Astronomy and Popular Culture, Part 1: Fantastical Comets!

Among the most amazing ephemeral sights in the night sky is the appearance of a comet. Throughout history, these “dirty snowballs” have been interpreted as omens of doom and harbingers of misery. Nowadays they mainly impact human behavior by causing people to grab their binoculars and telescopes and peer skyward, hoping to catch a glimpse. But the mystery and romance associated with unexpected cometary apparitions remains a powerful plot device in the hands of fantasy writers such as George R. R. Martin and Andrzej Sapkowski. Read more about how the appearance of comets affected both characters in recent fantasy novels and real world observers in “A Tale of Tails.”

Rainy Day Astronomy

The unofficial start to summer might be off to a cold and rainy start here in Central Connecticut, but you can still get your astronomy on! Here are several astronomy webinars and videoblogs starring (no pun intended) members of the CCSU Astronomy family!

AAVSO Solar Section How-to webinar: Dr. Kristine Larsen is the co-director of the AAVSO’s Solar Section. Learn how to observe the sun safely. For the impatient, the webinar proper starts at the 15 minute mark.

Invaders of Mars podcast: Dr. Jen Piatek was a panelist on this video podcast on Mars exploration

Exploring the Solar System: a 2020 Year in Review: Dr. Jen Piatek was a panelist on this video podcast celebrating the successes of 2020 in planetary exploration

What’s Up? June 1-15 edition: Planetarium Director Carol Ivers has posted the most recent in her ongoing series of virtual planetarium experiences. While she normally takes down old videos if they are out of date, you can watch some of her more general videos here.