My Page: Irwin Horowitz

<< Newer articles <<    Author Home     >> Older articles >>

6degrees AstroBlog

How can a small group organize a major environmental action in only seven weeks?

When folks think about environmental issues like global climate change, the city of Boise, Idaho doesn’t exactly leap to the forefront as a fertile ground for finding much sympathy and activism. Idaho is the reddest of red states in the union, and as such, environmental issues are often viewed as the domain of “hippies, commies and veggies,” and not something that real people should care about. So what chance did a small group of committed people have to organize a successful event in Boise calling for congressional action to address this growing crisis? We had just 50 days.

[more]

6degrees AstroBlog

Growing up in the late-60s and early-70s, there were two influences which greatly impacted my life. One was a flight of pure fantasy, the other were flights of pure wonder. Both instilled in my youthful heart a desire to reach for the stars. These influences were the classic television series Star Trek (yeah, I admit it…I’m a trekkie/er) and the Apollo lunar program. As such, it isn’t hard to imagine that my earliest heroes were the men and (later) women who achieved that goal of reaching for the stars.

In my teen years, as my eyesight gradually deteriorated along with my dreams of attending the Air Force Academy, my parents and I made a trip to southern California, where we took the opportunity to visit Palomar Observatory. We stood in the visitor’s gallery marveling at the immensity of the 200” Hale telescope, and I vowed at that time that one day I would be standing on the other side of that glass enclosure.
[more]

6degrees Astroblog

A nuclear plant to be built near Bruneau, Idaho?

Earlier this week, the Idaho Statesman had an article on the proposed nuclear power plant near Bruneau, Idaho. Virginia-based Alternate Energy Holdings, Inc. (AEH) has acquired the rights to 4,000 acres of land on the Snake River near CJ Strike Recreation Area and about 13 miles away from the state-owned astronomical observatory at Bruneau Dunes State Park. They plan to pursue licensing and construction for a 1600 MW nuclear reactor on this site, which would be the largest nuclear plant in the country, should it be built. Their current timeline, optimistic by some accounts, would be to complete licensing by 2011 and begin operating by 2015. The company is currently seeking out large investors to provide the expected capital - about $3 billion for construction costs including $78 million necessary for the licensing process.
[more]

6degrees AstroBlog with Irwin Horowitz

Children have a tremendous sense of wonder. They have a never-ending supply of excitement in learning about the natural world in which we live. Or do they? Certainly, their exuberance is practically infectious, but what happens in a few years, when they leave the joy of childhood behind and face the landmines of being a teenager? What happens to that excitement?

Last Friday, two members of the Boise Astronomical Society joined me for an education star party at Jackson Elementary School in Boise. Third grade teachers Sandy Stivison and Maggie Wilson, along with about 30 students and their parents, joined us at sunset under clear skies and [more]

6degrees astroblog with Irwin Horowitz

Well, it looks like we’ve got ourselves a new astronomy blog here at NewWest.Net/Boise. I hope that in the months to come, that this proves to be an enjoyable column for me to write and for you to read. My main columns will focus on some astronomical topic relevant for that month, along with some insights and discussion of what is currently visible in the night time sky. On occasion, when a news story breaks of astronomical interest, I will post a column about that topic on the blog. I would also like to utilize this column as a resource for astronomy clubs throughout the western third of the country (Rocky Mountains and Pacific coast) to advertise their events like monthly meetings, star parties and community activities. Lastly, if my readers would like me to post columns of educational value on a topic of interest, for example, black holes, I will certainly do my best to accommodate such requests.

Now, let us turn our gaze from matters terrestrial upwards towards the heavens… [more]

6degrees AstroBlog with Irwin Horowitz

Well folks, no sooner do we get this blog up and running than a news story hits the AP wire on the possible discovery of an Earth-like planet orbiting a star 20 light years from us. Gliese 581 is a red dwarf star, which means it is much less massive and much cooler than our Sun. The body, tentatively given the name 'GL-581 c' (astronomers are so creative when we name things :-), orbits so close to its parent star that a year takes only 13 Earth days, but because the radiation from the star is so much weaker than our Sun, the predicted surface temperature may range between 32 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit (0 to 40 degrees Celcius), and would therefore permit the existence of liquid water. This is crucial, as far as possible life is concerned, or at least life as we understand it. The planet has about 5x the mass of Earth, and if it is mostly rocky in composition, about 50% greater diameter than our planet. This combination results in gravity more than 2x greater than on Earth.

I will discuss the observational details involved in hunting for extra-solar planets at a later date, but suffice it to say that this object was discovered using the same techniques that have currently located over 200 planet-sized bodies orbiting numerous stars in the solar neighborhood. Until this announcement, each of these objects was either too large or too hot (or both) for scientists to expect the presence of liquid water. Until recently, many scientists involved in this endeavor didn't expect to find objects of interest orbiting such a small star as Gliese 581. The reason for this is that the range of distances which would result in the necessary temperature range is very narrow for these stars compared to larger, hotter, brighter stars. However, as it turns out, these very features also make such objects easier to detect using present observing techniques, since their orbital periods are much shorter and their effect on their parent star is more noticeable. [more]

6degrees AstroBlog with Irwin Horowitz

Well, it looks like we’ve got ourselves a new astronomy blog here at New West. I first want to thank Jill Kuraitis for providing me with this opportunity, and I hope that in the months to come, that this proves to be an enjoyable column for me to write and for you to read. While the emphasis of this blog will be on matters astronomical, I will, from time to time, discuss other topics that are of interest to me. My main columns will focus on some astronomical topic relevant for that month, along with some insights and discussion of what is currently visible in the night time sky. On occasion, when a news story breaks of astronomical interest, I will post a column about that topic on the blog. I would also like to utilize this column as a resource for astronomy clubs throughout the western third of the country (Rocky Mountains and Pacific coast) to advertise their events like monthly meetings, star parties and community activities. Lastly, if my readers would like me to post columns of educational value on a topic of interest, for example, black holes, I will certainly do my best to accommodate such requests.

I do want to make the following disclaimer here, at the top of my very first blog post. In February, I signed up to become an independent ecopreneur with a new startup company called Citizenre. What we are working towards accomplishing is making renewable energy systems affordable to a large segment of the US population. In particular, in the near term, we are going to be providing solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems to single family homes nationwide. As such, from time to time, with the permission of my kind publisher here in Boise, I will be discussing the company’s vision and providing insight into some of the behind-the-scenes details. If this opportunity is of interest to you, please e-mail me and I will be very happy to answer any questions you have.

Now, let us turn our gaze from matters terrestrial upwards towards the heavens…
[more]

<< Newer articles <<    Author Home     >> Older articles >>