moon

From the Earth to the Moon

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 22:57:24 +0000

No, this story is not about space travel. It is about the naming of elements, specifically, selenium, discovered by the Swedish chemist Jons Jacob Berzelius in 1817. He named it after Selene, the Goddess of the Moon. One might therefore assume that selenium has some connection to the moon, but it doesn’t. The element has no lunar link, but on earth, selenium-bearing minerals are often found together with tellurium-bearing minerals. When Berzelius discovered selenium, tellurium was already known, and had been named after Tellus, the Roman Goddess of the Earth.

Sunshine and Moonbeams

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 25 Dec 2020 17:00:00 +0000

When the imaginative little boy was asked in school to give an example of how heat makes things expand and cold causes them to contract, he authoritatively stated that in the summertime the days are long and in the winter they are short. Right now, we are struggling with those short days. Nobody likes the extra hours of darkness, but some people are actually sickened by them.

How Astrology Escaped the Pull of Science

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 20:44:29 +0000

Astrology is a funny thing. After having put up with decades of scientific probing, it has retreated to the one area that shields it from a rational critique: mysticism. It may surprise us to learn that in an age of genetic sequencing and powerful telescopes, a system of divination conjured up in the Levant thousands of years ago is still alive and well. In the midst of our pandemic, astrologers are reporting better business than usual.

Did You Know That Moon Dust Is Incredibly Toxic?

Ada McVean B.Sc. — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 18:30:00 +0000

There are no aliens on the moon, but that might not stop it from trying to kill us.

Lunar soil is exposed to micrometeorite impacts and because the moon lacks an atmosphere, constant intense solar wind. As a result, the soil is electrostatically charged, so much so that it can levitate above the surface of the moon.

The Dark Side of the Moon

Ada McVean B.Sc. — Sun, 14 May 2017 02:27:38 +0000

While it makes for a great album title, the dark side of the moon is simply a myth. As the moon rotates around the Earth, and the Earth around the sun, the moon is exposed to the sun’s light just as the Earth is. It’s easy to see why people think one side of the moon is always in the dark, because it is tidally locked, the same side of the moon is always exposed to the Earth. However the 28-day lunar cycle means that at some point, every side of the moon is exposed to sunlight.