Comets win opener – Waupaca County News

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August 24, 2017

Medford's Sam Hallgren (left) collides with Waupaca's Jack Snider during the second half of a nonconference boys' soccer game at Waupaca High School. Greg Seubert Photo

By Greg Seubert

Waupacas boys soccer team opened its season with a win.

Jack Sniders goal broke a 1-1 tie and the Comets went on to hand Medford a 2-1 nonconference loss Aug. 22 in the season opener for both teams.

Damian Johnson gave Waupaca a 1-0 lead in the 34th minute off of an assist from Keenin Polebitski and Matt Marquette.

Medford tied the game in the 68th minute on a goal from Alex Veal, but Snider found the net for the game-winning goal two minutes later.

Passing was excellent today, coach Cory Nagel said. Great looks and finding the open man. Medford played an excellent offsides trap, which frustrated our forwards most of the game. Dawson Patzke, a freshman, played the entire game in his first-ever high school soccer game. It wont show up on the stat sheet, but he was our rock today.

Bailey Colden had 10 saves in goal.

Waupaca will play its first game at Comet Field at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31, as the Comets host Wrightstown in the North Eastern Conference opener.

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Comets win opener - Waupaca County News

Comets spikers down Dan River High School 3-1 in opening game – YourGV.com

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The Halifax County High School varsity volleyball team got its season off to a good start Tuesday night with a 3-1 win over Dan River High School at Dan River High School in Ringgold.

Dan River High School topped the Comets 25-19 in the opening game, but the Comets bounced back to win three games in a row by scores of 25-13, 25-16 and 25-18 to win the best-of-five-game match.

Overall it was a great first game and a good win, said Comets Head Coach Tiffaney Bratton.

We saw that we needed to work on some things to compete in our district and beyond. The girls had a great time on the court and came home with a win.

The Comets struggled with service errors at times in the opening game, opening the door for Dan River High School to pull off the win.

We missed key serves in the first game that cost us that one, Bratton explained.

We controlled the ball well in the first game. but we made some small mistakes that cost at critical moments. We also let some balls drop without making a play on them.

The Comets bounced back with a better effort in the second game, improving their ability to place their shots.

The team played much smarter in the second game, Bratton pointed out.

They figured out that if they controlled the ball more on our side we could put the ball in spots that Dan River couldnt return it.

The Comets continued to control the ball on both sides of the net in the third and fourth games with several players making big plays at key points, and came away with solid wins in the two games to seal the match win.

I was really pleased to see the overall team effort that the girls gave, Bratton remarked.

We really had some unselfish play out there, and that made the team concept a reality for us.

Several players drew praise from Bratton for their play.

We had some big plays from seniors Mackenzie Lawter and Rose Spainhour, Bratton noted.

Both Mackenzie and Rose led the team both on the front row and on the back row. Leigh-Anne McCormick stepped up and made some great sets and big hits to lead us on the front row.

Leigh-Anne is a great player, Bratton continued.

She is so versatile as a player that she helps the team immensely with power plays and great sets. Outside hitter Savanna Cabaniss had some big hits on the front row and held her own on the back row as well. Katie Cole stepped into several roles on the court to help with the win.

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Comets spikers down Dan River High School 3-1 in opening game - YourGV.com

VOLLEY: Comets show grit in 5-set win – Kokomo Tribune

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GREENTOWN When it mattered most Tuesday night, Easterns volleyball team was dialed in.

The Comets won the first two games against visiting Kokomo, then errors crept into Easterns game and Kokomos serving got sharper. The VolleyKats won games three and four to even the match and set up a decisive fifth set.

Thats when Eastern responded. The Comets took a 9-8 lead when middle hitter Hailey Holliday floored a Kokomo overpass and the Comets never trailed again, finishing off a 25-19, 26-24, 23-25, 19-25, 15-11 victory over Kokomo.

I think we finally dug deep and decided not to let up, Eastern coach Missy Mavrick said. We have a bad habit of letting up. Once we get ahead we feel comfortable, and we decided to make sure we kept pushing that [fifth] set.

Holliday and Isabel Kelly each floored 13 kills to lead the Comets and Bailey Johnson added seven kills. Each of those net players came up with important finishes in the fifth set. Johnson had three kills including a tip kill on an overpass to end the match and scored on a block. Holliday had three kills and Kelly two.

I thought our hitters played really well at the net, Mavrick said. I thought we saw the floor really well, all the way around, all of our hitters. Weve still got some kinks to work out in the back row, thats really the key to our offense is weve got to be able to pass better than what were passing. Once we fix one thing weve got to keep being aggressive and not let something else fall apart.

Kokomo had done damage in the third and fourth sets with effective service, especially from Alliyah Hochstedler and Kylee Lauderbaugh. As the fifth set played out, the service rotation worked out ideally for the Kats as Hochstedler and Lauderbaugh were Kokomos last two servers. But neither got on a run.

A strong Hochstedler serve almost aced the Comets but the home team recovered and scored on a Johnson block for a 13-10 lead. Then after a Kokomo point, Lauderbaughs serve was fielded cleanly and Kelly smoked a kill for a 14-11 lead. Johnson settled the match on the next point.

We really made sure that on receive on those two girls that we stayed focused and make sure that we pushed to get the ball back, Mavrick said.

To illustrate how much cleaner Easterns play was in the decisive set, look at the errors. In the third set, Kokomo scored points on 14 Eastern attack, serve or technique errors. The Comets gave up eight more points in the fourth game on their own errors. In the fifth set, Eastern gave away just one point via a service error and the Kats had to earn all their other points that set.

On the other side, errors took a toll.

We had a lot of momentum going into the fifth set we had all the momentum, but our inexperience in those situations showed its head with hitting errors and kind of playing safe instead of playing to win, Kokomo coach Jason Watson said.

We had five hitting errors, two serve receive errors and a block error. Thats eight of their 15 points were directly points that we give them.

When the Kats (1-6) served well, they had the advantage, but early when they struggled, serving was the problem.

Early on we struggled serving, Watson said. In the first and second set, our serving cost us in my opinion the match. At one point we missed four out of five serves and you cant beat anybody with that lack of consistency.

Gabby Cooper led the Kat attack with 16 kills, and added seven digs. Chiara Minor had 11 kills and Hochstedler had seven kills and 14 digs. Lauderbaugh finished with 41 assists, 12 digs, four kills from her setter spot and six aces. Molly Fisher added seven digs and Madison Wood six.

I liked our energy and I think we definitely have a lot to build on, Watson said.

Maci Weeks had 25 assists and Grace Kuhlman had 16 for the Comets (3-3). Casey Clark had 31 serve receives and 25 digs. Torie Bratcher served 11 points and 16 serve receives.

I thought Hailey Holliday did a great job, Mavrick said. She played very consistent through the whole night. And Isabel Kelly, shes just been our go-to. Shes been very consistent.

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VOLLEY: Comets show grit in 5-set win - Kokomo Tribune

Comets face final test Thursday – YourGV.com

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The Halifax County High School varsity and junior varsity football teams will face their final pre-season test Thursday night with a scrimmage against Colonial Heights High School.

Thursdays action at Tuck Dillard Memorial Stadium starts with a JV scrimmage at 5 p.m. followed by the varsity scrimmage at 6 p.m.

Both Comets teams were successful in their respective opening pre-season tests Friday night, with the varsity squad topping Buckingham County High School 34-14 in the annual Virginia High School League Benefit Game and the JV team outscoring Buckingham County High School four touchdowns to none in its scrimmage.

Thursdays scrimmage against Colonial Heights will be a different kind of test for the Comets varsity squad in terms of preparation, format and the level and style of the competition.

As far as preparation goes, it is quite a bit different because it cuts a day of preparation out in your normal routine, so everything is off kilter, explained Comets Head Coach Grayson Throckmorton.

Youre scrimmaging on a night you are not accustomed. You have to adjust your practice plans and your overall mindset. In the NFL, it doesnt make much difference. In college, it doesnt make much difference. With high school, it makes a lot of difference because the kids cant adjust as well as those seasoned veterans can.

Its just something weve got to do out of necessity, Throckmorton added.

The Comets are expected to see the level of the competition ramp up Thursday night when they face the Richmond-area school.

As far as team size, the number of players and the number of students in the school, Buckingham County and Colonial Heights are about the same, Throckmorton noted.

But, Colonial Heights competes in a much larger district, and they compete against the likes of Thomas Dale, Dinwiddie, Meadowbrook, Matoaca, and the list goes on. When they get into the (post-season) playoffs, they compete at the Division 3 level, but they compete mostly against Division 5 and Division 6 teams during the regular season. So, just with regard to the level of the competition they are used to competing against, Colonial Heights is going to be a better squad.

