On December 28, 1895, the Lumière brothers, Auguste and Louis, unveiled their Cinématographe for the first time to the public. Paris was filled with the buzz and excitement about the event because up until now it had only been shown at private screenings. Almost…
On December 15, 1612, astronomer Simon Marius [Mayr or Mayer] became the first modern observer to locate and describe the Andromeda galaxy. Telescopy being in its infancy, however, he detailed how its shape to his eye appeared like that of a candle flame. The…
On December 14, 2016, the Geminids meteor shower is on schedule! This extended meteor shower is visible to night sky observers around the world for about two weeks from its annual “return” to Earth’s point of view. Unlike other meteor showers that have been…
On July 15, 1943, British astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell was born. As a research student, Bell Burnell assisted in the physical construction and operation of a Cambridge university radio telescope, consisting of thousands of poles wired and cabled over several acres of land. Additionally,…
Right to the Core On June 4, 1889, geophysicist and mathematician Beno Gutenberg was born and made the study of Earth’s interior his life’s work. He was the first to determine the radius of Earth’s core. Perhaps the most important information geologists gather about…
On May 2, 1497, John and Sebastian Cabot set sail from Bristol, England, financed by Italian banks and authorized by Henry VII to find and investigate new lands. Cabot father and son reached a new found land on June 24th. Thinking it to be…
On April 26, 1900, physicist and seismologist Charles Francis Richter was born. A Californian intrigued by earthquakes and the waves of energy they release, he worked with Beno Gutenberg, a world authority on Earth’s interior physics and the man who proved Earth had a…
On April 20, 1798, geologist William Edmond Logan was born in Montreal. He began assessing coal suppliers for an uncle’s copper plant in Wales. Logan became involved in mapping out coal resources nearby that were so accurate, that the Geological Survey of Great Britain…
On November 26, 1837, English analytic chemist John Newlands was born. During his working life, the Chemical and Physical Sciences were abuzz with researchers and experimenters trying to get a handle on the atomic structure of molecules and whatever else that might be discovered…
On This Day in 2012, Space Shuttle Discovery officially retired. It was transported to Dulles International Airport en route to the Smithsonian where it has become a permanent exhibit. Discovery is now amidst thousands of aviation and space artifacts in the James S McDonnell…