Author: cmcgenesis

By Jimmy Westlake, professor of physical science, Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat The annual Perseid meteor shower is now underway and is expected to peak on Thursday August 12.  While some meteor showers can disappoint because of slower than expected activity, the Perseid meteor shower is the “old faithful” of meteor showers because it dependably…

By Jimmy Westlake, professor of physical science, Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat When the bright moon is not in the sky, the dark summer night reveals one of its most spectacular treasures, the soft, misty glow of the Via Lactea, or, the Milky Way.   Contrary to what the ancient Romans believed, the Milky Way is…

By Jimmy Westlake, professor of physical science, Alpine Campus There aren’t many constellations that resemble the objects or creatures for which they are named.  Scorpius, the Scorpion, is a delightful example of one that does.  The celestial scorpion scampers across our southern sky on summer evenings, so this month is prime time for scorpion hunting.

Don’t be alarmed if you are sunbathing on a South Pacific isle this coming July 11 when suddenly the Sun disappears and the stars pop out at midday.  It’s just a total eclipse of the Sun.  Many of the islands in the South Pacific will experience about five minutes of the rare darkness produced as…

By Jimmy Westlake, professor of physical science, Alpine Campus As the Earth and Moon perform their perpetual orbital dance, sometimes their shadows are thrown onto each other creating an event called an eclipse.  Our word eclipse is derived from the Greek word ekleipsis, which means “to abandon.” 

By Jimmy Westlake, professor of physical science, Alpine Campus If you are an Ophiuchan, please raise your hand.  Hmmm… I’m not seeing any hands out there.  Perhaps you are an Ophiuchan and you don’t know it.  Please allow me to explain.

By Jimmy Westlake, professor of physical science, Alpine Campus Warm June evenings are perfect for stargazing and the upcoming month offers plenty of celestial events to keep you busy looking up.  Whether you are camping out under the stars or viewing from your back porch, you won’t want to miss these events.