Colonial Heights, Throckmorton said, will play a different style of offense than his team saw Friday night with Buckingham County High School.

They (Colonial Heights High School) are a true spread team which we havent seen yet, explained Throckmorton.

They are going to be looking to throw the ball out in the perimeter and try to screen on us with wide receiver screens and screens in the backfield. They will be looking to use their passing game as an advantage, which is going to be good for us.

The result, Throckmorton says, is that the Comets defense will be stretched more and better play will be needed in the defensive secondary.

Were not going to be able to play as run heavy as we did Friday night, he pointed out.

Were going to have to play more 50-50 versus the run and the pass, where the other night we were playing 80 percent run and 20 percent pass. Were going to have to be more evenly balanced Thursday night.

Throckmorton and the Comets kept everything very simple in Friday nights contest against Buckingham County High School. The Comets Head Coach says he plans to expand a few things Thursday night.

Offensively, we are going to add a little more offense in, some stuff we have been working on that we didnt use and a couple of things that are brand new, Throckmorton pointed out.

Defensively, were going to add a few stunts in that we didnt use the other night. We didnt use any stunts Friday night and we are going to add some of that in on defense.

Thursday night is also going to offer Throckmorton and his coaching staff another opportunity to evaluate personnel.

We are going to continue to look at personnel, Throckmorton pointed out, and see who can play what positions and who can play what and where in the future to help us. We have a real good idea of who is where now. Where before there were some bigger adjustments the last week and a half, now its a matter of one or two (players) here and there.

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Colts defeat Comets 9-0 in soccer action – Stanly News & Press

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The mens soccer teams of North Stanly and West Stanly met in a non-conference matchup on Monday in Red Cross on the Colts home field.

West was playing in its second match of the season after losing 4-0 to Union Academy a week before, while North had losses last week to Mount Pleasant 5-0 and Piedmont 10-1.

Scoring three times in the first 10 minutes, West ended the match early with the mercy rule midway through the second half, winning 9-0 over the Comets.

Logan Brown led the offense for the Colts (1-1) with three goals while Aldo Cruz added a goal and two assists. Manuel Osorio and Noel Medina each added a goal and an assist, while Elvin Lonas and Leonardo Martinez each scored goals. Damian Talley, Caleb Feere and Arturo Zelaya each added an assist for West as well.

West Stanly continues non-conference road play today at Monroe while North Stanly was scheduled to open conference play Wednesday at South Davidson.

To submit story ideas, call Charles Curcio at (704) 982-2121, ext. 26, email charles@stanlynewspress.com or contact him via Twitter (@charles_curcio).

Charles Curcio is sports editor of The Stanly News & Press. Contact him at (704) 982-2121 ext. 26, charles@stanlynewspress.com or PO Box 488, Albemarle, NC 28002.

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Colts defeat Comets 9-0 in soccer action - Stanly News & Press

Astronomy | Define Astronomy at Dictionary.com

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Contemporary Examples

The authors took care to eliminate the possibility of other sources of polarization, which is always a concern in astronomy.

Muslims made many discoveries in mathematics, chemistry, physics, medicine, astronomy and psychology.

Nearly everything we know about dark matter so far comes from astronomy.

One of the big challenges in astronomy involves determining when the first galaxies formed, and what they looked like.

Cosmic ray observations are more challenging than many other forms of astronomy.

British Dictionary definitions for astronomy Expand

the scientific study of the individual celestial bodies (excluding the earth) and of the universe as a whole. Its various branches include astrometry, astrodynamics, cosmology, and astrophysics

Word Origin

C13: from Old French astronomie, from Latin astronomia, from Greek; see astro-, -nomy

Word Origin and History for astronomy Expand

c.1200, from Old French astrenomie, from Latin astronomia, from Greek astronomia, literally "star arrangement," from astron "star" (see astro-) + nomos "arranging, regulating," related to nemein "to deal out" (see numismatics). Used earlier than astrology and originally including it.

astronomy in Science Expand

astronomy in Culture Expand

The science that deals with the universe beyond the Earth. It describes the nature, position, and motion of the stars, planets, and other objects in the skies, and their relation to the Earth.

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Astronomy | Define Astronomy at Dictionary.com

Astronomy – Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Astronomy is a natural science. It is the study of everything outside the atmosphere of Earth.

It studies celestial objects (such as stars, galaxies, planets, moons, asteroids, comets and nebulae) and processes (such as supernovae explosions, gamma ray bursts, and cosmic microwave background radiation). This includes the physics, chemistry of those objects and processes.

A related subject, physical cosmology, is concerned with studying the Universe as a whole,[1] and the way the universe changed over time.

The word astronomy comes from the Greek words astron which means star and nomos which means law.[2] A person who studies astronomy is called an astronomer.

Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. Ancient people used the positions of the stars to navigate, and to find when was the best time to plant crops. Astronomy is very similar to astrophysics. Since the 20th century there have been two main types of astronomy, observational and theoretical astronomy. Observational astronomy uses telescopes and cameras to observe or look at stars, galaxies and other astronomical objects. Theoretical astronomy uses maths and computer models to predict what should happen. The two often work together, the theoretical predicts what should happen and the observational shows whether the prediction works.

Astronomy is not the same as astrology, the belief that the patterns the stars and the planets may affect human lives.

Early astronomers used only their eyes to look at the stars. They used maps of the constellations and stars for religious reasons and also to work out the time of year.[3] Early civilisations such as the Maya people and the Ancient Egyptians built simple observatories and drew maps of the stars positions. They also began to think about the place of Earth in the universe. For a long time people thought Earth was the center of the universe, and that the planets, the stars and the sun went around it. This is known as the geocentric model of the Universe.

Ancient Greeks tried to explain the motions of the sun and stars by taking measurements.[4] A mathematician named Eratosthenes was the first who measured the size of the Earth and proved that the Earth is a sphere. A theory by another mathematician named Aristarchus was, that the sun is in the center and the Earth is moving around it. This is known as the Heliocentric model. Only a small group of people thought it was right. The rest continued to believe in the geocentric model. Most of the names of constellations and stars come from Greeks of that time.[5]

Arabic astronomers made many advancements during the Middle Ages including improved star maps and ways to estimate the size of the Earth.[6]

During the renaissance a priest named Nicolaus Copernicus thought, from looking at the way the planets moved, that the Earth was not the center of everything. Based on previous works, he said that the Earth was a planet and all the planets moved around the sun. This heliocentrism was an old idea. A physicist called Galileo Galilei built his own telescopes, and used them to look more closely at the stars and planets for the first time. He agreed with Copernicus. Their ideas were also improved by Johannes Kepler and Isaac Newton who invented the theory of gravity. At this time the Catholic Church decided that Galileo was wrong. He had to spend the rest of his life under house arrest.[7]

After Galileo, people made better telescopes and used them to see farther objects such as the planets Uranus and Neptune. They also saw how stars were similar to our Sun, but in a range of colours and sizes. They also saw thousands of other faraway objects such as galaxies and nebulae.

The 20th century saw important changes in astronomy.

In 1931, Karl Jansky discovered radio emission from outside the Earth when trying to isolate a source of noise in radio communications, marking the birth of radio astronomy and the first attempts at using another part of the electromagnetic spectrum to observe the sky. Those parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that the atmosphere did not block were now opened up to astronomy, allowing more discoveries to be made.

The opening of this new window on the Universe saw the discovery of entirely new things, for example pulsars, which sent regular pulses of radio waves out into space. The waves were first thought to be alien in origin because the pulses were so regular that it implied an artificial source.

The period after World War 2 saw more observatories where large and accurate telescopes are built and operated at good observing sites, normally by governments. For example, Bernard Lovell began radio astronomy at Jodrell Bank using leftover military radar equipment. By 1957, the site had the largest steerable radio telescope in the world. Similarly, the end of the 1960s saw the start of the building of dedicated observatories at Mauna Kea in Hawaii, a good site for visible and infra-red telescopes thanks to its high altitude and clear skies.

The next great revolution in astronomy was thanks to the birth of rocketry. This allowed telescopes to be placed in space on satellites.

Satellite-based telescopes opened up the Universe to human eyes. Turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere blurs images taken by ground-based telescopes, an effect known as seeing. It is this effect that makes stars "twinkle" in the sky. As a result, the pictures taken by satellite telescopes in visible light (for example, by the Hubble Space Telescope) are much clearer than Earth-based telescopes, even though Earth-based telescopes are very large.

Space telescopes gave access, for the first time in history, to the entire electromagnetic spectrum including rays that had been blocked by the atmosphere. The X-rays, gamma rays, ultraviolet light and parts of the infra-red spectrum were all opened to astronomy as observing telescopes were launched. As with other parts of the spectrum, new discoveries were made.

