Jim Virkler

Telescopic Macrocosmos

By Jim Virkler / September 7, 2015

Published 9-7-2015 When I taught astronomy I favored the naked eye approach in my classroom. What could be seen with the naked eye? What could we learn by observing and…

Violent Cosmic Crash

By Jim Virkler / August 31, 2015

Published 8-31-2015 We confess to our use of an attention-getting blog title. Instead of “Four Theories of Moon Formation” we believe our chosen title engages readers with the currently best…

Moon Musings

By Jim Virkler / August 26, 2015

Published 8-26-2015 Isaiah refers to bodies in our Solar System when he quotes, “…Thus says the Lord, ‘Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool…For My hand made…

Adapting to Seasons

By Jim Virkler / August 18, 2015

Published 8-18-2015 “Snow birds” describes a population of US northern climate residents who take refuge from cold winters by migrating to the south, perhaps Florida or Arizona, during the harshest…

Seasons by the Stars

By Jim Virkler / August 13, 2015

Published 8-13-2015 Several weeks ago after family members observed the close conjunction of the crescent moon and planet Venus, my 10-year old grandson pleased me by asking if the Summer…

Copernicus Affirmed

By Jim Virkler / August 9, 2015

Published 8-9-2015 Observers on Earth have been examining the skies for thousands of years. Today’s young people are not often challenged to explain the movement of stars, planets, the moon,…

Is Seeing Believing?

By Jim Virkler / August 3, 2015

Publsihed 8-3-2015 In Holy Scripture there are many descriptive passages engendering wonder at the glory of the sun, moon, stars, and planets. Bible authors described what they saw in the…

Movement in the Skies

By Jim Virkler / July 29, 2015

Published 7-29-2015 In our last post we observed that the conjunction of bright Planet Venus with the crescent moon on July 18, 2015 looked like a “Semicolon in the Sky.”…

Semicolon in the Sky

By Jim Virkler / July 22, 2015

Published 7-22-2015 My 10-and 11-year old grandchildren journeyed outdoors toward evening last Saturday with their uncle to search for milkweed caterpillars, the larvae of monarch butterflies. Milkweed caterpillar collection has…

On Their Own Terms

By Jim Virkler / July 20, 2015

Published 7-20-2015 In our previous post on “Wildlife Perspectives” we closed our discussion of South African mammals and Midwestern birds by mentioning two theories of origins— creationism vs evolutionism. Our…

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