psychohistorian.org
Mon 2010.03.08
astronomy
To switch off: your lights, on March 27.
Sun 2010.03.07
admin
So, there it is. A few hours ago my laptop and cellphone were stolen. Wailing and gnashing of teeth will no doubt be the order of the day for a while. Meanwhile, if you have my cell phone number, please e-mail me yours so that the healing can begin.
Sun 2010.02.28
journal, photography
Imaged: Simonsberg.
astronomy,
photography
Rose: the Moon over Coetzenburg.
astronomy,
photography
Arrayed: Sunday-morning stars over Stellenbosch.
Sat 2010.02.27
lecture
To attend: The Origin of Life (Cape Town, March 17).
Wed 2010.02.24
astronomy, south africa, meerKAT
Imaged: Flying over meerKAT last week.
AD&D
To buy: Surfacescapes.
astronomy, minor planets, occultation
Report: Varuna occultation event.
astronomy,
photography
Three photos from Sutherland: "All-star guest house", "Looking south" & "Galactic centre risen".
journal, photography
Three photos: Passing through the Hex River Valley.
Tue 2010.02.23
astronomy
Recently opened: Martin Lyon's new backyard observatory.
astronomy,
photography
Photographed: Lightning over SAAO Sutherland.
modelling
From ESO: NGC 346 in the Small Magellanic Cloud.
Sun 2010.02.21
astronomy, ASSA
To attend: The 8th Biennial ASSA Symposium, Silverton, Pretoria, 2010 October 07 & 08.
modelling
To ponder: Alan Baker's evaluation of simulation-based definitions of emergence in the current issue of JASSS.
modelling
To keep in mind: the forthcoming cognitive modelling repository at OSU.
astronomy, outreach, IAU
To browse: CAP 2010 programme.
astronomy, SSN
PDF download: March Southern Sky Almanack.
Fri 2010.02.05
journal, blaireaux
Thu 2010.02.04
astronomy
To enjoy: http://www.zam.fme.vutbr.cz/~druck/
Wed 2010.02.03
updated 2010.02.04
astronomy, SAAO, NRF
"Concern over top SA astronomer's suspension" (Cape Times, Feb 04, page 5)
"Astronomical observatory head suspended" (Business Day, Feb 02)
"Phil Charles suspended" (The e-Astronomer blog, Feb 02)
"Chief astronomer suspended" (Cape Times, Feb 01)
"DA calls for transparency from NRF about renowned astronomer's disciplinary hearing" (DA Newsroom, Jan 29)
Tue 2010.02.02
education
via: Hans
A different kind of Jesus Nut.
Mon 2010.02.01
Wed 2010.01.27
atheism
via Chris
Fred on the religion of science.
Sun 2010.01.24
astronomy, photos, Orion's Sword
To see: Orion's Sword region, imaged from Somerset West last week by Dieter Willasch.
Stellenbosch
To attend: an opening exhibition, of Artspace44, at 44 Church Street, Stellenbosch, on Friday February 05 @18:00.
Eddie
To attend: Its No Joke With Eddie Izzard, at Cape Town International Convention Centre, on Thursday February 04 @20:00.
Mon 2010.01.18
astronomy
Sat 2010.01.09
Mon 2010.01.04
astronomy, eclipse
Sat 2010.01.02
astronomy, eclipse
Sat 2010.01.02
Thu 2009.12.31
Sunday
2009 November 29
19:54
Astronomy
On AstroNet a posting from Wessel du Preez, who is from Senekal, Eastern Freestate:
"I would appreciate it if people with the same interests in astronomy from this area could contact me so we could share some experiences and maybe create some new ones of our own."
If you're in the area, contact me and I'll pass on Wessel's details.
Saturday
2009 November 28
08:57, 14:26
Astronomy
meteor/fireball
News from Willie Koorts that another fireball may have burst over southern Africa.
On Sunday evening, 2009 October 18, glowing rings in the sky were widely reported, caused by venting of rocket fuel from a recently-launched Centaur rocket.
Last week, Saturday November 21, a bright fireball – presumably ending up as a meteorite – was widely seen over the northern parts of South Africa.
Yesterday, Friday November 27, another fireball may have been seen, over Mpumalanga. More information as it comes in.
Astronomy
astrophotos
A delightful image of the area around eta Carinae, taken by Kos Coronaios. Enjoy.
Friday
2009 November 27
13:01
Astronomy
astrophotos
A lovely image of the Alpine Valley region, taken by Dieter Willasch. Enjoy.