From 1970s satellites were launched to be replaced with more accurate and better satellites, causing the sky to be mapped in nearly all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Discoveries broadly come in two types: bodies and phenomena. Bodies are things in the Universe, whether it is a planet like our Earth or a galaxy like our Milky Way. Phenomena are events and happenings in the Universe.

For convenience, this section has been divided by where these astronomical bodies may be found: those found around stars are solar bodies, those inside galaxies are galactic bodies and everything else larger are cosmic bodies.

Diffuse Objects:

Compact Stars:

Burst events are those where there is a sudden change in the heavens that disappears quickly. These are called bursts because they are normally associated with large explosions producing a "burst" of energy. They include:

Periodic events are those that happen regularly in a repetitive way. The name periodic comes from period, which is the length of time required for a wave to complete one cycle. Periodic phenomena include:

Noise phenomena tend to relate to things that happened a long time ago. The signal from these events bounce around the Universe until it seems to come from everywhere and varies little in intensity. In this way, it resembles "noise", the background signal that pervades every instrument used for astronomy. The most common example of noise is static seen on analogue televisions. The principal astronomical example is: Cosmic background radiation.

There are way astronomers can get better pictures of the heavens. Light from a distant source reaches a sensor and gets measured, normally by a human eye or a camera. For very dim sources, there may not be enough light particles coming from the source for it to be seen. One technique that astronomers have for making it visible is using integration, (which is like longer exposures in photography).

Astronomical sources do not move much: only the rotation and movement of the Earth causes them to move across the heavens. As light particles reach the camera over time, they hit the same place making it brighter and more visible than the background, until it can be seen.

Telescopes at most observatories (and satellite instruments) can normally track a source as it moves across the heavens, making the star appear still to the telescope and allowing longer exposures. Also, images can be taken on different nights so exposures span hours, days or even months. In the digital era, digitised pictures of the sky can be added together by computer, which overlays the images after correcting for movement.

With radio telescopes smaller telescopes can be combined together to create a big one, which works like one as big as the distance between the two smaller telescopes.

Adaptive optics means changing the shape of the mirror or lens while looking at something, to see it better.

Data analysis is the process of getting more information out of an astronomical observation than by simply looking at it. The observation is first stored as data. This data will then have various techniques used to analyse it.

Fourier analysis in mathematics can show if an observation (over a length of time) is changing periodically (changes like a wave). If so, it can extract the frequencies and the type of wave pattern, and find many things including new planets.

A good example of a fields comes from pulsars which pulse regularly in radio waves. These turned out to be similar to some (but not all) of a type of bright source in X-rays called a Low-mass X-ray binary. It turned out that all pulsars and some LMXBs are neutron stars and that the differences were due to the environment in which the neutron star was found. Those LMXBs that were not neutron stars turned out to be black holes.

This section attempts to provide an overview of the important fields of astronomy, their period of importance and the terms used to describe them. It should be noted that astronomy in the Modern Era has been divided mainly by electromagnetic spectrum, although there is some evidence this is changing.

Solar astronomy is the study of the Sun. The Sun is the closest star to Earth at around 92 million (92,000,000) miles away.[8] It is the easiest to observe in detail. Observing the Sun can help us understand how other stars work and are formed. Changes in the Sun can affect the weather and climate on Earth. A stream of charged particles called the Solar wind is constantly sent off from the Sun. The Solar Wind hitting the Earth's magnetic field causes the northern lights.[9] Studying the Sun helped people understand how nuclear fusion works.

Planetary Astronomy is the study of planets, moons, dwarf planets, comets and asteroids as well as other small objects that orbit stars. The planets of our own Solar System have been studied in depth by many visiting spacecraft such as Cassini-Huygens (Saturn) and the Voyager 1 and 2.

Galactic Astronomy is the study of distant galaxies. Studying distant galaxies is the best way of learning about our own galaxy, as the gases and stars in our own galaxy make it difficult to observe. Galactic Astronomers attempt to understand the structure of galaxies and how they are formed through the use of different types of telescopes and computer simulations.

Hydrodynamics is used in astronomy for mathematically modelling how gases behave. Strong magnetic fields found around many bodies can drastically change how these gases behave, affecting things from star formation to the flows of gases around compact stars. This makes MHD an important and useful tool in astronomy.

Gravitational wave astronomy is the study of the Universe in the gravitational wave spectrum. So far, all astronomy that has been done has used the electromagnetic spectrum. Gravitational Waves are ripples in spacetime emitted by very dense objects changing shape, which include white dwarves, neutron stars and black holes. Because no one has been able to detect gravitational waves directly, the impact of Gravitational Wave Astronomy has been very limited.

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Astronomy - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Uranus and Neptune: Cloudy with a chance of diamonds – Astronomy Magazine

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On Earth, we experience rain composed of liquid water. On Titan, it rains liquid methane. And on Uranus and Neptune, it rains solid diamonds. For the first time, researchers have now simulated and observed this process here on Earth, proving that this long-held assumption is likely correct, once and for all.

The work, published August 21 in Nature Astronomy, combined a high-powered optical laser with the X-ray free-electron laser at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). The LCLS creates X-ray pulses that last a million-billionths of a second, allowing for ultrafast high-precision monitoring of processes that occur all the way down to the scale of atoms. As a result, the researchers were able to watch tiny diamonds form as shock waves passed through plastic, offering a peek at processes that take place in planetary atmospheres on a much grander scale.

The experiment focused on inducing shock waves in a plastic material called polystyrene, which contains hydrogen and carbon two elements found in abundance inside Uranus and Neptune. According to theory, methane (four hydrogen atoms and one carbon atom) inside the planets atmospheres forms hydrocarbon chains that in turn form diamonds in response to the right temperature and pressure. This occurs more than 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) beneath the planets surface. There, the diamonds precipitate out and sink deeper into the atmosphere, a diamond rain.

Though this has been assumed to be the case for decades, the exact process has never been observed in experiments on Earth before now. Some previous experiments failed because the pressures and temperatures inside the atmospheres of these planets cannot be created in the lab for long, and without the ability to record data at the speed afforded by the LCLS, any transitions were missed. Other experiments produced graphite or diamond, but were conducted at lower pressures or required the introduction of additional materials.

Using an optical laser, the researchers induced one, then a second shockwave in a polystyrene sample at the temperatures and pressures found within Uranus and Neptune. As they probed the material with 50-femtosecond X-ray pulses (a femtosecond is a quadrillionth of a second), they watched the carbon atoms in the plastic become part of tiny diamonds (called nanodiamonds) where the shockwaves overlapped, creating areas of higher pressure.

For this experiment, we had LCLS, the brightest X-ray source in the world, said Siegfried Glenzer, professor of photon science at SLAC and a coauthor on the paper, in a press release. You need these intense, fast pulses of X-rays to unambiguously see the structure of these diamonds, because they are only formed in the laboratory for such a very short time.

Dominik Kraus of Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and lead author on the paper, added, When I saw the results of this latest experiment, it was one of the best moments of my scientific career.

This work will benefit not only planetary scientists seeking to understand the conditions inside our own local ice giants, but those studying extrasolar planets as well. Learning more about how elements combine and precipitate out of atmospheric layers allows researchers to create better models for a deeper understanding of these planets, including not only their weather, but their sources of energy as well. Diamond rain could create friction as the diamonds sink deeper within the atmosphere, generating heat and affecting atmospheric circulation and other conditions.

We can't go inside the planets and look at them, Kraus said, so these laboratory experiments complement satellite and telescope observations.

The nanodiamonds resulting from this experiment could have other applications closer to home as well, such as use in the medical and technology industries. While such nanodiamonds can be produced in explosions, manufacturing them with lasers could be a cleaner alternative.

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A tale of two eclipses – Astronomy Magazine

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The event called The Great American Eclipse lived up to its billing on August 21. Here in Georgia, the total solar eclipse cut a narrow path through the northeastern part of the state before heading out to sea off the Atlantic coast. The last time a solar eclipse was visible in the South was in 1984, when a spectacular annular eclipse traveled diagonally from Louisiana to the Chesapeake Bay. My article about that event, Sunshow in the Southland, appeared in the September 1984 edition of Astronomy.

Flash forward nearly a third of a century. My wife, Joy, and I traveled from our home in Athens to the small northeast Georgia town of Toccoa, where totality would last for 1 minute and 59 seconds. In 1984, the annular eclipse was at its maximum for only 9 fleeting seconds. It was a brief but amazing cosmic event that was but a preview of this year's total eclipse of the Sun.

