Mon Feb 23, 2026 JOCELYN FINDS A RADIO STAR
In 1967, Jocelyn Bell, then a graduate student at England’s Cambridge University, made an incredible discovery: while going over the data from a radio telescope she’d help build, Bell found a rapidly recurring signal, which spiked every 1.3 seconds. Bell had found the very first pulsar, although the source of the signals was not known at the time (Bell and her advisor dubbed them “L.G.M.”s, light-heartedly suggesting they could be signals from an alien civilization consisting of “Little Green Men.”) Pulsars are the rapidly spinning cores of exploded stars. Her discovery was announced on February 24, 1968 and her advisor was soon awarded a Nobel prize (Wait, what?) But in 2018 Bell finally received her Nobel, in the category of Fundamental Physics.
Tue Feb 24, 2026 ASTRONOMY CLUB MEETING
There will be a meeting of the Treasure Coast Astronomical Society at 7:30 p.m. today. It will be at the Science Center on the Massey Fort Pierce campus of Indian River State College. Many of the Treasure Coast Astronomical Society members own at least one telescope, but if all you have is a pair of binoculars, or even just an interest in the sky and astronomy, then this is the club for you. Each meeting features astronomy lessons and highlights different constellations. The Society also helps out at planetarium shows by letting visitors look through their telescopes to see such cosmic wonders as the moon, the planets and the stars. So once again, the meeting is at 7:30 this evening at the IRSC Science Center in Fort Pierce.
Wed Feb 25, 2026 ANCIENT ORION
Tonight the waxing gibbous moon appears in the southern evening sky above the ancient hero Orion the Hunter. One of the oldest of the established constellations, Orion is perhaps also the most readily recognizable: the three bright stars close together in a line – the hunter’s belt - make it easy to find. This star pattern was named for the epic hero Gilgamesh in Babylonian mythology, while to the ancient Egyptians he was one of their most revered gods, Osiris. But the Greek myths are the ones we recall the best. He was a giant, the son of Poseidon, who often hunted with the moon goddess Artemis, but was stung by Scorpius for boasting too much of his strength, then finally restored to life in the heavens where we see him and the moon tonight.
Thur Feb 26, 2026 PLANET NAMES FOR THE DAYS OF THE WEEK
The days of the week are named for the sun, moon and planets. The first two days are obvious: Sunday is the sun’s day and Monday is the moon’s day. Then we have to switch between German and Roman mythology. The Norse god of war Tiw gives Tuesday its name; that would be warlike Mars in Latin. The Spanish names for the days can help us here. Tuesday is Martes - Mars. Wednesday in Spanish is miercoles, for Mercury, the Roman god of voyages, like the Norse god Woden the traveler: Woden’s day - Wednesday. Thursday is Thor’s day, god of thunder and lightning, like the Roman Jupiter or Jove, which matches the Spanish jueves. The Roman goddess of love was Venus, as in the Spanish name for Friday, viernes. Friday is from Freya, the Norse goddess of love. And finally, Saturday is Saturn’s day. Seven celestial objects, seven days of the week – it’s all astronomical.
Fri Feb 27, 2026 HOLST’S “THE PLANETS”
On February 27, 1919, Gustav Holst's suite, "The Planets," was first performed: it featured theme music for seven planets of the solar system (Pluto wasn’t included as it wouldn’t be discovered for another 11 years.) Holst was not an astronomer, but he dabbled in mythology, and in “The Planets,” he gave these worlds human attributes. So the music for Mercury, which takes only 88 days to go around the sun, is a lively, fast-paced vivace tempo, as befits the Olympian messenger of the gods. But the music for Saturn, which revolves about the sun only once every 29 years, is adagio, or slow and stately. Mars is allegro, a loud, militant march, while Venus is a beautiful adagio-andante-animato, and Jupiter, the king of planets, is a majestic allegro giocoso!
