18 September 2020 - THE STUNNING SUPERMOON OF 2020

THE STUNNING 

SUPERMOON OF 2020 

G'day folks,

In the evenings between May 6 and the morning of May 8, 2020, people all around the globe had the excellent opportunity of witnessing the last supermoon of the year - the so-called Flower Moon. 

The name of this spring moon comes from Native Americans, who determined the seasons of the year by tracking supermoons. This is because supermoons typically occur every season, 3-4 times a year, and they mark the point in time when the Moon is closest to the Earth, which makes it appear up to 15% larger than usual. 
 
This last supermoon was a real beauty, appearing in shades of red, pink, and yellow across the globe. But even if you didn't get the chance to gaze up in the sky, you can admire the beauty of the Flower Moon in the following photos capturing the supermoon in different corners of the Earth.

Clancy's comment: To be in that tower depicted in the last photograph above would have been very spooky.

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16 July 2019 - J. ALAN HYNEK and 'UFOLOGY'

J. ALAN HYNEK

 and 

'UFOLOGY'

G'day folks,

UFO's have always enchanted me. American astronomer J. Allen Hynek is best known for investigations of unidentified flying objects and efforts to promote "ufology" as a legitimate scientific pursuit.

Who Was J. Allen Hynek?

J. Allen Hynek (May 1, 1910 - April 27, 1986) studied astronomy at the University of Chicago before joining the faculty at Ohio State University. In the late 1940s, he analyzed reports of unidentified aircraft sightings as a consultant to the U.S. Air Force's "Project Sign." The following decade, he began conducting more thorough investigations under the umbrella of the renamed "Project Blue Book," with his discoveries fueling a quest to turn the study of UFOs into a legitimate scientific practice. Hynek later founded the Center for UFO Studies and published multiple books on the subject. One of them introduced the "Close Encounter" classification of sightings, inspiring the Steven Spielberg film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Project Sign and Project Blue Book

 

In 1948 astronomer J. Allen Hynek, then director of Ohio State University’s McMillin Observatory, agreed to help the U.S. Air Force investigate reports of unexplained aircraft sightings, including one that described the lightning-fast "flying saucers" above the Cascade Mountains in Washington.

As the astronomical consultant on "Project Sign," Hynek combed through the reports and sorted them into categories: There were those which were simply astronomical observations, like the appearance of a meteor, those explained by meteorology, like an unusually shaped cloud, and those which captured accounts of man-made objects, like balloons. That left about 20 percent with no clear explanation, though Hynek felt that answers would eventually surface and returned to Ohio State.

By 1952, with reports continuing to trickle in, the Air Force had rekindled the operation as "Project Blue Book." Hynek was also back in the fold and now granted the license to investigate the alleged sightings in the field. While he had harbored plenty of skepticism the first time around, he found his assumptions challenged by the rational recollections of witnesses, and began thinking about the legitimate scientific study of these "Unidentified Flying Objects" or "UFOs."

By the 1960s, Hynek had moved on as the chair of the Department of Astronomy at Northwestern University and was at odds with the stifling oversight of the Air Force. 

With the arrival of new intriguing cases, like a reported sighting of alien beings by New Mexico police officer Lonnie Zamora in 1964, Hynek began conferring with other curious Northwestern faculty members in what he called his "invisible college."

In March 1966, Hynek was dispatched to investigate reports of unusual lights in separate areas of Michigan over successive nights. Rushed to conduct his findings amid a horde of reporters, the scientist soon announced that the sightings were possibly the result of "swamp gas."

The term became a national joke, but Michigan Congressman and House Minority Leader Gerald Ford wasn't laughing and demanded the Armed Services Committee pick up what he felt was a shoddy investigation. Called to testify, Hynek used the occasion to argue for an extensive, transparent study of UFOs, marking his first public break from the Air Force.