Thursday
2009 November 26
09:58, 12:37
Astronomy
meteor/fireball
Thanks to Dirk Ross of the lunarmeteoritehunters blog, I've found a third video of Saturday's bright meteor.
Wednesday
2009 November 25
00:02, 20:29
Astronomy
meteor/fireball
Thanks to Oleg Toumilovich for finding a second video of Saturday's bright meteor. The video was posted on the website of 702 Talk Radio (but the link to YouTube was incorrect). Enjoy.
Psychology
modelling
At Edge, Dehaene gives an overview of his ongoing work on the neurological correlates of consciousness.
Tuesday
2009 November 24
09:56, 15:43
Astronomy
meteor/fireball
Saturday's bright meteor was captured on footage from the security cameras of the Mustek building in Midrand, writes Owen Swart. Check it out on YouTube – and many thanks to user @dimity123 for posting it there for all to enjoy!
Meanwhile, eyewitness reports keep coming in.
Wednesday
2009 November 18
09:12
@Sutherland
Astronomy
meteor shower
At least from Sutherland, the Leonids didn't appear to be in outburst this morning. Ernst and I saw one exceptional fireball (around 01:30 SAST on Nov 18), a horizon-hugger travelling from Cancer to western Andromeda and leaving a persistent trail.
Do check out Victor van Wulfen's lovely Leonid shot taken on the 15th (link to spaceweather.com).
Thursday
2009 November 12
00:13
Astronomy
deep sky
From IAU Circular 9094, this intruiging news:
The central star of eta Carinae, lighting up the Homunculus nebula, has recently brightened to V=5.1.
"The star now accounts for half of the total light seen in the Homunculus nebula, compared to less than 10 percent before 1995."
"In view of the central star's 0.6-magnitude brightening since its 2006 peak… unsteadiness in 2007-2008, and 0.5-magnitude increase in mid-2009, eta Car currently merits frequent attention by additional observers."
For recent results and an historical light curve, visit this dedicated La Plata Observatory web page.
Astronomy
Jupiter
The IAU has announced the official designation and name of the 50th confirmed Jovian moon; S/2003 J 17 will now be known as Herse (the daughter of Zeus and Selene).
Astronomy
weird names
The IAU Committee on Small Bodies Nomenclature has sanctioned the new name for the first moon of the transneptunian minor planet (50000) Quaoar: "Weywot".
Wednesday
2009 November 11
15:08
Tuesday
2009 November 10
20:50
Astronomy
astrophoto

Oleg Toumilovich captured the return of sunspot #1030 this afternoon.
Atheism
dress code
Via: Gerrit
"Remember Friday, 13 November 2009 is Casual Day for Jesus.
"Let's show our unity in faith for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by wearing a blue jeans and a WHITE top."
'Unity in faith', eh? God forbid.
Astronomy
coffee
Via: Hans

Saturday
2009 November 07
15:52
Astronomy
Via: EJFF
The "Bad Astronomy - Myths and Misconceptions" show at the Iziko Planetarium (Cape Town) starts on December 12. Topics of discussion include: "Were the Apollo visits to the Moon actually a hoax?", "Have aliens landed on Earth?", and "Can you tell your future by the stars?".
Astronomy
outreach
Despite heavy cloud, Jupiter was on view last Thursday on the US Campus, courtesy members of the SGC.
Sunday
2009 November 01
01:12
Astronomy
SGC, outreach
Members and friends of the Star Gazers Club met at the Barnyard School on Saturday for an evening of astronomy.
Friday
2009 October 30
13:37, 14:23, 15:12
Astronomy
astrophoto
Dale Liebenberg's current imaging project, the Helix Nebula, a beautiful work in progress.
Astronomy
astrophoto

Newsmaking sunspot, imaged yesterday by Kos Coronaios, while presenting an outreach activity at Mvelelo Spring.
Astronomy
outreach
Kos Coronaios and the Limpopo Astronomy Outreach team visited Mvelelo Spring – story and pictures after the jump.
Journal
humour
Sad but true what passes for journalism these days. All journalists should have http://www.snopes.com engraved on their foreheads. Meanwhile, enjoy.
Wednesday
2009 October 28
01:13, 22:55
Astronomy
ESO's VLT has snapped NGC 4755, the Jewel Box. Take a look for yourself.
Trivia
Name the sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score, or even who the leader is, until the contest ends.
Give up? Click here.