Toccoa is a charming town of about 8500 people that hosted an influx of eclipse viewers on August 21. Traffic jams plagued many of the roads in Georgia on eclipse day, but the highways to Toccoa were clear. Townspeople and out-of-town eclipse chasers waited patiently for the big event, which local businesses and civic groups touted as Totally Toccoa Eclipse 2017.

When I viewed the May 30, 1984, annular eclipse from the tiny hamlet of Maysville, Georgia, the weather that day was crisp and the sky was clear perfect eclipse weather. In Toccoa on August 21, the weather was hot as the Sun performed its disappearing act but the sky was once again clear and blue.

During the 1984 annular eclipse, I viewed the event with a projection plate attached to a 2.4-inch refracting telescope. Baily's Beads, caused by sunlight peeking through lunar mountains and valleys, were visible, as was the planet Venus in the briefly darkened face of the Sun. The celestial show was even better on August 21. The unaided eye could take in the whole performance during the moments of totality.

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Astronomers catch X-rays from a stellar explosion – Astronomy Magazine

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Type Ia supernovae serve as important standard candles, allowing astronomers to accurately measure vast distances. These events have been integral to our understanding of the expansion of the universe, as well as the life cycles of Sun-like stars and binary star systems. However, theres still much we dont understand about these stellar explosions; now, a team including researchers at the University of Chicago has seen the first hint of unexpected X-rays coming from around a recent supernova event.

The team discovered the X-ray signature while studying a recent supernova, 2012cav, which was observed with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. In the first observation, taken a year and a half after the supernova went off, Chandra saw 33 X-ray photons coming from the source. Two hundred days later, a second Chandra observation captured 10 photons. Although these numbers are small, they are not insignificant, and have profound implications for the environment around the supernova at the time it exploded. Their work was published online August 23 in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

X-ray emission has not previously been seen from type Ia supernovae, which occur one of two ways: Either a white dwarf (the remnant of a star like our Sun) pulls enough mass off a nearby companion that it explodes, or two white dwarfs in a binary system spiral together and merge, then explode. However, X-rays are often seen from a different type of supernova event, a type II supernova, which occurs when a massive star reaches the end of its life and explodes. In this case, the X-rays occur when the supernova shockwave interacts with an envelope of surrounding material, which the star sheds in the years prior to the end of its life.

Thus, X-ray emission around a type Ia supernova suggests the same thing there is a cloak or envelope of material around the star, which gives off X-rays when the explosion reaches it. The trouble is, astronomers dont know why such a cloak of material would exist, because white dwarfs dont lose mass in the way that massive stars do. And the amount of mass inferred from the X-ray measurements of 2012cav is much too high to have been shed by a normal companion star.

What we saw suggests a density about a million times higher what we thought was the maximum around Ias, said Vikram Dwarkadas, a professor at the University of Chicago and a coauthor on the study, in a press release.

2012cav is not the only oddball type Ia supernova of this kind. However, it is the first that has been observed emitting X-rays associated with an envelope of gas. Although other type Ias with circumstellar material were thought to have similarly high densities based on their optical spectra, we have never before detected them with X-rays, said Dwarkadas.

But now that X-rays have been seen coming from one such supernova, astronomers are likely to be awarded time with Chandra to search for the same emission from others. It is surprising what you can learn from so few photons, said lead author Chris Bochenek, a graduate student at Caltech. With only tens of them, we were able to infer that the dense gas around the supernova is likely clumpy or in a disk.

Now the goal is to determine how the gas got there, and whether such disks are present in other type Ia supernovae as well. In addition to searching for X-rays, astronomers can also look for radio emission to learn more about the environments that foster these important yet still mysterious stellar explosions.

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Astronomers catch X-rays from a stellar explosion - Astronomy Magazine

A 500 trillion km long streamer of ammonia in Orion – SYFY WIRE (blog)

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If you have even a passing interest in astronomy, you're probably familiar with the magnificent Orion Nebula, a huge gas cloud busily forming stars in its center. At a distance of about 1300 light-years, it's so close and so luminous that it's easily visible to the naked eye as the middle star in Orion's "dagger."

But there is a whole lot more going on in that nebula than meets the eye. For one thing, the visible part you see in most photos is just a small part of a much larger cloud, one that's cold and dark and so doesn't emit visible light. Stars forming near the inside edge of it ate away at the material, popping a hole in the side of it; that's what we see as the Orion Nebula.

But even thats not the whole picture. There are structures running through the nebula that are completely invisible unless you look using the right kind of light. Astronomers pointed the gigantic Green Bank Telescope toward Orion, tuning it to look at centimeter-wavelength light, far outside what our eyes see. What those observations reveal is amazing: a filament of gas nearly 500 trillion kilometers long!

That shot is a combination of two different images: The blue shows warm dust seen by the WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) observatory, which shows the more familiar shape of the Orion Nebula; and the orange is the filament, seen in the light of ammonia gas strewn along its length.

Ammonia is a great way to see these structures because it's a simple molecule that is found in cold, dark clouds, and the light it emits has a wavelength of about a centimeter, which can easily pierce through and escape the surrounding material. Visible light is absorbed nearly completely by such stuff, which is why it looks dark to our eyes. Using microwave and radio telescopes allows us to peer deeply inside these nebulae.

These filaments are seen in lots of regions in the galaxy where stars are forming from dense gas clouds. We've known about them for some time, but things really took a leap forward when the European Space Agency launched the Herschel Observatory, which mapped them using far infrared light.

And now the Green Bank Telescope (or GBT) can map them in high resolution. This is important: Stars are being born along these filaments, and they show up as brighter knots of emission along it. Material from the filament itself flows down into these forming stars like a creek flowing down into a crack in the ground. The protostars' gravity pulls the material in, and they gain enough mass to grow into true stars. When you look at this huge, long structures, you are literally seeing stars in the first stages of being born. Lower-resolution images just show them as lumps, but the GBT can see the material as it falls toward them.

And there's a lot of raw material here. The total mass of this filament is 5000 times the mass of the Sun. Many of these stars might grow more massive than our Sun (Orion is a site of massive star formation), but in general far more lower-mass stars are born there, so tens of thousands of stars could be created here eventually.

It's not clear why these filaments form in the first place. We know that inside dark clouds the gas is in motion, sometimes flowing in huge waves, pushed around by the energy of the stars forming within. One idea is that a filament forms where two waves meet, just as you'd see at the beach if two waves moving in slightly different but converging directions met. They'd form a ridge between them where they collide; that's the analogy to one of these cosmic filaments.

The GBT observations are part of a larger-scale study to observe these filaments in nearby star-forming regions; Orion is just one of the more dramatic ones. But astronomers are trying to answer many still unresolved questions about how filaments birth stars. For example, they can observe the specific motions inside the filament, using the Doppler shift to monitor the direction and velocity of the gas flow. Does it move smoothly or is it turbulent? Does the gas start rotating near the newly forming stars (that's important, since that rotation helps the material flatten into a disk around the star, which can then form planets)? How stable are these filaments; do they last a long time or does their own self-gravity and internal turbulence pull them into pieces?

When I look at images like this, I can't help but wonder if we're seeing what our own Sun looked like 4.6 billion years or so ago. Do we humans owe our existence to some long-ago-dispersed filament of gas, a streamer dozens of light-years long and a trillion kilometers thick that fed the raw materials that built up into literally everything around us on Earth?

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A 500 trillion km long streamer of ammonia in Orion - SYFY WIRE (blog)

Area residents over the moon watching solar eclipse – Chestnut Hill Local

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Amateur astronomer Leon Rosen of Wyndmoor looks through his telescope and helped participants take photos with their cell phones at the solar eclipse event Monday at the Free Library of Springfield Township. (Photo by Barbara Sherf)

by Barbara Sherf

About 500 mostly local residents converged on the soccer fields behind the temporary location of the Free Library of Springfield on Willow Grove Avenue in Wyndmoor Monday afternoon to watch the much-talked about full solar eclipse.

Reader Services Coordinator Mary Lou Hughes stood at the entrance to the library pointing parents with strollers, seniors on walkers and everyone else to the rear area where 200 special viewing glasses had already been given out before the program started at 1:30.

We were one of the few libraries doing an event like this and are urging people to share their glasses and also view the eclipse through two telescopes set up back there. We also have a NASA feed inside, she said.

Lillian Miles of Glenside was pleased to see the sharing and unity among the crowd. It was amazing and makes me smile to see this. I think after the week weve had with all of the rioting and violence that it does my heart good to see people sharing and being part of something like this, said Miles.

Amateur astronomer Dr. Albert Lamperti, a resident of Oreland since 1980, put the program together in the hope of sparking interest in children and adults. Lamperti got involved in astronomy through his son and has been doing free programs at the library for eight years.