With the formation later that year of the University of Colorado's "Condon Committee," named for director and physicist Edward Condon, Hynek was thrilled that UFO research had finally risen to a level of national importance. However, he was disappointed when the committee concluded two years of study with the report that there was no need to expend further resources on the subject. In 1969, Project Blue Book was formally shuttered for good.

No longer hamstrung by the Air Force, Hynek in 1973 formed the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) to further legitimize the field of "ufology." CUFOS enjoyed some successes in its early years, leading investigations of reported sightings while fostering working relationships with law-enforcement agencies.

Hynek left Northwestern in 1978 to devote his full attention to CUFOS. By the early 1980s, fundraising efforts were flailing and Hynek was forced to run the operation out of his home in Evanston, Illinois. He was lured to Scottsdale, Arizona, by a potential benefactor in 1984, though the promise of a revived operation failed to materialize.

CUFOS remains in existence, run by a devoted board of disciples who retain access to Hynek's files and continue to aid investigations of UFOs and other unexplained phenomena.

 Clancy's comment: Fascinating stuff.

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22 April 2017 - LEONARDO da VINCI

LEONARDO da VINCI

G'day folks,

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, more commonly Leonardo da Vinci or simply Leonardo, was an Italian polymath whose areas of interest included invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music and astronomy.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519) is one of the world’s greatest thinkers, artists and philosophers. In several different fields, from science to astronomy, he proved to be both innovative and several centuries ahead of his contemporaries. He is considered to be a key person in the birth of the European Renaissance period, which saw a flowering of new ideas, scientific discoveries and creation of beautiful art.

Leonardo was born an illegitimate son of a Florentine noble and peasant woman and grew up in Vinci, Italy. In his formative years he developed a love of nature and from an early age displayed his remarkable academic and artistic talents and capacities.

In 1466 he moved to Florence where he entered the workshop of Verrocchio. His early style reflected his teacher, but he soon developed an artistic sense which went far beyond his teachers rigid style. His first work of great significance was the “Adoration of the Magi” commissioned by monks of San Donato a Scopeto. Although unfinished, the work was a masterpiece and introduced several new ideas. In particular he introduced the themes of movement and drama. He also pioneered the use of Chiaroscuro. This is the technique of defining forms through the contrast of light and shadow. This would be later used to great effect in the Mona Lisa.

 In 1482 Leonardo went to the court of Ludovico Sforza for 16 years in Milan. Here he continued painting and also branched out into other interest such as engineering and anatomy.  During this period he painted the famous “Madonna on the Rocks” and also “the Last Supper” This has been described as one of the greatest spiritual paintings. With Christ at the centre of the picture it embodies great feeling and action as Christ is about to announce his imminent betrayal. Unfortunately over the time the quality of the original painting has deteriorated despite frequent restoration attempts.

In 1499 his patron L. Sfoza was defeated by the French invasion, thus Leonardo returned to Florence. During this period he painted the fresco of the battle of Anghiari. This artwork was to exert tremendous influence over future artists. However it was unfortunately never completed and was later destroyed. It was also in this period that Leonardo completed The Mona Lisa. 

The Mona Lisa is one of the worlds most famous and intriguing pictures. The Mona Lisa is a portrait of a wife of a Florentine noble. For several days she came to Leonardo and sat for her portrait to be painted. However she refused to smile, Leonardo even tried hiring musicians but to no avail. One day just for a fleeting second she gave a faint smile and Leonardo was able to capture it. Her smile encapsulates a tremendous mysteriousness which is both fascinating and intriguing.

Between 1506-1510 Leonardo spent time in Milan working on behalf of the very generous French King Lois XII. In 1513 he travelled to Rome where he enjoyed the patronage of the new Medici pope, Leo X. Here he worked with contemporaries such as the great Masters Michelangelo and Raphael. In 1515 he left to settle at the castle of Cloux, near Amboise by the kind invitation of Francis I of France. Here he spent his last years free to pursue his own studies. He died in 1519 leaving behind one of the greatest body of artistic and scientific works.

Clancy's comment: One smart man. Wow, 780 million dollars for the Mona Lisa!

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