Bombardment of 7 orbs
November 25, 2021
If too many rocks hit a planet by chance
It breaks up the system’s whole resonant dance! … More Bombardment of 7 orbs
A cosmic time capsule
October 25, 2021
The time capsule must serve as a beacon. Any other civilization that detects it should immediately suspect that it is of artificial origin. And it needs to survive for countless billions of years. … More A cosmic time capsule
Cohorts of stars orbiting black holes (with planets, moons, and eclipses!)
September 9, 2021
This post starts off with some world-building, jumps into eclipses and moons’ orbits, and finishes with a brand new Kalgash system that Isaac Asimov would be proud of (dropped into darkness every 2000 years!). More than one planet can share the same orbit around a star. This is not big news: the concept of Trojan … More Cohorts of stars orbiting black holes (with planets, moons, and eclipses!)
We’re in the cosmic 1%
February 8, 2021
Just one stretched-out orbit takes up lots of space
Can’t add any planets, there just isn’t space
Now, circles are best. And trust me, I’ve tried
Eight or ten orbits fit nicely inside. … More We’re in the cosmic 1%
Reading Earth’s Destiny in the “Blood Spatter” Around Other Stars
February 1, 2021
The Sun will puff up to gargantuan size
As big as Earth’s orbit. And fill up our skies
The red giant Sun will eat Venus alive
But Mercury’s first. It will not survive. … More Reading Earth’s Destiny in the “Blood Spatter” Around Other Stars
The mystery of the missing planets
January 25, 2021
Where are those Trojans? Just where are they hiding?
Are they at the store, or maybe hang-gliding?
We think they exist — just what have we missed?
Well, every good story should end with a twist… … More The mystery of the missing planets
Behold Jupiter and Saturn, the bullies of our Solar System
December 21, 2020
Some people like to call Jupiter and Saturn the “architects” of the Solar system, as though they had a clear plan for how our system should turn out. Not us. We think of the gas giants as bullies that pushed Earth around and made a lot of decisions for us. … More Behold Jupiter and Saturn, the bullies of our Solar System
Cohorts of co-orbital planets
November 19, 2020
This post is an adventure in world-building. I use N-body simulations to find orbital configurations of planetary systems that (I think) are completely new, pretty awesome and unexpected. It involves cohorts of co-orbital planets… … More Cohorts of co-orbital planets
Black Holes, Stars, Earth and Mars — my astronomy poem book!
October 22, 2020
These poems were written for every age
There’s rhymes and astronomy on every page
There’s science galore, and plenty of jokes
It’s perfect for kids or for any old folks. … More Black Holes, Stars, Earth and Mars — my astronomy poem book!
Asteroids — the poem
June 30, 2020
Ceres is Queen of the belt. She’s the best-a.
Her husband is Pallas. Court jester is Vesta.
She makes up a third of the belt on her own
She’s cratered and icy and sits on her throne. … More Asteroids — the poem
PLANETPLANET 