My older son bought a small telescope with his newspaper delivery money, and we saw the rings and Saturn and moons of Jupiter that summer, said Lamperti in an interview from Wyoming, where he traveled to get a better glimpse. I then joined the Delaware Valley Amateur Astronomers club and learned from scratch.

Dr. Lamperti teaches anatomy at Temple University by day, and on nights and weekends, he turns to his avocation astronomy. They are both visual sciences, and that has always interested me, said Lamperti. Im an experiential learner, so I like to see the science.

And see it he did as he shared his experiences from Wyoming. Experiencing totality is an emotionally inspiring, breathtaking, hair-raising, celestial event traumatizing one of the most dynamic events in the solar system to be witnessed by humanity. There was a rousing round of applause for Mother Nature.

Even though this areas residents only saw about 75 percent totality, there were only positive comments. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, even if you dont get to see it all. Im glad I came out, said Tom Turner of Flourtown.

Amateur astronomer Leon Rose of Wyndmoor had his telescope set up, and dozens stood in line to view the eclipse and take photos on their cell phones. I love doing outreach. I think we see so many here because there is a window between summer camp being over and school beginning, he said. I get a lot out of doing this.

Erdenheim resident Luke Eddis, 10, managed to hold a homemade viewing device made out of a box with some tin foil despite having a broken arm. Its really cool. I think I might do more of this, he said.

Those were golden words to Library Director Marycatherine McGarvey. Our hope is they will come back to our regular astronomy programs and maybe even take some books out on the subject, she said.

Oreland resident David McDugall was on-site with his telescope. We have given talks to kids, teens and adults at the Free Library of Springfield. We watch the moon and constellations and set up a telescope outside of the library entrance to give residents a glimpse on their way to and from the library. I never expected to see this kind of crowd, said the retired Springfield Township Public Works foreman.

He and Lamperti are members of the Delaware Valley Amateur Astronomers Club and frequent their monthly meetings.

His wife, Kathy McDugall, said she might even join the group. It was very interesting, and I would like to check out the astronomy club with my husband, she said. It could be a nice date night.

The next full eclipse visible from the U.S. will occur in 2024 along a path that includes Erie, Pennsylvania.

For more information on the Delaware Valley Amateur Astronomers Club, visit http://www.dvaa9.wildapricot.org. Springfield Township guest correspondent Barbara Sherf can be reached through her web site at http://www.communicationspro.com.

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Area residents over the moon watching solar eclipse - Chestnut Hill Local

Antares: astronomers capture best ever image of a star’s surface and atmosphere – The Guardian

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Astronomers have produced the most detailed ever images of a star other than the sun.

The red supergiant, called Antares, is known as the heart of the Scorpius constellation because of its rosy hue, discernible to the naked eye, and location in the body of the astronomical beast. The new images, produced using the European Southern Observatorys Very Large Telescope in Chile, are the most detailed yet of the surface and atmosphere of a star beyond our solar system.

Antares, which is 550 light years from Earth, has a mass about 15 times that of the sun, but is rapidly losing material to surrounding space as it expands outwards in the last phase of its life before becoming a supernova. If Antares sat at the centre of our own solar system its outer layers would extend as far as Mars.

However, until now the exact process by which giant stars lose mass from their upper atmosphere has remained unknown.

The latest images aim to tackle this question by mapping the motions of surface material in intricate detail using the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI).

The instrument combines the light from up to four telescopes to create a virtual telescope with a resolution equivalent to that of a single mirror up to 200 metres across.

How stars like Antares lose mass so quickly in the final phase of their evolution has been a problem for over half a century, said Keiichi Ohnaka, of the Universidad Catlica del Norte, Chile, and the papers first author. The VLTI is the only facility that can directly measure the gas motions in the extended atmosphere of Antares a crucial step towards clarifying this problem. The next challenge is to identify whats driving the turbulent motions.

The observations reveal unexpected turbulence large clumps of upwelling and receding gas in the stars outer atmosphere. These movements could not be explained by convection currents, where the flow of gas transfers heat from the core to the outer limits of a star, pointing to the existence of new, currently unknown processes. The findings are published in the journal Nature.

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Antares: astronomers capture best ever image of a star's surface and atmosphere - The Guardian

Thousands in Maryland watch ‘SuperBowl of astronomy’ the first … – Baltimore Sun

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About 3,000 people flocked to the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore Monday to see the first coast-to-coast solar eclipse in nearly a century.

Lines stretched out the front door as hundreds waited for their chance to get on the rooftop to peer through telescopes made safe for viewing through special filters. Some donned special glasses. Still others used viewers made from pizza boxes, index cards and coffee cups.

"It's the Super Bowl of astronomy, said Samantha Blau, a program manager at the Science Center, adding that the eclipse would likely be the centers busiest day of the year. During the regular season people may not be paying attention, but everyone is paying attention today.

It was an event America hasnt experienced since 1918: the passage of a total solar eclipse across the continental United States

Across Maryland, thousands of people spent their afternoons outdoors in parks and on rooftops in hopes of seeing the sun mostly blocked by the moon. Other Marylanders hit the road, many to South Carolina, into the path where the moon completely blotted out the sun.

Monica and Fred Alvarado of Annapolis traveled south to sit on the green grass of the Columbia Fireflies minor league baseball park.

Far above them the moon passed in front of the sun, casting a direct shadow on the Earth for a couple of minutes.

The sky was a 360-degree sunset. Then it was twilight in the middle of the day and Venus shone brightly.

"Wow. this is amazing," Fred Alvarado said.

"It was the best thing I've ever seen," Monica Alvarado said.

The view in Baltimore was dimmed by storm clouds, but the sun peeked out multiple times partially blocked out by the moon. The eclipse in Baltimore reached about 80 percent, while a strip of the country running largely from Oregon through Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, Tennessee and South Carolina saw a total eclipse.

Michael E. Ruane, Sarah Kaplan and William Wan

Atop the Science Center, visitors looked upward, hoping the sun would peak out from between storm clouds. Whenever it did, cheers broke out.

Alex Madsen, 16, of Towson, came equipped with a viewer made out of a shoe box he tested in his backyard.

Its my first time ever seeing an eclipse, he said. Its incredible because the sun is something like 400 times bigger than the moon, but the moon is 400 times closer to us.

Looking through the shoe box, his mother, Lauren, exclaimed: Oh, my God. Oh, its so pretty. Thats amazing. Who knew an UGGs box could be so valuable?

Dr. Lisa Schocket, associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, cautioned those about to gaze upward about the dangers of staring directly into the sun.

Its no more dangerous than another day, she said, but most folks dont typically have reason to stare.

We see solar burns more commonly under other conditions, like psychosis or drugs, she said.

Dan Richman, a Johns Hopkins University biophysicist from Mt. Vernon, said he thinks the eclipse generated so much excitement because it reminded us of our place in the universe.

We dont usually think about the fact that we are standing on the surface of the planet and we are orbiting this huge extremely bright star, he said. We just experience the daily cycle. You just take it for granted. But this is a reminder than we are actually part of a solar system; we are out in space. ... We orbit the center of the galaxy at an unbelievable speed.

The Earth moves around the sun at an estimated 66,000 miles per hour. The moon orbits the Earth at more than 2,000 miles per hour.

There are usually six or seven total solar eclipses per decade somewhere in the world. There are many more partial eclipses, when the moon does not fully cover the suns face, and annular solar eclipses, when the moon appears slightly smaller than the sun, creating an apparent ring of fire in the sky at the point of greatest eclipse.

On top of the Science Center, Baltimore Astronomical Society President Darryl Mason said it was his fifth time viewing at least a partial solar eclipse. Hes seen others in Antarctica, Argentina, Chili and Ecuador, he said.

I like to see the diamond ring effect, he said.

In Carroll County, residents greeted the eclipse Monday afternoon with exclamations of Wow! and I see it!

The eclipse began at 1:17 p.m. and reached its peak at 2:42 p.m.

It looks like a Jack-o Lantern in the sky! shouted Sebastian Isaza, 11, at the Carroll County Public Librarys Eldersburg branch.

Eldersburg library branch manager Nadine Rosendale said people started lining up for glasses at 9 a.m. Monday.

We had 500 glasses to give away. At noon, we started giving out the glasses and they were gone in 20 minutes, Rosendale said.

How Baltimore experienced theGreat American Eclipse.

How Baltimore experienced theGreat American Eclipse.

Amateur astronomer Skye Korzie, of Eldersburg, set up a Dobsonian telescope outside of the library to share his view with other observers.

Im a space nerd, Korzie said. I just wanted to see as much as I can and let other people see it too. I think its a good way to get little kids interested in science.

The wait to get into Towson Library to score a pair of the hard-to-find glasses needed to safely watch the eclipse reminded Peggy Szczerbicki of waiting in line for books in the popular Harry Potter series.