Monday
2009 October 26
19:29, 21:17, 21:29
Astronomy
photos
Anthony Ayiomamitis recently captured the Sun setting dramatically behind the Church of St Sotirios in Oropos, Greece.
Humour
Via: Hans
Astronomy
deep sky resources
Via: Willie
Now you, too, can bigbrother Sutherland.
• SALT cam
• SAAO-Sutherland cam (requires manual page refresh)
• SAAO-Sutherland weather info (SuperWASP site)
Sunday
2009 October 25
17:29, 22:56
Astronomy
photos
A selection of deep sky images taken by Kos Coronaios in mid-October.
Astronomy
outreach
Reports and photos from the third Galilean Night, on Saturday 24th.
Saturday
2009 October 24
11:15
Astronomy
space craft
Space ships over South Africa – reports and images compiled from around the interweb.
Astronomy
outreach
Reports and photos from the second Galilean Night, on Friday 23rd.
Friday
2009 October 23
02:37
Astronomy
outreach
Reports and photos from the first Galilean Night, on Thursday 22nd.
Monday
2009 October 12
10:58
Saturday
2009 October 10
09:12
Friday
2009 October 09
21:10
Via:
Chris Stewart
Need more Scrabble-fu? Go here.
Astronomy
outreach
Die groot weergawe van die logo kan jy aflaai vanaf die IYA ouens se website.
Thursday
2009 October 08
16:06, 17:02, 19:25
Journal
news
What happens when you strap a digicam to an albatross and let it loose in the southern oceans?
Dr Sakamoto and colleagues have the details (and more pics).
Astronomy
news
The global ocean on Jupiter’s moon Europa contains about twice the liquid water of all the Earth’s oceans combined. New research, presented today by Richard J. Greenberg (LPL, U.Arizona) suggests that there may be plenty of oxygen (a hundred times more than previously estimated) available in its ocean to support life.
Journal
Medical interview with important health advice. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Astronomy
photo, Moon, LCROSS impact
Oleg Toumilovich images the crater Cabeus in anticipation of tomorrow's LCROSS impact.
LCROSS will search for water ice on the Moon by making two impacts into the crater at the lunar South Pole. The impacts are scheduled for 13:31 and 13:35 SAST on Friday afternoon, October 09.
Journals
photos, Cape Town, Gordon's Bay, Strand
Travels with Clint in and around Cape Town, October 02-05.
Wednesday
2009 October 07
15:36, 22:32
Tuesday
2009 October 06
13:10
Astronomy
photos
Dale Liebenberg recently imaged the beautiful Lagoon Nebula. Enjoy.
Tuesday
2009 September 29
09:05
Astronomy
outreach
From Thursday October 22 to Saturday October 24 the world will be celebrating Galilean Nights, an outreach activity that is part of the IYA 2009 effort.
A data sheet for each evening, as well as a star chart, has been prepared for southern Africa, tabulating basic info on the Sun, Moon, Jupiter and the starry skies.
Ons gaan op Stellenbosch, Strand, Kleinmond, en Brackenfell die "Sterreaande van Galileo" met die publiek deel, so kom loer gerus na berge op die Maan, die reuse planeet Jupiter met sy belangrike mane, en 'n paar mooi diep-ruim voorwerpe.
Atheism
Kobus van Rensburg
The fraudulent faith healer "Prophet van Rensburg" continues to be newsworthy, as the latest crop of comments show.
Monday
2009 September 28
20:05
Astronomy
HST, photos
A newly released set of images, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope before the recent Servicing Mission, highlight the ongoing drama in two galaxies (NGC 4522 and NGC 4402) in the Virgo Cluster affected by a process known as "ram pressure stripping", which can result in peculiar-looking galaxies.
An extremely hot X-ray emitting gas known as the intra-cluster medium lurks between galaxies within clusters. As galaxies move through this intra-cluster medium, strong winds rip through galaxies distorting their shape and even halting star formation.
Astronomy
observing journal
Members of the Cape Centre held their monthly dark sky outing on September 19, and Richard Ford reports.
Wednesday
2009 September 23
16:18
Astronomy
outreach
Astronomy highlights for October, including details of planned Galilean Nights events.
Jupiter
photo
Kerneels Mulder captures Io in transit.
Astronomy
outreach, Kos
Kos Coronaious puts on a show at the Science Expo at Mitchell House, Limpopo.
Friday
2009 September 11
12:48
Sutherland
photo
Jurg Wagener captures a freezing moment.
Via:
Chris Stewart
Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.
