year Anniversary Issue! Houston, we have an orbit.....

In this Issue, we have our first results from observing the DARK total lunar eclipse, despite thunderstorms around us. Also in the news, don't plan on growing food in lunar soil--those cosmic rays really affect soil composition and the plants that grow in them. Speaking of storm rays, the Sun has been on an X-ray tear lately, and a star about to go nova had its atmosphere go up in a fireball flash hours before...and that was caught in Xrays for the first time!

More calmly, all planets visible are in the dawn meeting and greeting each other in conjunctions, the Moon joining in post-two-eclipses. Keep your eyes peeled May 30th--might be an evening meteor outburst from Comet SW3! And while Mother's Day has come and gone, it is never to late read a book review on astronomical moms, and how they have managed to handle careers, family and the pandemic.

Get the Galactic Times on https://thegalactictimes.substack.com and see our index to issues and more at www.thegalactictimes.com . It is time for some anniversary champagne!

18/04/2022

Have you heard of Porrima? Amateur astronomers know it as a tight, beautiful double star in Virgo. But the name comes from an ancient Roman god of prophecy, and now it is attached to a revolutionary ocean-going ship that uses solar power and hydrogen for fuel, and clean the water as it goes. Read all about it in the Astronomy in Everyday Life column in this issue of the Galactic Times. Also a chronology of the rest of April's conjunctions galore in the dawn, moon and planets, and planets and planets, ending with brilliant Jupiter and Venus close together. Plus Mercury makes a rare appearance in DARK evening skies. And more in Issue 22! Subscribe at https://thegalactictimes.substack.com .

01/04/2022

I'm 37! On Mars! What's a Martian Year called? A Day is a Sol, but there is no official name for a year. On John Carter's Barsoom it was an Ord. The Planetary Society calls it an Ls (Lsub-ess). Regardless, I refuse to say I'm 37 L's old and I sure can't dress like John Carter without getting arrested, but I can put out a Galactic Times and talk about the problem of naming years on different worlds...or future space stations....and talk about ice volcanoes on Pluto... and other news of the universe. Plus the various planetary conjunctions in the dawn, and Mercury entering the evening sky, and more. "Pick up" a Times and enjoy, and wish me a happy Martian birthday, whatever they call the year there.

17/03/2022

Do space telescopes get lonely? Are they happy to see another one move in next door? See not only the Webb telescope's proof of alignment photo but also the Gaia mission's photo, also at L2, of Webb nearby, in Issue 20 of The Galactic Times. Other stories include what to see in the dawn's Lunar and Planetary Festival in the last week of March, and an answer to the question, "Does the Webb Increase Astronomy Interest?" plus a Martian Road Report and more news and stories in TGT 20. Subscribe at TheGalacticTimes.substack.com or visit at www.thegalactictimes.com .

01/03/2022

LOOK OUT BELOW! The first half of March is when we start looking up in the sky. Not for stars. For danger! Like BIG ROCKS that kill dinosaurs! Like SMALL ROCKS that put holes in dog houses. Like dwarf galaxies that put holes in spiral arms. It must be because the Sun spends some time in the constellation of the Whale....say, What?? For all the details, subscribe to The Galactic Times!

16/02/2022

The current night sky is full of stories and we don't mean just mythology. Use the latest issue of The Galactic Times to: View the Full Moon and see all the landing sites where lunar samples have been taken and learn about how Chang'e 5 has filled in gaps in lunar chronology; find the star in Ursa Major that the Webb Telescope took as its first test photo (we give you a chart!); and tropical and southern hemisphere readers can see Alpha Centauri, which may now be a three (or more) planet system. In other news, before we had water, it was in the solar system clouds, and Mars may have had water longer than what we thought. Meanwhile, the evening skies are filled with stars...and only stars....with no planets until April....or late May...or June...or August...depending on how you look at it. Subscribe to TGT and find out the latest Sky Events and Astronomy News, and the Universe in Everyday Life. www.thegalactictimes.com and thegalactictimes.substack.com .

01/02/2022

Let's take a trip to visit Alpha Centauri, in our lifetimes! Can't go? At least look up at the Pleiades star cluster tonight and know that 300 lost "Sisters" have been found. It's part of the FIrst of February This Just In section of The Galactic Times #17. Additionally, Earth is now in 4th place in the list of planets with Trojans! (we got...2, not counting Michigan State's....) . Meanwhile, on Valentine's Day, be a GOAT, instead of a Goat. What does that mean? Subscribe to TGT and find out?

18/01/2022

If your birthday is the 19th, you might be zodiacally lucky. If you are a dwarf galaxy, you might be unlucky, as the Milky Way's next dinner.

Read about the troubled lives of certain stars of the winter sky in the first 2022 issue of The Galactic Times Inbox Magazine. Learn how we have pierced the dusty veils around us to find ourselves skimming local interstellar clouds (thank you, heliosphere, for protecting us!) and ending up in the middle of a Bubble. And take part in a latitudinal experiment, with Venus and Mars in the dawn.