More than 150 people snaked around the librarys spiral rotunda staircase Monday in hopes of snagging a pair of the cardboard spectacles.

After arriving at the Towson branch just as employees opened the doors at 9 a.m., Szczerbicki was first in line. The fourth grade teacher said she decided to come to the library after calling around to area stores for glasses and finding them all sold out.

Its the golden ticket, Szczerbicki said.

In Harford County, Hannah Nigrin stepped up to the telescope manned by Harford County Astronomical Society president Rick Fensch, excited to see her first-ever solar eclipse.

The 18-year-old Harford Community College student later described a mix of emotions upon seeing the near-total eclipse. She was one of about 1,000 people who gathered in the parking lot of the community colleges observatory.

It's very intimidating to look at, and it's awesome it's very beautiful, said Nigrin, a Bel Air resident.

More than 100 Howard Community College faculty, staff, students and their family members packed the front lawn of the schools science, engineering and technology building for a glimpse of the solar eclipse.

As Bonnie Tylers Total Eclipse of the Heart played in the background, Luda Bard, a genetics and microbiology professor at the college, and her two children, Ari, 10, and Ammi, 7, smiled when they spotted the eclipse. The family arrived earlier in the afternoon so Ari and Ammi could make their own pinhole cameras out of shoe boxes, aluminum foil and duct tape.

Its very exciting, said Bard, an Ellicott City resident. My husband is an engineer and Im a biologist, so we had a little bit of background to explain the science to the kids.

Total solar eclipses will cross the continental United States twice more in the next 30 years, on April 8, 2024, and Aug. 12, 2045.

For those who missed Mondays view, the path of totality for the 2024 eclipse will be only about 300 miles from Baltimore at its closest, visible from Texas to Maine. The 2045 eclipse will track from northern California to Florida.

Baltimore Sun Media Group reporters Scott Dance, Margarita Cambest, Chase Cook, Michael Eben, David Anderson and Andrew Michaels contributed to this article.

lbroadwater@baltsun.com

twitter.com/lukebroadwater

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Thousands in Maryland watch 'SuperBowl of astronomy' the first ... - Baltimore Sun

President launches Ghana’s Astronomy Observatory – Ghana News Agency

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By Ken Sackey, GNA

Kuntunse (E/R), Aug. 24, GNA - President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Thursday launched the Ghana Radio Astronomy Observatory at Kuntunse, a development set to put Ghana on the pedestal of countries that are into space science.

The President said that the progress marked the beginning of a new era in Ghanas quest to harness the potentials of Space Science and Technology for accelerated socio-economic development.

This development makes Ghana the second country in Africa to own such facility after South Africa.

The President said the new era would not only witness the deepening of knowledge and skills development in electronics and information and communications technology, but also enhance the capacity of scientists to contribute to the world body of knowledge in the ever expanding field of astronomy and space science.

At a short ceremony before cutting the tape to officially open the observatory at the lush foothills of Kuntunse, President Akufo-Addo recounted how, in 2007, the country, under the leadership of President John Agyekum Kufuor, took the bold decision to sign up to the African Square Kilometre Array (SKA) partnership agreement, spearheaded by South Africa, which involved seven other African countries.

This decision, he explained, was made at the time when Ghana did not have any programme in astronomy, and was an example of the bold and visionary leadership of the time.

Its purpose is to propel the country to the enviable league of countries pursuing space science.

Ghana, by this feat, has become the first partner country of the African Very Long Baseline Interferometer Network to complete the conversion of the 32-metre Intelsat Telecommunications Satellite Earth Station at Kuntunse into a functioning radio telescope.

A second phase of the 32-meter antenna involving more engineering work would be carried out to help increase the sensitivity and speed of the dish from 0.09 degrees per second to 0.3 degree per seconds.

The first phase of the observatory involved the structural work of the antenna, electrical works and the total configuration, which used to be a redundant telecommunications dish belonging to Vodafone Ghana that used to point only to one direction.

President Akufo-Addo expressed the hope that the integration of this radio telescope into the African Very Long Baseline Interferometer Network, in preparation for the second phase construction of the Square Kilometre Array across the African continent, will be successful.

He said the recent successful launch into orbit of GhanaSat-1, a satellite developed by three students from All Nations University College in Koforidua, in partnership with their Japanese counterparts at Kyushu Institute of Technology, indicated that Ghana abounded in talent, expressing Governments pleasure to see Ghanaian talents shining, with even greater promise for the future.

The President reiterated the commitment of Government to continue to develop the human capital needed for a sustainable implementation of the countrys space programmes, particularly enhancing the nations human resource capacity in astronomy research.

We have big plans for our national space development programme. These include the establishment of a National Space Data Centre for satellite data collection, management and application. This comprehensive programme will involve the establishment of a national satellite ground receiving station and the launch of satellites, he said.

The radio telescope, being launched today, will expand further our frontiers in space science. I am informed that the radio telescope will provide information from distant bodies in the universe that will help us understand the birth and formation of stars, the death of stars and the general structure of the universe.

President Akufo-Addo expressed optimism that the observatory would enable Ghanaians appreciate the reality and complexity of global warming and its harmful effects such as rising sea levels, coastal erosion, erratic rainfall patterns, prolonged and intense dry seasons, desertification and reduction of vegetation cover on their lives.

It is for this reason that we, as humans and care-takers of our earth, should not compound the pressures on our fragile planet through harmful activities, such as illegal mining and logging and the production of greenhouse gases, he added.

Recognising the role of science and technology in the socio-economic development of the country, President Akufo-Addo said he had charged the Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation to step up efforts in developing a potent science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education model for Ghana.

That, he said, would stimulate the interest of pupils and students in engineering sciences and technology.

With the establishment, shortly, of a Presidential Advisory Council on Science, Technology and Innovation (PACSTI), President Akufo-Addo reiterated his pledge of raising, significantly, funding for Research and Development (R&D) in science, technology and innovation from 0.25 per cent to 1 per cent of GDP in the short to medium term, and increased further to 2.5 per cent in the long term.

It will form the National Science, Technology and Innovation Fund to support R&D in all research Institutions and Universities, both public and private. At the same time, Government will make efforts to increase collaboration among research institutions, industry, especially the private sector, and political authorities at all levels.

These measures, I hope, will make the transition from research to product development and industrial production much easier, he added.

GNA

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President launches Ghana's Astronomy Observatory - Ghana News Agency

A crescent sun: Solar eclipse to mark astronomy event of the decade, even in New England – The Sun Chronicle

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Weve all seen a crescent moon.

But how many people can say theyve seen a crescent sun?

On Monday, area residents will be able to add themselves to that list, many for likely the first time ever, as a partial solar eclipse passes over New England for the first time in decades.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moons path around the earth falls directly in line with the sun, blocking the natural sunlight and effectively turning day to night for a few short minutes.

The event itself isnt all that rare, Wheaton College Professor Anthony Houser said. But the moons position around the earth limits who can take part in the event when, creating the illusion that the astronomical phenomenon only comes about every once in a blue moon.

It happens about every two years, Houser, who runs the astronomy observatory at Wheaton, said. Its just rare that it happens locally. We havent had one on the contiguous United States since 1979. Whereas, I have foreign students from China, and they had two solar eclipses within two years not too long ago.

Its always happening somewhere. Were just fortunate its happening coast to coast here.

But, while the solar eclipse event is spanning across the entire United States for the first time in years, area residents wont be able to enjoy its full effect.

A total eclipse is visible when a location on earth is directly within the suns main shadow or umbra. If you happen to be within the wider shadow, called the penumbra, you see only a partial eclipse.

The path of totality this time around is limited to a stretch of the U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina based on the positioning of the solar spheres in the universe Monday.

But even when the moon is directly aligned between the earth and sun, it doesnt guarantee a total eclipse says amateur astronomer Roger Menard of The Astronomy Association of Southeastern New England.

Thats because the moons orbit isnt a circle, its an oval. That orbit means the moon is closer to the earth at some times than others.

When the moon is closest to the earth, its disc totally covers the sun. When its farther away its disc appears smaller and doesnt quite obscure the entire sun. Instead, the result is an annular eclipse in which the moon is encircled by a bright rim of sun sort of like the candy shell on an M & M.

So, knowledge that Mondays solar eclipse will see the astronomical event at its prime pure totality has left thousands across the U.S. vying for a spot along the eclipses trail.

But, area residents wont be left out.

Makeshift astronomers in our area can count on a second best, Houser said. About 65 percent of the sun will be covered by the moon, leaving residents with an unusual sight. The events peak takes place about 2:46 p.m.