– H. L. Mencken
Tuesday
2009 September 08
12:04
Astronomy
outreach
Kos and Cuan hold an impromptu star gazing evening at Makhado Mall.
Astronomy
SGC
The inaugural meeting of the Star Gazers Club (SGC) was held yesterday evening. A brief report and some photos are on the SGC website.
Thursday
2009 September 03
00:42, 12:58
Astronomy
images, Moon, Jupiter
"What is that bright star next to the Moon?" Oleg's photo reveals all.
Astronomy
almanack
A summary of the year's sky events, presented in calendar format. Great for planning your 2010 outreach events well in advance.
Wednesday
2009 September 02
19:05, 19:36
Updated
2009 September 07
Psychology
A fascinating paper from the latest PLoS ONE compares the efficacy of naturopathic versus psychotherapeutic treatment of mild to severe generalized anxiety.
Modelling
Two British researchers explore the use of mathematical techniques from quantum field theory in theoretical ecology and mathematical epidemiology, showing that the new methods make many calculations easier and could introduce novel approximations to modelling difficult scenarios.
You can find the details online at PLoS ONE.
Astronomy
deep sky
My favourite galaxy featured today in an ESO press release. NGC 4945 in Centaurus was imaged with the Wide-Field Imager attached to the 2.2-m MPG/ESO telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile.
Enjoy the beauty at http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/press-rel/pr-2009/pr-31-09.html
Tuesday
2009 September 01
00:09, 18:38
Astronomy
deep sky, image
Dany shares his image of the Swan Nebula.
Astronomy
history, tongue-in-cheek
Computers and astronomy have a very long history, dating back to at least the 19th century.
Monday
2009 August 31
22:01
Astronomy
Moon, astrophotos
One of the youngest lunar craters, imaged with one of the newest astrocameras.
Sunday
2009 August 30
18:54, 22:03, 23:06
Astronomy
space-craft, astrophotos
At dusk, the ISS (and five minutes later, the space shuttle) made a bright pass over southern Africa. Carol, Kos, Oleg and Mitchell Krog have the images.
Astronomy
outreach, SGC
Friday and Saturday night saw us patrolling the streets at night, expecting curious people at every turn ... these are the men and women of: the STAR GAZER's CLUB!
Journal
photos, Sutherland
A morning's snowfall in Sutherland transformed Kambro-Kind into a beautiful white fairyland.
Saturday
2009 August 29
13:59
Astronomy
IYA, outreach
Upcoming IYA event, focussed on Jupiter and its moons.
Plan and publicize early.
Thursday
2009 August 27
11:17
Astronomy
photos, Jupiter, O-cam
While in Sutherland this past New Moon, Hans and I experimented further with the Foton AstroCam. One of the images we got was of Jupiter, the stacked version shown here.
Wednesday
2009 August 26
00:10, 01:49, 13:03
Astronomy
astrophotos
Via: Oleg
During the recent Waterberg Planetary Festival (August 2009), Oleg photographed a variety of objects, including: the southern Milky Way, the Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae, the Andromeda Galaxy, the Ring Nebula, the Small Magellanic Cloud, the Swan Nebula, and Jupiter during a shadow-transit of Io.
Astronomy
Southern Sky News
The September sky diary, a list of what's going on in the southern skies this month.
Astronomy
outreach
Via: Kos
The WPF was held over two days, and Kos gives us an exclusive insider's scoop of this year's successful event.
Astronomy
outreach
Via: Kos
Kos tells about his outreach at Vaalwater.
Tuesday
2009 August 25
20:02
Astronomy
deep sky, image
Two new images from Anthony: the Tulip Nebula in Cygnus (Sharpless 2-101) and Barnard 143 in Aquila.
Astronomy
deep sky, image
Two new images from Dany Duprez to enjoy: the Small Magellanic Cloud and a wide field around omega Centauri.
Wednesday
2009 August 12
23:48
Astronomy
deep sky, image
Four new images from Dany Duprez to enjoy: the Milky Way near Crux, a wide-field region near Serpens, a close-up of NGC 3532, and the Sagittarius Milky Way seen through one of the domes at the Cederberg Observatory.
Sunday
2009 August 09
00:39, 09:13, 16:54
Astronomy
outreach
Via: Kos
Kos & Cuan put up a show at the Letaba Show in Tzaneen.
Astronomy
astrophotos, Moon
The Moon rising over the Hill of Wolves, imaged by Anthony Ayiomamitis.
Via: Gustav
Haikus are easy
but sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator.
