JUST A QUICK NOTE to announce that, thanks to the talents of locally famous Sonoma artist and musician Jon Shannon Williams, my e-books now have handsome new covers – which (I strongly believe) are reminiscent of The Brothers Hildebrandt (Google same if you weren’t a Lord of the Rings fan in the 1970s). Please check him/them out and bask in the glow!
Month: April 2026
Moon Shot
THE FOUR ASTRONAUTS who recently swooped around the Moon and back again – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, may their names live forever – did more than visually explore Earth’s neighboring world from close quarters for the first time in decades.
They injected into this world a burst of hope and vicarious glory sorely needed in this age of cynicism, distrust, chaos and doomcrying.
Think of it. When’s the last time you felt a surge of positivity and pride at human accomplishments? Speaking strictly for myself, it’s been at least one year, three months, and a day or two.
But watching the Artemis mission’s textbook-perfect splashdown and recovery had me shedding at least one tear of grateful joy.
This is what humans can do when we all work together, I thought, dabbing my eyes with a tissue. This is what’s possible.
I don’t know about you, but I needed that.
Skygazer’s Arsenal
A FRIEND OF MINE, rendered rarely speechless, became so when I let slip an astronomical secret. She pressed me for details, and because you might want to know too, I’m passing them along:
The reason I have 18 astronomy apps on my [Android phone] is that, although some do overlap, each has a little something the others lack. Most are free, but I have also tossed a few bucks at my personal faves. They are… (drumroll)
– Star atlases/planetarium programs: Stellarium, SkySafari, SkyView, Sky Map
– Target catalogues (where and when to look for cool, if sometimes transient, stuff): TheSkyLive, Nightshift, Stargazing Hub, Telescopius
– International Space Station trackers: ISS Detector, Heavens-Above, ISS Live Now, Spot the Station
– Weather: Astrospheric, Field Guide to Clouds
– Solar/lunar observation: SpaceWeatherLive, LunarMap HD
– Misc: The Golden Record, NASA
And there you have it. Mystery solved, I hope!
Almost all of these are available at the Google Play Store. (Nightshift is no longer in development, alas, but it’s still my go-to for current weather-satellite imagery and customized-to-my-equipment “targets.”) If you find any of these useful, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.