This month we reach the summer solstice. June 20 will be the longest day of the year and start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it’s […]
Science
SCIENCE AT RISK: PART 1
Seashore’s Scientists Search for the Way Forward
Budget cuts could undermine research efforts
This is the first in a series of articles on the Cape Cod National Seashore’s science program. It explores why science matters at the Seashore and why it’s at risk.
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Comet
Dirty snowballs travel alone in their long orbits
I no longer know what day of the week it is. I have friends and family across the street, or right upstairs, that I haven’t seen in weeks. My wife […]
ENVIRONMENT
Science Research Is Cut to the Essentials
Outer Cape naturalists’ fieldwork is postponed, leaving holes in data sets
With the ongoing pandemic, scientific research has been interrupted across Cape Cod. Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary has placed five staff members on partial furlough due to funding freezes, […]
Obituaries
Serge Le Gendre, 55, found peace in P’town
Serge Jean Luc Le Gendre of Provincetown died on Feb. 27, 2020. He was 55. Born in New York City, Serge lived most of his life in New York, but […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Venus, if You Will
Finding optimism in the night sky
I have never met a pessimistic astronomer.” A New York Times reader recently posted this comment, inspired by another reader’s delighted account of looking through a telescope. I haven’t either. […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Watching a Red Supergiant Die
One of Orion’s stars could blow any time now, or in 100,000 years
Betelgeuse — the star with the funny name. Maybe you know it from the 1988 movie Beetlejuice, about the eponymous poltergeist-for-hire. Or maybe you’ve heard the name in the news […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Gems of the Night Sky
A beginner’s guide to the rainbow of star colors
Stargazing in winter is not for the faint of heart. Who would choose to stand out in the freezing cold for hours, staring up at the sky for a glimpse […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
The Geminids Are the Death Fireworks of Meteors
Or maybe just a few shooting stars
I do a lot of my stargazing in New York City. That’s where I watched the transit of Mercury last month. I set up my telescope (with a solar filter) […]
