The day the new book arrived…

Sunset of the winter solstice through the stained glass onto the wall of our chapel, Jesuit Community of the Vatican Observatory,Tucson

There is something satisfying about riding a train on a rainy day. The fun of being indoors out of the weather without the guilt of thinking I should be out doing something today. On the Texas Eagle en route to Tucson.

NASA's Europa Clipper Mission has started its Journey to Jupiter's Icy Moon

Astronauts are one in a million — except in a certain stoney place, where they are two orders of magnitude more common.

October Newsletter #1 - An Alliance of History The Vatican Observatory hosted the annual meeting of the Alliance of Historic Observatories (AHO) in Castel Gandolfo, with representatives from more than two dozen observatories around the world! https://buff.ly/4eZJABz

Happening now! This comet. called a sungrazer, will pass VERY close to the Sun. This image was taken by NASA's SOHO spacecraft, which has discovered thousands of comets - several of which have dove right into the Sun! Follow the comet here: https://buff.ly/3BBWyXR

Busy day today; several interviews to publicize the opening of our telescopes here (Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo) for public visits, the “Night of research“ public program tonight, and in between I need to write my column for The Tablet. When do I get to do science?

New data up at Galaxy Zoo: we urgently need help to classify images of galaxies from ESA’s Euclid mission - if you have a few minutes and want to see images no one has seen before, join us: www.zooniverse.org/projects/zoo... 🔭 📡 🧪

A new entry for the Vatican Observatory Faith & Science Resource Center: an engaging book in which the Middle Ages teem with curiosity and scientific discovery.

Just a reminder to my American friends about trains in Italy. And yes this is mph not kph…

Walking down Mass Ave to MIT for my 50th reunion. I swear I could still smell NECCO wafers though the factory (like most of the places I lived) is long gone…

Just before boarding my spaceship I stopped by the norbear library… (Crumbs and Whiskers cat cafe in Georgetown; now en route via Amtrak Cardinal to Chicago)

I got to visit the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan with some old friends and posed before the Chrysler turbine car. My dad was involved in its making, some 60 years ago; back then we got to ride in it and my sister even got to drive it!

I had a seven hour layover in Philadelphia en route to Rome so I had lunch with a physicist friend at Drexel and spent a few hours at the art institute. Along with the wonderful art my eye was caught by this…

Me, to my dentist, both of us in our 70s, while getting a tooth fixed and listening to the oldies station in the background: “I bet 50 years ago Manfred Mann never thought that Blinded By the Light would be Muzak in a dentist’s office”

GaliLego… youtu.be/jHAYD3kAZFY?... See what happens when Lego gets out of control!

I’m a cover boy once again, this time for an Italian Catholic magazine. I confess what amuses me most is seeing my MIT Brass Rat front and center.

Today’s Christmas travels were to Valvisciolo Abbey and Sermoneta, beautiful bits of medieval Italy south of Rome.

So this showed up this morning on that other app… (and, yes, he was talking about the stars)

Good morning from Milan

I get to live on a planet that has a moon, a beautiful sister planet, and Italian food. What more could you ask? Albano, south of Rome, this morning With the view I saw while bringing in the trash barrel…

Last year the artist Jeff Warwick gave an astronomical menorah to the Vatican Observatory visitors center. I confirmed this morning the indicated phase of the moon!

Jesuit astronomer and first builder of a reflecting telescope, Niccolò Zucchi, was born 6 December 1586 #histsci thonyc.wordpress.com/2018/12/12/t...

Why Napoleon stole the Galileo files, and what happened next: www.cricetuscricetus.co.uk/post/napoleo...

List five famous people you’ve met, but one is a lie. Pope Francis Michael Dukakis Gloria Estefan Neil Gaiman Carl Sagan

November sunset, Castel Gandolfo.

Raptor morning at the Desert Museum

I’m told the Mystic train station was the model for the Lionel station…

Sunday morning, Enders Island CT

At the Philadelphia train station this morning. Thinking of joining a Celtic band… I have the cover photo at least. Maybe call it The Edge of Trashcan. (With apologies to Solas) Now I just have to learn to play an instrument.