Actual flowing water may have been spotted on the equator of Mars. One of my biggest dreams is to be alive when we discover life elsewhere in the universe. This is just one step closer… And for a bonus, here’s a picture of actual frost taken by Viking 2 in the mid-70s. (Click to embiggen) […]
Welp… got that giddy, kid-like feeling again after stumbling upon these photos! How cool are these?! (Click to embiggen) These are pictures of different types of plankton. Some are plants, some are animals, and some are another classifications of life altogether. I love discovering new things. They make me happy. I get to play with […]
I recently got hooked on a computer game called Kerbal Space Program. It’s a light-hearted space simulator in which you design your own rockets and explore a fictionalized solar system. During one of my recent missions I became very intrigued by one of the fake planets and had that giddy feeling I remember having as […]
Comet ISON… I figure since everyone else in the world is talking about Comet ISON, I should probably write something about it! Welp, you’re going to be disappointed. Comet ISON was supposed to be the “Comet of the Century!” You couldn’t go anywhere without hearing about it. Or in my case, since people knew I […]
The picture is very indicative of the kind of weather we’ve experienced this Fall. Normally, Fall is the best time of year to do some observing since precipitation is low, skies are clear, and the air is dry. However, Fall 2013 has been notoriously wet and cloudy. If there was a break in the clouds, […]
It may have taken decades, but scientists are now certain to a very comforting degree (99.999999999%) that the Higgs Boson exists. Peter Higgs proposed the existence of a theoretical particle fifty years ago that would explain why things have mass. Ever since then thousands of people have worked to try and prove – or disprove […]
21:21 October 9th, 2013 It has been a while since I’ve updated but unlike other times, I haven’t been observing. I’ve been really busy doing a number of other things including building a homemade autonomous weather station, installing and configuring a full fledged custom home security system, and have dabbled with hobby electronics. Tonight, I’m getting […]
**UNDER CONSTRUCTION** -Fisher Observatory Weather & Light Station Flowchart (incomplete):
Written to commemorate and celebrate the Sept 12, 2013 announcement that Voyager 1 had entered interstellar space. (c) Stuart Atkinson Sept 13th 2013 The First Starship I needed no nacelles to push me onwards; No dilithium crystals crackled in my heart. Yet I have left Sol so far behind me she is Just a star […]
05:05:00 It’s the first morning I’ve tried my hand at any pre-dawn observing – any legitimate pre-dawn observing anyway. I knew this morning was gonig to be clear and have excellent viewing conditions so I set my alarm (and coffee pot) for 4am. -I have to say, pre-dawn observing (as opposed to early-evening/nighttime) is superior […]