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There Is No Such Thing as a "Nuclear Scientist". There Are Only Physicists

Let’s bury the dangerous, lazy, and politically convenient idea that there exists a distinct...

The Thirty Meter Telescope May Be Cancelled Not by Ordinary People's Protest, but by Wealthy People's Whim

Astronomy, it seems, finds itself at the mercy of political caprice and economic machinations yet...

NASA Predicts Asteroid 2024 YR4 Might Hit The Moon.

According to observations made by NASA using the James Webb Space Telescope, there is a three point...

Basically No chance 2024 YR4 will hit Earth.

Recent observations have virtually eliminated any concern about an impact from asteroid 2024 YR4...

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Hontas FarmerRSS Feed of this column.

My research focuses on astrophysics from massive star formation to astroparticle physics. Born and raised in Chicagoland I have lived in Bellwood, IL since 1984 and attended public schools here... Read More »

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Direct detection of CMB B-Mode Polarization by the BICEP2 team. Yay! Now what does any of that mean?

Direct detection of CMB B-Mode Polarization by the BICEP2 team. Yay! Now what does any of that mean?

Mar 17 2014 | comment(s)

The first reported direct detection of gravitational waves via the B-mode polarization of the CMB may have supported the simplest and most popular inflationary models.  Results from the European Space Agency’s Planck CMB observing satellite may or may not contradict these new findings.  Great, what does any of that mean?  I present a plainly worded, but not patronizing, explanation of all this.  The B-mode polarization of the CMB is what it is called but what does that mean and why is it important?  How might this week’s smashing announce

A View of Cosmos A Space Time Odyssey.

A View of Cosmos A Space Time Odyssey.

Mar 10 2014 | comment(s)

I will blog my real time reaction to Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Seth MacFarlane's Cosmos remake. From the perspective of a relatively young astrophysicist and science educator.

7:20 PM CST: I love astronomy and astrophysics. When people would ask me what my dream job was since I was 16 I would say a theoretical astrophysicist. That was when I read "A Brief History of Time" by Prof. Stephen W. Hawking. Now I am at the entry level of the university or college educator career track. This reboot was made to appeal to a younger audience. So it will be interesting to see if I like this. If I don't, then it would not bode well.

True Classical Black Holes Don't Exist Says Stephen Hawking. I Say He's Right.

True Classical Black Holes Don't Exist Says Stephen Hawking. I Say He's Right.

Jan 26 2014 | comment(s)

In a paper posted to the arXiv a few days ago Stephen W. Hawking the preeminent expert on black holes argued quite effectively that given what we know about quantum gravity they don't exist. Quantum theory allows for matter and energy to escape from a black hole albeit very slowly, and scrambled up. In fact this process has been known for a very long time and is named "Hawking radiation".

NASA's Hubble images of distant galaxies by gravitational lensing. How an astronomer sees them.

NASA's Hubble images of distant galaxies by gravitational lensing. How an astronomer sees them.

Jan 09 2014 | comment(s)

The most scientifically interesting objects are not the bright blueish white ones in the center of the image, but the small reddish looking ones off to the sides.  Here's how and why. 

Predictions! The physics and astronomy stories to watch for in 2014.

Predictions! The physics and astronomy stories to watch for in 2014.

Jan 01 2014 | comment(s)

Predictions for 2014: No firm direct detection of dark matter, a better understanding of the Higgs boson, an announcement that Fermilab will live with a muon and neutrino related program, and a surprising and troubling reception for Neil DeGrasse Tysons Cosmos.  Those are my predictions for 2014.  Various collaborations are working very hard to detect dark matter and it seems we have tantalizing clues that something is there to find.  2014 will see more clues but not a discovery.  As we work on the Higgs we will understand it better.  I predict it will be well explained by the standard model of particle physics.  That Fermilab will have a new lease on life with a neutrino and muon based program in the future is a bit of a gamble.  Las

The First Thanksgivings - Cannibalism, War, Ethnic Cleansing and Love.

The First Thanksgivings - Cannibalism, War, Ethnic Cleansing and Love.

Nov 28 2013 | comment(s)

Twenty years before the Pilgrims, the first events which could be called thanksgiving days in the history of English speaking America occurred in Virginia in the early 1600's.