Photo: UC Berkeley / SETI radio astronomy antenna dish array at Hat Creek, near Mount Lassen, California. One of the great things about radio astronomy is you don’t need clear skies to gather great information vital to your research. Such was the day when I showed up during a rainstorm while working on my last [...]

Picture(s): Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil skeleton in front foyer of the California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California Over the Thanksgiving Holiday week, I got my first chance, along with my family, to see the new home of the California Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Golden Gate Park. I had been to the [...]

Picture: Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, photographed by Neil Armstrong (visible in reflection) – Courtesy: NASA This month, the Boston Globe’s Big Picture marks the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11, the first mission to land a man on the moon. In a way, this is a happy anniversary because it allows us a chance to reflect on [...]

“So that’s what it looks like.” There’s an unmistakable feeling you get when you see something for the first time. It’s that sense of “wow” and awe when you discover something heretofore unknown. I had that feeling this last weekend as I came across a recent posting by one of my favorite photoblogs, The Big [...]

Picture: X-15 NASA Experimental Rocket Plane and storm clouds, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards AFB, near Mojave, California. How do you deal with photographic disappointment? What happens when you go after a shot with a certain set of expectations, and then you are totally foiled in your attempts to get that shot? I faced [...]

Picture: Touching fossilized dinosaur tracks, near Moab, Utah. Back when I was acting in college, one of my all-time favorite scenes was performing the closing act of Inherit the Wind, the dramatized tale of the famous Scope’s Monkey Trial that pit the Evolutionists against the Creationists. Yesterday it was announced in the news that Darwin’s [...]

I feel like I’m ready for lift off. My recovery has progressed to the point where I feel like I can start thinking of being a photographer again. It’s been almost a week since I last used my wrist brace, and I can now hold a plate of food in my left hand without needing [...]

Once again the Boston Globe’s BIG PICTURE has scored an impressive collection of images I felt compelled to pass along. This time, it’s a collection of photos taken from NASA’s Earth Observatory. These are remarkably crisp, detailed portraits of our planet, and well worth a look. The image above is not from some other world, [...]

And you thought you were having a bad day? Imagine this; You’re living on a planet somewhere. Then, all of the sudden, a blast of cosmic winds from the galaxy next door comes along, and toasts you, your planet, and all the other planets in your part of the galaxy. Sound far-fetched? It’s not. In [...]

Last night I was escaping the lull in the current heat wave by enjoying the night air (81 degrees F) lounging in my patio recliner. As I looked up, I saw a bright light moving through the sky. Normally, I’d just chalk it up to being another one of those body-snatching UFO’s… er… I mean, [...]