When you look at the sun on a normal day, it doesnt look that big, about the size of a fingernail, Houser said. But at the height of the eclipse youll see the moon take a bite out of it. Weve all seen a crescent moon, but on Monday well see a crescent sun.

Attleboro will not see night, as will areas in the path of totality, but gradually as the eclipse takes place between 1:30 and 4 p.m., the outside will seem dimmer than usual, Houser said.

But because the event will draw watchful eyes to the sky, Houser and other astronomers are urging observers to take precautions in making sure theyre viewing the eclipse safely.

Instinctively, we dont look at the sun, Houser said. Its a natural reflex to look away from the bright sun or to blink to protect our eyes.

But those instincts go to the wayside for special events, and Houser said looking at the suns ultraviolet rays for an extended period of time, waiting for the eclipse to take place, could cause serious damage to ones retina even as far as partial blindness.

Its really important to observe safely, Houser said.

Regular sunglasses dont make the cut.

Special eclipse glasses can be found online or in stores although most vendors have struggled to keep up with demand in recent weeks. After fake glasses were discovered on the online market, NASA and the American Astronomical Society have endorsed brands with sufficient protection and urge viewers to buy from those vendors directly.

If you have proper glasses, when you put them on during the day it should be very dark, Houser said. You should see nothing.

But if you cant get your hands on eclipse glasses, Houser said theres other ways to view safely. NASA has compiled a list of techniques to view the eclipse indirectly on its website, and will also be streaming the eclipse live.

And, area astronomers and recreation facilities have committed to viewing parties, where eclipse glasses will be available to share.

Wheatons observatory deck will be open, and Houser said about six telescopes with safety filters will be available for those who want an even closer look at the sun.

In Foxboro, Troop 7 Boy Scouts will join the recreation department in hosting a special viewing party at Booth Playground from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Eclipse glasses will be on sale for $5.

And Recreation Director Debbie Giardino went to extra lengths to make sure no one will be without. Her department and the Boy Scouts will have 450 pairs of glasses on hand.

I didnt want to run out of glasses and have people miss the experience or put themselves in danger, Giardino said. If theres extra, theres extra.

Giardino said the event will be a party complete with food and a live stream of the total eclipse on a TV nearby.

She heard about plans of the gathering from the Boy Scouts, who will earn a badge from the event, and joined forces to make the event an experience all of Foxboro can enjoy.

We have the mechanics: The building, the wherewithal, the staff, all of the amenities that they were looking for, she said. But this was their idea from the start.

I think its a great community event. This is what we do. I hope families will come and made a day out of it. Its the end of summer and lifes too short not to enjoy an event that last took place 38 years ago.

See more here:

A crescent sun: Solar eclipse to mark astronomy event of the decade, even in New England - The Sun Chronicle

Paganism – Spirituality

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Paganism What is It? Paganism has been broadly defined as anyone involved in any religious act, practice, or ceremony which is not Christian. Jews and Muslims also use the term to refer to anyone outside their religion. Others define it as religions outside of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, while some simply define it as being without a religion.

In the strictest sense, paganism refers to the authentic religions of ancient Greece and Rome as well as surrounding areas. It originated from the Neolithic (Stone Age) era. The term, pagan, is derived from the Latin word, paganus, which means a country dweller. The pagan usually has a belief in many gods (polytheistic), but only one is chosen as the one to worship which represents the chief god and supreme godhead.

As Christianity progressed into the present age, a pagan became referred to anyone not being a Christian, and paganism denoted a non-Christian belief or religion. If the religion did not fit into the Judeo-Christian-Islamic or Eastern mould, then one practicing that religion was said to be involved in paganism.

Paganism What is the history? History records that worship of many gods, goddesses, and deities was viewed by people as important in worship. It was thought that everything had a spirit and was polytheistic, so people had gods and goddesses of the forest, sea, and all aspects of nature.

When the civilizations began to change and develop, the gods grew and changed with the people as they began to acquire gods of their occupations, or gods relevant to their village life. The old gods remained, but were changed or conformed to the changing lives of the people. Gods played an important role in every aspect of society influencing everything from laws and customs to general workings of the community. Reincarnation (rebirth of the body into another bodily form) was believed by the people, but they did not believe in the existence of heaven and hell.

Today, Paganism (neo-paganism) celebrates the Earth, living creatures, nature, and so on. Most modern-day pagans believe in more than one god, while others are atheistic.

Paganism What are some pagan systems and religions?

Paganism How does it compare with Christianity? It is difficult to compare paganism with Christianity since the term pagan can be used to identify many different sects and beliefs.

These are the major differences, out of many:

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another (Romans 1:22-24). Learn More About Jesus!

What is your response?

Yes, today I am deciding to follow Jesus

Yes, I am already a follower of Jesus

I still have questions

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Paganism - Spirituality

Gregg Braden – Bridging Science, Spirituality & the Real World

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View all Events Summer 2017 Newsletter Gregg Braden DNA Comments Off on Does Evolution Answer This One BIG Question?

Dearest Global Family,

Hello and welcome to the Summer 2017 edition of Bridging Science, Spirituality, and the Real Word, my one and only official Gregg Braden newsletter!

Just as we were going to press with this newsletter, the winners of the 2016 Nautilus Book Awards were published. The winners learn that their books have been selected at the same time the rest of the world does, and Im happy, proud and totally thrilled to announce that our 2016 book, Resilience From The Heart: The Power To Thrive In Lifes Extremes has received the Gold Award in the category of Social Change! For 19 years the Nautilus book award program has worked to acknowledge exceptional literary contributions to spiritual growth, conscious living & green values, high-level wellness, responsible leadership and positive social change as well as to the worlds of art, creativity and inspirational reading for children, teens and young adults from authors representing over 40 different categories. This year I was blessed to be one of those authors. Thank you Nautilus Book Awards for honoring the work of so many people in such a beautiful way, and to my community for your continued and loving support of my message of possibility, potential and discovery!

As I thought about our second quarter newsletter, I felt that I wanted to offer you something a bit different in this editionsome of the science thats defining the new human story. Its also the science that youre writing to me about after taking my on-line Hay House course or seeing the new GAIA television series, Missing Links. With that science, were learning about new ways to empower our lives. I realize that for many of us, the science is simply catching up with what weve believed and known to be true since childhood. For others, however, the revelations that are coming from the best science of the modern world are like an earthquake that is shaking the foundation of what has been accepted and taught in mainstream classrooms and textbooks for over 150 years.

Its all about usthe story of our origin, what we believe about ourselves, our capacities, and our capabilities. And because Im offering facts and statements that are rarely seen in mainstream media, Ive also offered a brief section of references at the end of this article to make it easy for those who would like to know more. I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter as much as I have enjoyed writing it for you!

Sometimes the best way to understand a complex idea is through the eyes of someone who sees the world simply. The wisdom of Forrest Gump, the character played by Tom Hanks in the 1994 film of the same name, is a perfect example of this kind of vision. When Gump is asked about the role of destiny in our lives, his timeless words ring just as true today as when he spoke them on the big screen for the first time, over two decades ago. I dont know if we each have a destiny, he says, or if were all just floatin around accidental-like on a breeze. But I think maybe its both. 1

Gumps philosophy precisely describes what personal transformation is all about. As individuals we each have a destiny that awaits us as the fulfillment of our greatest potential. Our destiny is ours, however, only if we act. Through the choices we make in each and every moment in our lives we claim this personal destiny. The way we answer the question Who am I? is the compass that can guide us as we make our choices one day at a time. And if youve ever felt that theres more to the human story than weve been led to believe in the past, I want you to know youre not alone.

A 2014 Gallup poll revealed that in the United States alone, a whopping 42 percent of the people who were asked believe that theres something more to human origins than is typically acknowledged in the mainstreamthat something beyond Charles Darwins theory of evolution is responsible for our existence. The results of this poll reflect a growing sense that we humans are part of something great, powerful, and mysterious. Some of the greatest minds in science agree.

Francis Crick, the Nobel Prizewinning co-discoverer of the DNA double helix, believed that the eloquence of lifes building blocks has to be the result of something more than random mutations and a lucky quirk of nature. Through his pioneering research, he was one of the first humans to witness the complexity and the sheer beauty of the DNA molecule that makes life possible. Late in life, Crick risked his reputation as a scientist by publicly stating, An honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now, could only state that in some sense, the origin of life appears at the moment to be almost a miracle.2 In the scientific world, this statement is the equivalent of heresy, suggesting that something more than chance evolution led to our existence.

