Of the grand order of folio leviathans, the Sperm Whale and the Right Whale are by far the most noteworthy. They are the only whales regularly hunted by man. To the Nantucketer, they present the two extremes of all the known varieties of the whale. As the external difference between them is mainly observable in their heads; and as a head of each is this moment hanging from the Pequod's side.
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Of the grand order of folio leviathans, the Sperm Whale and the Right Whale are by far the most noteworthy. They are the only whales regularly hunted by man. To the Nantucketer, they present the two extremes of all the known varieties of the whale. As the external difference between them is mainly observable in their heads; and as a head of each is this moment hanging from the Pequod's side.
Andrew Fraknoi
A rare eclipse of the Sun will be visible all over North America on April 8th.
March 23, 2024
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
This year February will have an extra day -- we discuss why?
February 11, 2024
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
Wednesday evening and Thursday morning (Dec. 13-14) is the peak time for one of the best meteor showers of the year – the Geminids.
December 10, 2023
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
The first images are coming in from the new Euclid Space Telescope and they are spectacular.
November 8, 2023
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
Saturday Oct. 14 North America will be treated to an eclipse of the Sun.
October 7, 2023
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
Two eclipses of the Sun will be visible in North America during the 2023-24 school year.
August 19, 2023
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
We make suggestions for how best to see the 2023 Perseid meteor shower.
August 5, 2023
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
Explains a new movie of distant galaxies and remote time from the Webb Telescope.
July 18, 2023
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
The Webb Telescope has found a complex building block of life in a galaxy seen just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang.
July 4, 2023
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
Astronomers have seen a star explode in a nearby galaxy. Such explosions are part of the recycling scheme of the universe.
May 28, 2023
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
On April 20, the Japanese Hakuto-R spacecraft took a remarkable image of the Earth from orbit around the Moon, showing a …
April 27, 2023
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
What the Perseverance Rover and Ingenuity Helicopter have been doing on Mars.
April 4, 2023
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
Check out an Older Hubble Telescope Image that will Leave You Star-struck We astronomers often talk about the vastness of things …
March 17, 2023
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
(And A New Science Fiction Story) Here is a new image that the James Webb Space Telescope people designated their “Image …
February 5, 2023
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
There is a faint new comet in the sky, on an orbit that took it some 50,000 years to come in …
January 27, 2023
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
News of a PBS TV program on how first contact with an alien civilization might happen & a link to my latest science-fiction story on the same topic.
January 7, 2023
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
It's the Winter Solstice, when we experience the shortest day and longest night.
December 20, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
Astronomers working with the James Webb Space Telescope have just identified the most distant galaxy ever observed by human eyes. This …
December 3, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
One of strongest hopes astronomers have for the James Webb Space Telescope is that it will reveal to us many of …
November 20, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
There will be a total eclipse of the Moon visible from all of North America on the morning of Nov. 8th.
October 24, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
An image combining information from the Webb and Hubble telescopes shows a pair of contrasting galaxies and holds promise for future studies.
October 9, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
Astronomers working with the James Webb Space Telescope recently unveiled a beautiful new image of one of the largest and most …
September 14, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
The giant planet Jupiter is shown in remarkable detail from the giant James Webb Space Telescope. The powerful northern and southern lights are easily seen in this image.
August 24, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
The James Webb Space Telescope has taken an intriguing image of a cosmic accident victim — a large galaxy that was …
August 2, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
Soon after the scientists working with the Webb telescope released their gorgeous images for public consumption, they also started making available …
July 26, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
The James Webb Space Telescope reveals two stars at the center of a nebula that is a kind of death shroud around them.
July 18, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
We are looking at a brand new picture of five galaxies (islands of billions of stars), four of which actually hang …
July 15, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
Among the new James Webb Space Telescope images just released is this stunning view of a region where new stars and …
July 13, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
NASA has released the first image from the Webb Telescope and Einstein would be very pleased. The image shows a dense …
July 11, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
Recently, I was a guest on the Forum talk show on the San Francisco Bay Area public radio station, KQED, and …
July 7, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
The Hubble Space Telescope has taken a wonderful new image of a huge cluster of stars in our Milky Way Galaxy. …
June 4, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
Some specialists in comet and meteor science are predicting that we COULD have a new, never-before-seen meteor shower on the night …
May 27, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
An international team of astronomers, working in the collaboration known as the Event Horizon Telescope, has announced the first image of …
May 12, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
On Sunday evening, May 15th, there will be a very nice total eclipse of the Moon visible from the U.S. (and …
May 1, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
I am tickled to report that one of my science-fiction short stories, about using a black hole to escape the pain …
April 20, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
NASA announced this week that their archive of confirmed “exoplanets” — planets going around stars other than the Sun — now …
March 31, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
February 18 was the anniversary of the discovery of Pluto (in 1930), and thanks to the efforts of the outreach staff …
February 19, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
Astronomers, using the Hubble Space Telescope and other instruments, announced today that they had seen something never before observed in a …
January 14, 2022
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is to many astronomers the space observatory of the next decade. I am happy to report …
December 28, 2021
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
1. What Is Happening? On Thursday evening Nov. 18 and Friday morning Nov. 19, an almost total eclipse of the …
October 27, 2021
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
Explore the Universe in a Fun, Non-credit Class On-line for People Over 50 Come explore such cosmic sights as: NASA’s new …
September 14, 2021
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
This Wednesday evening and Thursday morning (Aug. 11-12), there will be one of the better meteor showers of the year for …
August 6, 2021
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
I am happy to report that “Flash Fiction” magazine in England today published my very short, astrobiology-theme story “I Swallowed a …
July 24, 2021
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
There will be a nice and conveniently timed total lunar eclipse (where the Moon goes dark) during the evening of …
January 3, 2019
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
NASA’s InSight lander on Mars has sent back its first “selfie” — a great mosaic of 11 images, taken by the …
December 20, 2018
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
On Wednesday morning, January 31, residents of North America (and particularly those on the west coast) will experience a rare triple event: …
January 26, 2018
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
By a cosmic coincidence, the first day of 2018 will have a nice full Moon in the evening. And …
December 30, 2017
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
Astronomers around the world have been observing a small but fast object that gives every indication of coming from some other star …
December 6, 2017
Posted by Andrew Fraknoi
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