The largest meteor shower of this year is occurring now.  Above is an extraordinary  photo of the Perseid meteor shower on 12August2021 by Josh Drur y ( right ) over Stonehenge.  You also see our Milky Way.  The Perseids, associated with the Swift-Tuttle comet, started Monday morning and will continue for up to five nights.  The best time to watch is near dawn before there is any kind of sunlight.   However, the best night was the first one, partly because of Moon conditions.  From all indications, not worth a bother watching the Perseids anymore this year. These flaming particles burn up by the time they get as close as 50 miles from the Earth's surface. Note that this comet has a 133-year orbit, and what you see is the leftover particles from previous visits. John Denver's song  Rocky Mountain High  makes reference to this shower. Almost all meteor showers are associated with a passing comet or asteroid, and some are named after...

Did COP28 accomplish anything?  According to Time magazine: COP28 Ends With Historic Deal to ‘Transition Away’ From Planet-Warming Fossil Fuels This global warming annual meeting this year was held in Dubai and chaired by Sultan Al Jaber of the United Arab Emirates.  He is, of course, a fossil fuel baron.   This UAE Consensus ended the summit to applause and cheers by the delegates. While it falls short of any kind of details to actually phase out, no previous COP text ever mentioned moving away from oil and gas. Considering who was in charge and where this gathering occurred, it was better than nothing. I brought with me on my 5-week Japan trip the October 2023 issue of  Scientific American .  There were several noteworthy articles that over the next few weeks could well become blog postings. What happens during a supernova? Metals that self-heal. Talking with animals.  How AI is changing the potential for intelligent communication. A fourth article,...