When I became the director of Clark Planetarium in 2001, the “you’re kidding me!” news was that there have been discovered as many planets orbiting stars other than our Sun as there are planets in our own solar system. As 2011 begins, the number of these “exoplanets” discovered by astronomers exceeds 500. That breathtaking acceleration [...]
Clark Planetarium’s education department is going on the road to Thanksgiving Point for a star party tomorrow, Sept. 17, 2010. Held in the Solar System Walk Garden, the evening will provide a unique venue for nighttime observing.
This event is part of Thanksgiving Point’s NASA BLAST (Bringing Light and Space Together) program. The Solar System Walk [...]
Most mornings at 6:05 a.m. you’ll find me standing at a bus stop, patiently awaiting the arrival of the bus that brings me to work. Not a bad ride, actually. What would normally be a 25 minute drive is a 45 minute trip, during which I have the freedom to read a book, be online [...]
This week’s KUTV Cosmic Quiz winner is Cameron Porcaro. Cameron’s question was, “How far away is the nearest star to our solar system?”
Fun question!
How many stars are in our solar system? If you answered hundreds of billions, you are not alone. That is the most common answer I hear. The correct answer is…one. The Sun is the only star in the solar system. This illustrates a widespread confusion over the meaning of three astronomical terms, solar system, galaxy [...]
It’s week two of our Clark Planetarium, KUTV-2 Cosmic Quiz and I’m enjoying reading through the many questions we have received. This week’s winner is Ramon Nieto and he wants to know, “Is Pluto a Planet?”
Short answer: Not anymore!
Long answer:
When Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 (through an amazing combination of brainpower, hard [...]
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