The Guild of Scientific Troubadours

The Guild of Scientific Troubadours

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astronomy

Scientific illustration of a giant telescope from the 1800s, showing a few well-dressed science fans walking on to the tower that is the telescope.

Science Art: The Great Paris Reflector, 1898.

3 March 2025 grant 0

This is an image from The New Astronomy, a textbook of space sciences I found on archive.org.

It’s one of what was at the time the largest telescopes ever built, a reflector that used… Read the rest “Science Art: The Great Paris Reflector, 1898.”

Scientific illustration of the shadows cast by the Earth on the moon.

Science Art: Earth’s Shadow and Penumbra in Sections, 1898.

13 January 2025 grant 0

This delightful diagram appears on a page of A New Astronomy For Beginners that also has an almanac of “Important Future Eclipses” from 1898 (January 22, East African and India)… Read the rest “Science Art: Earth’s Shadow and Penumbra in Sections, 1898.”

Scientific illustration of the "Great Nebula of Andromeda," which we now know as the Andromeda galaxy (with two more galaxies in the frame too).

Science Art: Andromeda Galaxy, by Isaac Roberts, 1888.

30 December 2024 grant 0

It was this photograph’s anniversary today, or so said Robert McNees, posting on Bluesky’s science-communication feed.

On the 29th of December, 1888, a Welsh businessman,… Read the rest “Science Art: Andromeda Galaxy, by Isaac Roberts, 1888.”

SONG: “Einstein’s Idea” (a penitential Johnny Flynn cover)

13 December 2024 grant 0

SONG: “Einstein’s Idea (a penitential Johnny Flynn cover)” . (OGG version here.)

ARTIST: grant.

SOURCE: This is a penitential cover of a song by actor/singer/songwriter… Read the rest “SONG: “Einstein’s Idea” (a penitential Johnny Flynn cover)”

Scientific illustration of curved, glowing, colorful formations against the black backdrop of space - the curve of a galaxy like a horse's neck, a row of glowing spheres or discs like spinning Christmas lights, as photographed by the Webb Space Telescope.

Science Art: Interacting Galaxies Arp 142 (MIRI Image), by NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI.

10 November 2024 grant 0

This is a photograph of a strangely-shaped galaxy, as taken by the Webb Space Telescope. Or rather, a set of “interacting” galaxies, known collectively as Arp 142. From the… Read the rest “Science Art: Interacting Galaxies Arp 142 (MIRI Image), by NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI.”

Daddy-daughter alien decoding.

27 October 2024 grant 0

The European Space Agency reports on the team who successfully decoded an “alien” transmission actually sent by a probe orbiting Mars as part of a multidisciplinary project… Read the rest “Daddy-daughter alien decoding.”

James Webb will be looking for other Earths in unusual places.

25 September 2024 grant 0

Mashable has the details, but the general gist is the space telescope will not focus on Sun-like stars to find Earth-like planets (that is, rocky worlds with gaseous atmospheres). Instead,… Read the rest “James Webb will be looking for other Earths in unusual places.”

The Wow! signal probably wasn’t aliens (but is still wow).

21 August 2024 grant 0

Scientific American has a new explanation for the famous “Wow!” signal – the orderly burst of focused radio energy recorded in 1977 that seemed like it could possibly… Read the rest “The Wow! signal probably wasn’t aliens (but is still wow).”

There are oceans on Mars – but they’re too deep to get to.

21 August 2024 grant 0

PhysOrg says there’s liquid water on Mars (great!) but (aw!) it’s too far underground to tap:

The data from NASA’s Insight lander allowed the scientists to estimate

… Read the rest “There are oceans on Mars – but they’re too deep to get to.”

There’s a cave on the moon we could live in.

15 July 2024 grant 0

BBC reports on the discovery of a cave on the moon that has awakened a primordial proto-human urge in the space scientists observing it. They spot a cave on the moon and think, hey, we could … Read the rest “There’s a cave on the moon we could live in.”

Up to 60% of the objects nearest Earth could be “dark comets.”

12 July 2024 grant 0

PhysOrg reports on mysterious chunks of hard-to-see space rock all around us, even now. They contained – and might still contain – ice, which University of Michigan astronomers… Read the rest “Up to 60% of the objects nearest Earth could be “dark comets.””

Scientific illustration of Saturn eclipsing the sun, a dramatic image of the ringed planet backlit in space.

Science Art: Saturn Eclipse, Cassini Orbiter, 2006.

1 July 2024 grant 0

This is Saturn, as photographed (yes, it’s a composite photo, not a drawing) by Cassini as it passed in front of the Sun. Our Earth is visible, barely, if you zoom in and look “above… Read the rest “Science Art: Saturn Eclipse, Cassini Orbiter, 2006.”

A planet that is constantly exploding.

15 June 2024 grant 0

This discovery reminds me of some people I know. Mashable reports on the discovery 66 light years away of solar system “HD 104067,” with a planet so roiled by the graivty of its… Read the rest “A planet that is constantly exploding.”

Scientific illustrations of a demonstration of how the sun and moon's orbital planes have to line up in order for an eclipse to happen. A dapper young 19th-century fella in a suit is holding something like a saucer at arm's length, eyeballing it. The saucer is labeled with a "new moon" on one side and "full moon" on the other. Only when the disc is flat - that is, parallel to the fella's line of sight - is an eclipse possible. Otherwise, his sun-like eye will never be blocked from seeing both sides of the rim.

Science Art: Sun not in Plane of Moon’s Orbit – Eclipses Impossible, etc., 1898

12 May 2024 grant 0

This is an illustration — two illustrations, actually — from A New Astronomy for Beginners by David P. Todd. It’s actually an illustration of a demonstration, with … Read the rest “Science Art: Sun not in Plane of Moon’s Orbit – Eclipses Impossible, etc., 1898”

Scientific illustrations of rows of radio telescopes

Science Art: MeerKAT telescopes, 2018

29 April 2024 grant 0

They do look a little like meerkats, these big African satellite dishes. This is a photo from the Square Kilometre Array Organisation (SKAO) / South African Radio Astronomy Observatory… Read the rest “Science Art: MeerKAT telescopes, 2018”

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Honorary Troubadours
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— Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables, 1851
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