Saturday
2009 August 08
22:15
Friday
2009 August 07
20:42
Clint
"The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos."
H. L. Mencken
I really like this fellow:
"One seldom discovers a true believer that is worth knowing."
"Philosophy consists very largely of one philosopher arguing that all other philosophers are jackasses. He usually proves it, and I should add that he also usually proves that he is one himself."
"Religion deserves no more respect than a pile of garbage."
"Say what you will about the Ten Commandments, you must always come back to the pleasant fact that there are only ten of them."
"Sunday School: A prison in which children do penance for the evil conscience of their parents."
Wednesday
2009 August 05
19:15
Astronomy
deep sky, image
Beautiful nebulosity around the 8th mag star HD 87643 in Carina, imaged with the ESO's 2.2-m telescope at La Silla Observatory, Chile.
Tuesday
2009 August 04
18:07
Astronomy
Jupiter, Venus

On July 19, a dark spot was observed on Jupiter. And a bright spot on Venus! Whatever is our solar system coming to!
Meanwhile, the image at right was taken by Oleg using the FOTON AstroCam attached to an 8-inch f/10 and a 2x Barlow. 306 video frames (720x480 pixels) were stacked for this composite. Notice the Great Red Spot.
Astronomy Now Online has the Venus story.
Monday
2009 August 03
01:48
Astronomy
Jupiter
Second attempt at imaging Jupiter. This time, I used Martin Lyons' Celestron 9-inch SCT and a FOTON AstroCam. The video feed was converted to a sequence of 2,700 still frames which were then processed in RegiStax 4.
The left image is one of these frames; the other is the result of the stack.


Sunday
2009 August 02
01:08, 10:38, 13:17, 14:29
Astronomy
Jupiter
First attempt at capturing Jupiter. Using "Maphefo" (8-inch f/6 Dobsonian; no tracking) and a FOTON AstroCam, 300 frames from a 720x576 pixel video feed were auto-processed in RegiStax 4.
The left image is one of these frames; the other is the result of the stack.


Astronomy
outreach
Via: Kos
Kos Coronaios and the Limpopo Astronomy Outreach visited Elim and the local high school (Elim Secondary High School) this weekend.
Astronomy
Jupiter
Via: Oleg
The impact marking on Jupiter, imaged on 2009 July 23 by Oleg Toumilovich (FOTON AstroCam, TAL 8-inch f/10 Klevtsov Cassegrain and 2x Barlow). The south pole of Jupiter is at the top of the image.
P.S. Is there another Jupiter impact?
Humour
Via: Brandon
Astronomy
Jupiter
For a few days, the 6th mag star 45 Capricorni will masquerade as a fifth Galilean Moon.
Look out for this spectacular sight starting on Monday evening, August 03, from Jupiter-rise onward. Soon after the planet becomes visible, look for Io, Europa and 45 Cap making a tight triangle west of the planet.
Soon after midnight, Europa and 45 Cap approach Jupiter's western edge. An hour or so later, Europa disappears into Jupiter's shadow, leaving 45 Cap gleaming at the planetary perimeter. Depending on your exact location, the star will drop behind the planet early in the morning, followed by Io.
Shortly before sunrise on Tuesday morning, August 04, the four moons and 45 Cap will all be strung out east of Jupiter.
The evening of Tuesday the 4th, as soon as Jupiter is visible, you'll again see the "five moons", with Callisto being the most far-out. Around midnight, Ganymede and Europa will have a very close get-together, and in binoculars, Jupiter will again have four "moons".
By the time Ganymede and Europa are well-separated, early-morning on the 5th, Io will have vanished behind Jupiter. Before sunrise on the 5th, five "moons" will again be visible, with 45 Cap now lying nearest the far-flung Callisto.
By sunset on the 5th, 45 Cap will be located out beyond Callisto, left behind as Jupiter and its entourage continues their westward journey.
Saturday
2009 August 01
23:54
Astronomy
Jupiter
Despite late nights and compulsive alarm setting, I still haven't seen the impact mark on Jupiter.
The impact mark, first recorded on July 19, apparently transits just over 2 hours after Jupiter's Great Red Spot, and a favourable event was predicted for tonight (Saturday, August 01, at 23:34 SAST).
Despite day-long cloud, it seemed clear enough to attempt an observation late night. Maphefo (8-inch f/6 Dob) was ready and waiting, and soon after 23:00 I was keeping a vigil at the eyepiece.
