Witnessing the Total Solar Eclipse of March 7, 1970

by Jonathan1 Comment
With the levels of hype and anticipation rapidly growing for next month's Eclipse Across America (or whatever people are calling it now), I have been reflecting on when I witnessed a total solar eclipse back in 1970 as a 13-year-old. I was an 8th grade student at Walt Whitman Intermediate School in the Mt. Vernon area south of Alexandria, Virginia. I was deeply interested in all things space and astronomical. I had received a toy-store 3" reflector telescope for my birthday in 1968, and I quickly outgrew its capabilities. My parents gave me a 4-1/2" Tasco reflector telescope for Christmas in 1969. As a subscriber to Sky and Telescope magazine, I knew full well that the path of a total solar eclipse would be skirting the East Coast of the United States on March 7, 1970. Our home was about 200 miles away from the path of totality. We'd see a very nice partial eclipse with only a thin sliver of the sun...
Read More

“Farewell, Columbia” at Spacefest VIII, June 11, 2017

by JonathanNo Comments
With seven-time astronaut Jerry Ross at my side, I gave a presentation at Spacefest VIII in Tucson on June 11. It summarized the incredible story of the recovery and reconstruction of space shuttle Columbia following the February 1, 2003 accident that took the lives of her crew. Having spent the past two years conducting nearly a hundred interviews with people ranging from the former Administrator of NASA to the women who volunteered at the Hemphill, Texas VFW Hall, I had so much I wanted to say and so little time in which to say it! Of course we could only touch on the highlights of the story and just a few of the 25,000 people who made this—the largest search and recovery operation in US history—a success. Even the book, which is due in December, will just barely be able to scratch the surface. I recorded the presentation, and Jerry kindly consented to my posting his comments publicly. I encourage you to listen...
Read More