a blog from the staff of the Wolbach Library
This essay is part of our on-going series on Cultural Astronomy, which will address cultural and historical themes in astronomy with the hope of developing open and informed discussion on the complex, historically-rooted challenges facing our community. What does SETI have to do with issues of culture, equity, and justice? We open our Cultural Astronomy …
What skills are required to work as a professional astronomer? The question on its surface sounds easy enough to answer. A typical response might include “a strong grasp of physics”, “knowledge of coding languages”, or perhaps even “analytic thinking”. Yet these answers neglect to recognise another aspect of a career in astronomy– the need to …
Hi everyone, Sam and Nico here, the Star Notes researchers. Hope you’re all doing well! The current astronomer that we have up on our project is Sarah Breslin. It’s Women’s History Month, and we’re looking forward to showcasing the ways in which the women at the Harvard College Observatory impacted the history of science. We …
The Wolbach Library wishes good health to everyone during this global crisis. Highlights… SciShow breaks down what’s next for NASA’s Perseverance rover; It’s Okay To Be Smart explains the connection between the theory of special relativity and neuroscience; PBS Space Time reviews the possible discovery of the gravitational wave background; Seeker discusses the exceptional age of Super Earth TOI-561b; …
Hi everyone, Sam and Nico here, the Star Notes researchers. Hope you’re all doing well! Thanks to your efforts, we’ve finished going through all of the notebooks of Henrietta Hill Swope! As you might have seen from our last newsletter, we have a new format where we’re only working on one astronomer at the time. …
The Wolbach Library wishes good health to everyone during this global crisis. Highlights… Watch footage of last month’s conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn; Learn how Hubble schedules its observation of the outer planets; Cool Worlds breaks down the implications of potential signal from Proxima Centauri; See views of the surface of Mars from Europe’s Trace Gas Orbiter; PBS …
Hi everyone, Sam and Nico here, the Star Notes researchers. Happy New Year! Thank you all for your dedication and hard work during the last year! We really appreciate the wonderful community that is associated with this project. We hope you’re all having a nice holiday season. You can view some holiday-related images here or …
Hi all, Sam and Nico here, the researchers behind Star Notes. We hope you are all healthy and doing well. As the holiday season approaches, we hope you’re able to take some time for yourself and your loved ones, especially this year. As many of you are probably aware, the progress bar on the front …
The Wolbach Library wishes good health to everyone during this global crisis. Highlights… Learn how this next-gen satellite will 3D print itself in space; SciShow explains how radioactivity makes planets habitable; The connection between baryon acoustic oscillations and galaxy formation; PBS Space Time asks if time can be reversed; Fermilab considers the multiverse hypothesis! Playlist Archive Suggestions, …
The Wolbach Library has recently uploaded educational materials to the Smithsonian Learning Lab, which is a platform that connects educators with lesson plans and collections from many Smithsonian museums and libraries. Educators can search by age level, subject, or Common Core State Standards. The collections published by the Wolbach Library are part of Project PHaEDRA, …