Tag Archives: cosmology

A Star by Any Other Name, and a Galilean Interlude

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Brian H. Gill

I started writing about stars, names, designations and how we got to a point where Sirius is also known as BD-16°1591, ADS 5423 and GJ 244. That started me thinking about telescopes, Galileo, Aristotle and Dante. One Star, Many Names: … Continue reading →

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HD 63935: Two Sub-Neptunes and Maybe More

Posted on October 23, 2021 by Brian H. Gill

Designations like HD 63935 b and c don’t exactly roll of the tongue. Although with a little work I might pronounce them “trippingly on the tongue,” as Hamlet put it. Maybe saying “sixty five ninety three five bee and cee” … Continue reading →

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Supernova Requiem: Reruns From a Gravity Lens

Posted on September 18, 2021 by Brian H. Gill

Nothing in this universe lasts forever, including stars. Massive stars live fast and die young: exploding as supernovae. One of these, AT2016jka, nicknamed “Requiem,” was first spotted in 2016. It showed up again in 2019. Scientists figure they’ll get another … Continue reading →

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“One Small Step” in a Long Journey

Posted on July 20, 2019 by Brian H. Gill

“A journey of a thousand li starts with a single step.” (“Tao Te Ching,” Laozi) “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” (Neil Armstrong) I figure the journey to Earth’s moon began when someone looked … Continue reading →

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