The seeing was OKish, I guess. Sharp detail swam into view from time to time, and I even used the 6mm Ortho with a 2x Barlow for a barely useable 400x. Best views were at 130x (18mm Ortho + Barlow).
Despite my efforts, nothing out of place was visible in Jupiter's southern nethers.
The Southern Tropical Zone was particularly white and quite clearly defined - nice. The Northern Equatorial Belt had a pronounced dark thickening, which transited not long after the impact mark was supposed to. I'm not a planetary observer, so I have no idea what the marking is called. In any event, no shadow transits were indicated.
By 23:45 the cloud cover had increased substantially, and Maphefo was laid to rest.
By SMS came the news that neither Hans nor Ed had any luck spotting the impact mark either.
Bah-humbug.
Friday
2009 July 31
09:54
Astronomy
deep sky, observing log
Richard Ford shares his latest crop of observations, made on July 18 at Perdeberg (Cape Town).
Thursday
2009 July 30
00:32, 01:25
Astronomy
deep sky, astrophotos, dark nebulae
A beautiful image of a beautiful nebula, taken by Greek astrophotographer Anthony Ayiomamitis.
Astronomy
ASSA, AGM, awards.
Some remarks from the 2009 ASSA Annual General Meeting, held in Cape Town on 2009 July 29.
Wednesday
2009 July 29
00:08, 17:18
Astronomy
deep sky, books
Author Wayne Mitchell shares his story about writing the first South African deep sky observing book.
Astronomy
deep sky, images, Lucas Ferreira
Surely one of the most sublime deep sky objects is the Swan Nebula (or the Omega/Horseshoe/Checkmark/Lobster Nebula), currently floating serenely overhead in Sagittarius late-night. Lukas Ferreira captured it with his 8-inch Newtonian.
Tuesday
2009 July 28
03:30, 18:23, 19:40
Atheism
"Some people are still unaware that reality contains unparalleled beauties. The fantastic and unexpected, the ever-changing and renewing is nowhere so exemplified as in real life itself."
Berenice Abbott (1898-1991)
Astronomy
SSN
Find out what the Moon, stars, planets and constellations are up to in the southern skies this August in the current edition of Southern Sky News.
Thursday
2009 July 16
Astronomy
outreach, astrophotography
One of my dreams is to be able to share a telescopic view of the night sky with a large group of people. This dream is on the threshold of becoming a reality, with the introduction of a brand-new camera system, based around a Sony colour CCD sensor, developed by our very own Oleg Toumilovich, of Foton Optoelectronics.
The "Foton Astrocam System" recently came out of prototyping and the first unit is being used by Kos Coronaios for his outreach activities in the Limpopo region.
Its impressive performance on the Moon and Saturn have already been demonstrated. Now, the first deep sky images have been released.
Oleg used his 100mm f/10 refractor to image the eta Carinae Nebula on Tuesday evening. The new camera, which attaches to a USB port, delivers live images - see the sample frame.
If that's what a four-inch can do, can you imagine what a 12-inch will show?
More images, and technical details, can be browsed on the Foton Astrocam pages.
Sunday
2009 July 12
Atheism
humour?
[A] "Hey, what are those things you are wearing?"
[C] "These are my gravity shoes!
[A] (puzzled) "What on earth for?
[C] "Well, gravity is only a theory. So I'm using Velcro and magnets to make sure I don't float away.
[A] (dumb-founded) "That's not how gravity works!"
[C] "Yeah, well, it's an explanation that I understand.
[A] (stunned) "But… Uh… So a bad explanation you understand is better than reality?"
[C] "Yup."
Thursday
2009 July 09
Humour
Via: Johann
t: 16·35
Humour
beer
"Well, you see, Norm, it's like this. A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it's the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members."
"In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Now, as we know, excessive intake of alcohol kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. And that, Norm, is why you always feel smarter after a few beers."
Cliff to Norm, "Cheers"
Tuesday
2009 July 07
Astronomy
Moon, images
Tonight's Full Moon is the smallest for 2009. To image it, I made my way up to the roof-top of one of the taller buildings in town, and used extra zoom.
Astronomy
deep sky, image
The Omega (Swan, Checkmark, Horse Shoe, Lobster) Nebula (NGC 6618, Messier 17) graces our winter skies at the moment. This 15 light-year wide complex of stars, gas and dust lies 5500 light years away from us, nearer the galactic centre than we are, on the inner edge of the Sagittarius arm.
The ESO released a new image of this celestial beauty today.
