Tag Archives: history

Porphyrion: Black Hole Jets on a Cosmic Scale

We’ve known about “black hole jet systems” for some time, but never one as big as Porphyrion: a 23,000,000 light-year giant. I’ll be talking about that today, along with how astronomers have been studying it, a plausible explanation for its … Continue reading

Posted in Discursive Detours, Journal, Science News | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Radian Aerospace PFV01, Remembering Max Valier

It’s not what I’m writing about this week, but an article in TechCrunch about a prototype space plane got my attention. And reminded me of a promising development of the 1920s that didn’t work out. About a century back, someone … Continue reading

Posted in Back to the Moon, Onward to Mars, Discursive Detours, Series | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Principles, Priorities, Politics: and Being Catholic

Another election is looming, so I’m reviewing how being a Catholic affects how I vote. I’ll mention what the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) calls the “Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching”, share some links, and talk about … Continue reading

Posted in Being a Citizen, Being Catholic, Journal | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Cursed(?) Diamond’s Story: The Koh-i-Noor

Last week, I said I’d have “…tales of cursed gems, glow-in-the-dark diamonds, diamonds from outer space…” ready this week: “barring the unexpected”. Then the unexpected happened. But I do have most of the Koh-i-Noor’s story ready for you. I pieced … Continue reading

Posted in Being Catholic, Diamonds and Gems, Discursive Detours, Series | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

A Big Diamond, a Little History, and Some Geology

I take commercial puffery with a grain of salt, but that 2,492 carat diamond from the Karowe mine does seem “epic”. It’s also what I’ll be talking about this week: along with the Karowe mine, Botswana, what diamonds are and … Continue reading

Posted in Diamonds and Gems, Discursive Detours, Science News, Series | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments