Words from the Wetherbee Archive

Albany – Sky watchers can once again see a sight that has not been seen for three years: a complete lunar eclipse. The eclipse is expected to begin shortly before midnight next Monday, December 20^th, and will continue on until just after 5:00 in the morning on the 21^st.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes opposite from the sun, through Earth’s shadow. While there are other types of partial lunar eclipses where only portions of the moon are hidden in shadow, a total lunar eclipse can only occur during the full phase of the moon. This is because the moon has to line up just right on the other side of Earth, exactly opposite of the sun.

Read the rest of this entry »

Albany – When asked what they are studying in college, most students in Southwest Georgia probably would not answer with “astronomy.” One teacher in Albany, Georgia, though, is slowly changing that.

Dr. George C. Flowers, associate professor of Chemistry at Darton College, who also teaches several introductory science courses, has been taking some of his classes over the past several years to visit the Wetherbee Planetarium at Thronateeska Heritage Center. Much of the content covered in the planetarium is used to supplement teaching material used in the college classroom.

Read the rest of this entry »

Albany – A recent report was submitted to the NASA Advisory Council by the Ad-Hoc Task Force on Planetary Defense that called on Congress to allocate additional funds above and beyond NASA’s annual budget for planetary defense. The threat? Asteroids.

The report recommends that NASA and the US government take steps toward establishing a Planetary Defense Coordination Office that would cooperate with other national governments for the deflection and/or destruction of asteroids that are on course to collide with Earth. In light of all of the natural disasters that seem to be plaguing Earth as of recent years, former astronaut Russell Schweickart says that “Happily, in the instance of asteroid impacts, this is a natural disaster which can be prevented.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Albany – Many of the holidays we now celebrate have their roots in nature. Ancient peoples paid a great deal of attention to the world around them and many of them were far more familiar with their night sky than people in our day and age. As their own personal calendars and cues for when to plant or harvest their crops often came from signals in the stars, many were familiar with particular star patterns, lengths of daylight through the seasons, and when equinoxes and solstices would take place. While this generalization cannot be applied to every ancient people group, it does hold true for some ancient civilizations, such as the Mayans, Aztecs, Greeks, Romans, Celts, Arabs, Japanese, Egyptians, Chinese, and some Native North Americans people groups.

Read the rest of this entry »

Albany – Think we are alone in space? Think again. It turns out there is a “zombie” of sorts orbiting Earth, and it is covered in solar panels. Meet Galaxy 15.

Read the rest of this entry »

Albany – Astronomers are experiencing a new challenge: they simply have too much data. Joshua Bloom of the University of California, Berkeley says that in just the past 30 years, the technology used in astronomy has become so advanced that astronomers have become inundated with data. The cause? Digital photography.

Bloom said in a recent presentation at the California Academy of the Sciences that digital photography has brought about an evolution in the way astronomers work; they now spend more time combing through data that comes pouring in from digital telescopes than they do actually looking at the sky. “The data rates are going to preclude human involvement,” he said. “There’s just too much of the stuff.”

Read the rest of this entry »