Monday
2009 July 06
Atheism
popular press, South Africa, criticism
Another response – by Clinton Armitage – to Prof Amie van Wyk's recent challenge to atheism.
Sunday
2009 July 05
Atheism
popular press, South Africa, criticism
Some weeks ago, Prof Amie van Wyk wrote an essay that was published in a widely-read Afrikaans newspaper. Part of his essay dealt with atheism, and posed a number of challenges to atheistic thinking.
As an atheist I welcomed his essay, but as I read and re-read it I became more and more puzzled.
Saturday
2009 July 04
Journal
AD&D
t: 01·22
I was going to buy a Dungeons & Dragons book this month.
Instead (but staying with the theme) I picked up a copy of Partridge's "Encyclopedia of New Religions: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities".
How many plots do you think this will inspire? Reckon my players will find them believable?
Astronomy
observing equipment
t: 00·07
I got a swanky new green laser pointer yesterday. It comes with an instruction manual.
Friday
2009 July 03
Astronomy
images, Moon, atmospheric phenomena
t: 23·29
An SMS sends me scurrying outside under the cloudy skies and upwards to the 11-day-old Moon.
Atheism
popular press, South Africa, criticism
Three responses to Prof Amie van Wyk's recent challenge to atheism, the first by Bruce Dickson, the second by Auke Slotegraaf, and the third by Paul.
Let's hear what you have to say.
Astronomy
Helix Nebula, images
The 8.2-metre Subaru Telescope atop Maunu Kea has zoomed in on a small portion of the Helix Nebula, a beautiful planetary nebula located in Aquarius and visible in binoculars.
The new images reveal thousands of knots of molecular and atomic material within the nebula being ripped apart by radiation from the dying star at the nebula's centre.
View these close-ups on the Subaru homepage.
Thursday
2009 July 02
Astronomy
Moon, NASA
The first images from the Moon taken by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) have been transmitted to Earth. Enjoy them on the LRO homepage.
Atheism
creationism
Kitty, over at Atheist Nexus, reports that a contingent of palaeontologists took a field trip to the Creationist Museum in Cincinnati, USA. The New York Times has the details.
Or if you prefer, you can get the Good News at PhysOrg.com.
Humourspelling

Monday
2009 June 29
Internet
"The first message sent over a computer network [on 29 October 1969] was supposed to be login, but it was truncated to lo by a system crash. … It took an hour to bring the system back up before login could be transmitted…"
Banks, M A (2008) On the Way to the Web: The Secret History of the Internet and Its Founders. Apress. p6.
In the same year, the first human landed on the Moon, Woodstock happened, and Charles Manson went on a killing spree.
Astronomy
outreach report, Limpopo, IYA
Kos Coronaios reports on the first leg of the Limpopo Astronomy Outreach project.
Sunday
2009 June 28
Astronomy
observing event
t: 17·25
The ASSA Pretoria centre is hosting a Dark Sky Weekend on 17 & 18 July. The venue, the Lord Milner School 20km east of Bela-bela, promises near-perfect observing conditions.
If you plan on attending, please let me know.
Atheism
popular press, South Africa, criticism
t: 16·58
Prof J. H. (Amie) van Wyk's week-end article "Three debates, many questions" levels some questions at the atheists.
Friday
2009 June 26
Astronomy
ISS, web tech
t: 19·16
If you're a Twitter user, you can now receive an alert when the ISS will be passing over your location!
If you don't use Twitter, don't worry, you're not missing much. You probably have a life already.
If you don't know what the ISS is, well, really, HEL-LO, Earth calling Luddite!!
History
Via: Brandon
t: 17·37
The Italian news agency Adnkronos has revealed that the patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia has told Benedict XVI, the pope of the Roman Catholic Church, that he will unveil the Ark of the Covenant, which has been hidden away in a church in his country for millennia.
Humour
Via: Fats, Brandon
t: 14·17
Atheism
Sam Harris
Via: Johann Penning
t: 00·23
The Reason Project (co-founded by Sam Harris) is devoted to spreading scientific knowledge and secular values in society, striving to "encourage critical thinking and erode the influence of dogmatism, superstition, and bigotry in our world."
Amen.
Thursday
2009 June 25
Astronomy
explosions, comets, space shuttle
Researchers from Cornell University say that the mysterious 1908 Tunguska explosion that leveled 830 square miles of Siberian forest was almost certainly caused by a comet entering the Earth's atmosphere. The conclusion is supported by an unlikely source: the exhaust plume from the space shuttle.