12/01/2022

If you are teaching an astronomy course, you had better finish it before June when the END OF THE UNIVERSE HAPPENS! Or at least the five naked eye planets all line in the dawn sky, with the Moon standing in for Earth between Venus and Mars, whichever comes first. Read about all the teachable sky moments in the first 2022 issue of The Classroom Astronomer. Additional articles include the best tips for using journal clubs in astronomy education, a Sun seminar that includes multicultural Sun aspects and bees, a collection of links to the largest image and video archives, and how to have students figure out where the James Webb Telescope is located. Subscribe at https://classroomastronomer.substack.com .

16/12/2021

Want to buy a house at half price? Galileo's is for sale from bankrupt owners! It's a steal! (And you may have to steal from a bank to afford it!) Meanwhile, this last 2021 issue of The Galactic Times (and we're on a one-issue hiatus afterwards) brings you the news about NASA's Parker probe making like a starship dipping into the corona, a Sun-like star proving others have their own CME events, a star you can see in the star has a planet AND is a binary, too! Watch the planets line up in the West...and all (but one) fall down by January, like a Pachinko game, but you can at least see the ecliptic delineated and watch real obvious planetary motions. Oh, and astrology = astronomy for three whole whopping days, wow. Earth gains weight from cosmic smoke (see, it IS bad for planets, too.) And head to Facebook Marketplace by Christmas for a discount on our Sundial T-shirts--and be hopeful for a sunny spring! See you in mid-January! Happy holiday, whatever holiday makes you happy. LK

16/12/2021

For our last 2021 Issue, we note the sky plays Pachinko in the West, your smartphone can measure light and map planets, students say what does and does not make them feel like astronomers, and we gift you five free massive resource collections. Make your holiday happy with our Sundial T-shirt on the Marketplace and a 30 issues for $30 promo at https://classroomastronomer.substack.com/30for30 . Happy holiday, whatever holiday makes you happy! (We're looking at a Super Saturnalia but that's just us...) See you mid-January! LK

09/12/2021

Just came inside from my only chance to seeComet Leonard. The only clear morning this week. Thoroughly unimpressive in binoculars. Starlike, dim. If I had not known its location from a map, l would have totally missed it. Overhyped. Maybe good for photographers, not for visual observers or educators.

03/12/2021

Where will the future lunar bases be sited? Where will they get materials and water? Heck, where did Earth get ITS water? Or other solar systems? Find out in the Issue 14 of The Galactic Times. While you are pondering that, check out where Comet Leonard is in the dawn, and watch the Moon pass three planets in the dusky skies. Use both eyes to watch meteors coming from the Twins in midmonth. Check it out at https://thegalactictimes.substack.com and our resources at http://www.thegalactictimes.com .

29/11/2021

We've revamped this page from a podcast's site to the Inbox Magazine (newsletter) site. Here is the Table of Contents of the latest issue, and a new issue will come out this week! Check out our website at www.thegalactictimes.com and subscribe and read the Magazine online at https://thegalactictimes.substack.com .

29/11/2021

16/09/2021

So many hurricanes! Are they related to climate change? Sunspots? See how they are or aren’t correlated, in TGT #9. Also, a supernova is coming…in 2037. You’ve been warned. How come the phases sometimes are 7 days apart and sometimes 8? And Summer was 93 days long but fall will only be 89? Subscribe to learn why!

05/09/2021

Regrettably, we are sad to note that the Galactic Times podcast has ceased to 'cast. Thanks to those to took the time to listen. This will now be taken over as the FB area for the newsletter of the same name, exclusively. LK

05/09/2021

It's the end of summer, a hurricane just breezed by us and put a damper on activities including newsgathering. Still, we can report on an attempt to have an outdoor planetarium in Ireland, a story about what KIND of snow there is on Mars, and things to easily observe in the first half of September skies in the latest Galactic Times Newsletter. Be safe!

16/08/2021

If it looks like a duck...it must be an asteroid? See a moon of Jupiter, using a StarShade? What do college planetariums get used for? And do observing diaries help grades? These and more in the latest issue of The Classroom Astronomer Newsletter.

16/08/2021

Let's find a Nova! What's going to Mars? Can you Bennu? We aren't the center of the Universe, but we aren't even the standard type of solar system?? And Meghan wears the wrong zodiac constellation jewelry? All this and more in the latest Galactic Times!

02/08/2021

In this Classroom Astronomer issue, what does it look like on planets around red stars? How to make asteroid light curves with potatoes. Is your hometown a "henge"? Make antikytherae in your classroom! And that's for starters! And get Early Bird discounts on subscriptions and Hermograph products.

02/08/2021

Mars is where it is at in the latest issue of The Galactic Times. Also, Saturn and those pesky flying pebbles called the Perseids, and a bunch news about moons...ours and other worlds'. Subscribe and get it in your Inbox and don't wait so long for us to post it here!