Actually a Tigers fan first, but Bill’s joke is also true and works better!

Box filled with copies of the book A Jesuit’s Guide to the Stars

The day the new book arrived…

Multicolored swirl on a wall behind an altar

Sunset of the winter solstice through the stained glass onto the wall of our chapel, Jesuit Community of the Vatican Observatory,Tucson

View out a rain speckled window at the tracks out the rear of a train

There is something satisfying about riding a train on a rainy day. The fun of being indoors out of the weather without the guilt of thinking I should be out doing something today.
On the Texas Eagle en route to Tucson.

NASA's Europa Clipper Mission Launches - Vatican Observatory NASA's Europa Clipper Mission has started its Journey to Jupiter's Icy Moon

NASA's Europa Clipper Mission has started its Journey to Jupiter's Icy Moon

Astronauts & Stone — Heaven & Earth - Vatican Observatory Astronauts are one in a million — except in a certain stoney place, where they are two orders of magnitude more common.

Astronauts are one in a million — except in a certain stoney place, where they are two orders of magnitude more common.

October Newsletter #1 - An Alliance of History

The Vatican Observatory hosted the annual meeting of the Alliance of Historic Observatories (AHO) in Castel Gandolfo, with representatives from more than two dozen observatories around the world!

https://buff.ly/4eZJABz

Happening now! This comet. called a sungrazer, will pass VERY close to the Sun. This image was taken by NASA's SOHO spacecraft, which has discovered thousands of comets - several of which have dove right into the Sun!

Follow the comet here: https://buff.ly/3BBWyXR

Rams of sunlight on Lake Albano near the Vatican Observatory telescopes south of Rome

Busy day today; several interviews to publicize the opening of our telescopes here (Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo) for public visits, the “Night of research“ public program tonight, and in between I need to write my column for The Tablet. When do I get to do science?

Add me please! And thanks for this.

The Bittles

Zooniverse The Zooniverse is the world’s largest and most popular platform for people-powered research.

New data up at Galaxy Zoo: we urgently need help to classify images of galaxies from ESA’s Euclid mission - if you have a few minutes and want to see images no one has seen before, join us: www.zooniverse.org/projects/zoo... 🔭 📡 🧪

Alas no Worldcon for me this year. I have to be in South Africa for the international astronomical union general assembly.

The Light Ages - Vatican Observatory A new entry for the Vatican Observatory Faith & Science Resource Center: an engaging book in which the Middle Ages teem with curiosity and scientific discovery.

A new entry for the Vatican Observatory Faith & Science Resource Center: an engaging book in which the Middle Ages teem with curiosity and scientific discovery.

Waves 👋

I’ll wave as my train goes through Florence. I’m off to Brussels and the Meteoritical Society annual meeting.

Cliff Stoll, The Cuckoo’s Egg

Just a reminder to my American friends about trains in Italy. And yes this is mph not kph…

Repost how old you are, using a vague proxy.

When I was born, the President had no middle name, just a middle initial.

After my first ever meteorite paper, Very Big Name scientist said to me, “That’s a very good theory you presented; but do you actually believe it?”

Walking down Mass Ave to MIT for my 50th reunion. I swear I could still smell NECCO wafers though the factory (like most of the places I lived) is long gone…

It was probably 1977 (during my time at any rate). For many years it was strapped around the globe in the LPL library. Sadly, it wasn’t there last time I looked. Who asked him for the belt? Cliff Stoll, of course.

The author with a black cat at a cat cafe

Just before boarding my spaceship I stopped by the norbear library… (Crumbs and Whiskers cat cafe in Georgetown; now en route via Amtrak Cardinal to Chicago)

I got to visit the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan with some old friends and posed before the Chrysler turbine car. My dad was involved in its making, some 60 years ago; back then we got to ride in it and my sister even got to drive it!

Silhouette of person at art museum

I had a seven hour layover in Philadelphia en route to Rome so I had lunch with a physicist friend at Drexel and spent a few hours at the art institute. Along with the wonderful art my eye was caught by this…

Me, to my dentist, both of us in our 70s, while getting a tooth fixed and listening to the oldies station in the background: “I bet 50 years ago Manfred Mann never thought that Blinded By the Light would be Muzak in a dentist’s office”

Salt in tea? U.S. chemist’s recipe brews controversy in U.K. The U.S. Embassy in London and the British government both weighed in.

I showed my sister (I’m visiting her now in Florida) the Washington Post article

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/0...

and said “That’s my friend Michelle!”

She replied, “You run in such rarified circles “

Let's build a LEGO kit in tribute to the astronomer Galileo Galilei. I'm giving stop-motion animation a try.LEGO kit: LEGO Ideas "Tribute to Galileo Galei" #... LEGO Galileo Stop-Motion Animation

GaliLego…

youtu.be/jHAYD3kAZFY?...

See what happens when Lego gets out of control!

Be Guy on the cover of Credere with the title We, colleagues of the Magi, by a large telescope

I’m a cover boy once again, this time for an Italian Catholic magazine. I confess what amuses me most is seeing my MIT Brass Rat front and center.

Abbey in sunlight with mountains

Walking up a narrow medieval street

Today’s Christmas travels were to Valvisciolo Abbey and Sermoneta, beautiful bits of medieval Italy south of Rome.