Astronomy
Via: Maciej Soltynski
Sarychev Volcano (Kuril Islands, northeast of Japan) caught in the act by astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
Wednesday
2009 June 24
Astronomy
Journal, Sutherland
Photos from the past week-end's public star gazing in Sutherland.
Tuesday
2009 June 23
Astronomy
SSN
Learn about the Moon, stars, planets and constellations visible in the southern skies this July in the current edition of Southern Sky News.
Monday
2009 June 22
Astronomy
Deep sky obs report
Kerneels Mulder of Prince Albert presents twenty observations of objects on the "Top 100" list.
Thursday
2009 June 18
Astronomy
publications
The international journal Astronomy & Astrophysics is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. This week, A&A comes out with a free special issue that reprints 40 influential articles published in the past 40 years. Each of the selected articles is published together with a commentary highlighting the context of its publication and what we've learnt since then.
Wednesday
2009 June 17
Journal
evolution, philosophy of science
The June 16 edition of PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) carries a series of articles from the "Two Centuries of Darwin" colloquium. Contributors include Daniel Dennett and Michael Ruse. The PDFs can be downloaded for free.
Tuesday
2009 June 16
Journal
website news
As part of the reworking of psychohistorian.org after the disastrous May Hack, I analyzed the server logs for 2008 November and December.
Monday
2009 June 15
Astronomy
Saturn, images
In images made possible only as Saturn nears equinox, NASA's Cassini spacecraft has uncovered for the first time towering vertical structures in the planet's otherwise flat rings that are attributable to the gravitational effects of the small nearby moon Daphnis.
Sunday
2009 June 14
Atheism
psychology & religion
A thoughtful extract from Connolly's Approaches to the Study of Religion.
Saturday
2009 June 13
Astronomy
solar eclipse, astrophoto
Monica Loubser, active member of the Unika Voortrekkers in Johannesburg, took a lovely image of the partially eclipsed Sun on January 26.
Astronomy
SAAO, Sutherland, media
Thembela Mantungwa of the SAAO advises that the 20-inch telescope at Sutherland, and its jockey, Francois van Wyk, will feature on the TV programme "YOTV Blast", broadcast on SABC-1 on Tuesday, June 16, between 16:00–16:15.
Catch it if you can.
Monday
2009 June 08
Astronomy
Deep sky obs report
A clear night under dark Sutherland skies during the past New Moon (2009 May 26) in which I almost discover a galaxy and a star cluster.
And during which ice forms on the hair dryer as the temperature drops to –4°C and the thermometer freezes to the car roof.
Astronomy
Astrophotos
atmospheric phenomena
On the way back from ScopeX, as we were landing at Cape Town International, I spotted the shadow of our aeroplane on the nearby clouds below.
And as the Sun came out, a glorious halo formed around where I was sitting. Praise Jesus!
Saturday
2009 June 06
Astronomy
Journal
deep sky observing
Dates for deep sky observing sessions in Sutherland for the remainder of 2009. If you're in the area, let's hook up.
Friday
2009 June 05
Astronomy
Lucas Ferreira
Astrophotos
Lucas Ferreira, recently-appointed ASSA Double Star Section director and keen astrophotographer from George, shares two of his recent deep sky images.
Astronomy
SSN
Learn about the Moon, stars, planets and constellations visible in the southern skies this month in Southern Sky News.
Wednesday
2009 June 03
Astronomy
Pete Scully
Astrophotos
A selection of images by Pete Scully: 47 Tucanae & omega Centauri, the Tarantula in the LMC, and the Keyhole region of NGC 3372, the eta Carinae Nebula.
Astronomy
ScopeX
event report
ScopeX, the annual astronomy & telescope exhibition hosted by the ASSA Johannesburg Centre, was delightful. Make sure you clear your schedule and book your flight for next year's event.
Monday
2009 June 01
Wednesday
2009 May 27
Astronomy
ASSA
Outreach
Case Rijsdijk, director of the ASSA Education and Public Outreach section, has received a special award from the NSTF.
Saturday
2009 May 16
Astronomy
Dany Duprez
Astrophotos
Dany Duprez images the Rosette Nebula, the Christmas Tree Cluster and Hubble's Variable Nebula in Monoceros.
Science
Science
Scepticism
Skepticism
Everything on psychohistorian.org is © 2004-2009 by Auke Slotegraaf, unless stated otherwise or if you can prove you have divine permission to use it. Before using material published here, please consult the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.