The feeling that theres something more to our story is not just a recent phenomenon. Archaeological discoveries show that, almost universally, from the ancient Mayan Popol Vuh3 and the indigenous traditions of the American desert Southwest to the roots of the worlds major religions, ancient humans felt connected to more than just their immediate surroundings. They sensed that we have our roots in other worlds, some that we cant even see, and that we are ultimately part of a cosmic family that lives in those worlds. Could there be a simple explanation as to why such a sense has remained with us so strongly, across such diverse traditions, and has lasted for so long? Is it possible that our feeling of having an intentional origin and a greater potential is based in something thats true? And if so, what does such a past mean for us today?

When we ask Who are we? The short answer is that were not what weve been told and were more than most of us have ever imagined.

For the last century and a half weve been steeped in a cosmic story that leaves us feeling like little more than trivial specks of dust in the universebiological sidebars in the overall scheme of life. Carl Sagan described this mind-set perfectly when he commented on the scientific perspective on our place in the cosmos: We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.4 This kind of limited thinking, promoted by the scientific community, has led us to believe that were unimportant when it comes to life in general and also separate from the world, from one another, and ultimately, even from ourselves.

The story of human insignificance, with its roots in the 19th-century theory of human evolution, is taught as undisputed fact in todays classrooms, leaving no room for consideration of any other possible explanation for the mystery of our existence. And because the mainstream story does not take into account recent discoveries made using the best science of the modern world, it leaves us unprepared to address the radical social issues and global challenges were experiencing today, including everything from terrorism, bullying, and hate crimes to the epidemic of drug and alcohol abuse among young people.

The conventional thinking of today leaves us with the sense that, when it comes to explaining our beginning, Darwins theory of evolution is a done deal. That its an open-and-shut case universally accepted by the scientific community, and there is little room for doubt when it comes to the explanation of human life as we see it today. Evolution is described as fact in textbooks and classrooms. In this environment of unconditional acceptance, scientific discoveries that fail to support evolution are often not reported, or worse yet, are ridiculed as superstition, religion, or pseudoscience. For this reason, people are often surprised when there is any mention of discoveries casting doubt on Darwins theory. Theyre surprised, as well, to learn that passionate objections to Darwins theory appeared almost as soon as his book was published in 1859, and they came from within the scientific community itself!

The first was raised by Louis Agassiz, who is regarded as one of the great scientists of the 19th century. His pioneering legacy is recognized in the field of natural history, specifically for his work in the areas of geology, biology, paleontology, and glaciology. While he and Darwin were contemporaries using the same methods and looking at the same information, their interpretations couldnt have been more different. Commenting on Darwins theory in an 1874 publication, Agassiz wrote, There are absolutely no facts either in the records of geology, or in the history of the past, or in the experience of the present, that can be referred to as proving evolution, or the development of one species from another by selection of any kind whatever.5

Agassiz was not alone in his objections. A community of respected scientists has objected to Darwins work from the time it was first published. That community continues to grow. Its roster now sounds like a whos who of leading minds in contemporary science. Following is a brief sampling of the types of criticisms that have been raised from the time Darwin introduced his theory in 1859 to the present to give you a sense of these objections.

The preceding statements offer insights seldom seen by the public, and certainly not shared in typical school classrooms, when it comes to accepting Darwins theory. Clearly, the jury is still out on the viability of Darwins theory of evolution when it comes to solving the mystery of human beginnings. Its obvious from objections such as the ones listed, and more, that criticism of evolution continues with passion and vigorous debate. And while Darwins ideas are a century and a half old, theyre still among the most emotionally-charged issues of our time.

Immediately following Charles Darwins 1859 release of Origin of Species, scientists began a search for the physical evidence to support it: the missing links between species that were believed to exist in the fossil record. If scientists could find these clues, the logic goes, then they would be able to reconstruct our ancient family tree of development. Just the way we can document our individual family lineage in reverse, going from our parents to our grandparents, and then to our great-grandparents, and so on, they assumed one day it would be possible to create a family tree of all our collective ancestors.

The current thinking about our origins is often illustrated as a tree, with us at the top of the tree having emerged from less evolved forms of life shown on the lower branches. In this way of thinking, the lines that connect us to the life forms lower on the tree represent the various paths of developmentthe evolutionary pathsscientists believe have led from early primates to us today.

A close look at the conventional illustrations, however, reveals that the links between the fossils are shown as dashed lines rather than solid ones. This means that the lines represent speculative or inferred connections rather than proven ones. While the links are believed to exist, after 150 years of searching for the evidence to support them, they have yet to be proven.

In other words, the physical evidence to confirm the evolutionary links that influence aspects of our lives ranging from healthcare to the moral justification of hate crimes, suicide, assisted suicide, and the death penalty as well as the criteria for our self-image and intimate relationships, has yet to be discovered. Even so, the theory continues to be taught in public classrooms as if its an undisputed fact!

Its against the backdrop of these ideas and criticisms that an astounding discovery in the late 20th century gave scientists the opportunity to put some of the strongest-held arguments for evolution to the test. If human evolution has in fact occurred, as Darwins theory hypothesizes, then the best way to prove the theory would be to compare us to our ancestors at the deepest level of our cells. To do so, scientists would need to sample the DNA of our early ancestors and compare it to the DNA of our bodies today, which is a problem because modern humans have already been on earth for 200,000 years. Because DNA is fragile, it doesnt last that long.

Is it possible that DNA from ancient primate life could still exist today? And if it were to exist, could we test the recovered DNA the way we routinely test our DNA today? Although these questions sound as if they could have come from the plot of Jurassic Park, a movie depicting ancient dinosaurs being resurrected through DNA in the present day, the answer to these questions came to light in the form of a one-of-a-kind discovery in 1987. The revelations of the discovery have left more questions unanswered, created even deeper mysteries, and opened the door to a possibility that has been forbidden territory in traditional science.

In 1987, a paradigm-shattering discovery was made in the Caucasus region of Russia, near the border between Europe and Asia. Buried deep in the earth, in a place called Mezmaiskaya Cave, scientists discovered the remains of a Neanderthal infanta baby girl that lived about 30,000 years ago! For reference, the last ice age ended about 20,000 years ago, meaning that this baby was alive during the ice age. Her remains were in an extremely rare state of preservation, and scientists were able to determine her age as somewhere between that of an unborn seven-month fetus and a two-month-old infant.

Using forensic techniques, like the futuristic technology thats depicted in the TV series CSI, scientists were able to extract a form of DNA called mitochondrial DNA from one of the babys ribs for analysis. Mitochondrial DNA (abbreviated as mtDNA) is a special form of DNA thats located within the energy centers (mitochondria) inside each of our cells, rather than in the chromosomes, where most of our DNA is found.

The reason mtDNA is key when it comes to the question of human evolution is that we inherit it only from our mothers. Its passed from the egg of a mother to both her sons and her daughters, and this typically happens without any of the mutations that can lead to new features in children. This means that the mitochondrial DNA lines in our bodies today are the direct descendants, and exact matches, of the mitochondrial DNA of the woman who began our particular lineage long ago. Its the uniqueness of this form of DNA that set the stage for the bombshell revealed by the Neanderthal infant.

Using the most advanced techniques, with results that are accepted in the highest courts of law, Russian and Swedish scientists tested the Neanderthal infants DNA to see how similar hers was to that of modern-day humans. In other words, the scientists wanted to know if the Neanderthal girl was actually one of our ancestors, as the evolutionary family tree leads us to believe.

In the year 2000 researchers at the University of Glasgow Human Identification Centre published the results of their investigation comparing Neanderthal DNA to that of modern humans. The results of their study were shared in a way that made sense even to the most nonscientific reader. And the meaning of what they found could not be dismissed. The conclusion of their report was shared in the peer-reviewed journal Nature and directly stated that modern humans were not, in fact, descended from Neanderthals.13

Now there could be no turning back. While scientists had originally believed that the mtDNA of the Neanderthal infant would solve the mystery of our ancestry, it actually did just the opposite. If were not descendants of Neanderthals, then who are our ancestors? Where do we fit on the tree of evolutiondo we even belong in Darwins evolutionary family? The comparison of DNA from Neanderthals and other primate fossils has shed new light on this question. In doing so, however, its also forced scientists to ponder a new possibility when it comes to unraveling the mystery of our origins.

Scientists generally agree that Anatomically Modern Humans (AMHs) first appear in the fossil record approximately 200,000 years ago and mark the beginning of the subspecies Homo sapiensthe term used to describe the people living on earth today. Scientists now believe that the AMHs are us, and we are they. Any differences between contemporary bodies and those of the AMHs of the past are so slight that they dont justify a separate grouping. In other words, although ancient humans didnt necessarily behave like we do, they looked like us, functioned like us, and appear to have had all of the wiring in their nervous systems that we have today.

Stated another way, we still look and function as they did 2,000 centuries ago, despite our incredible technological achievements. A 2008 study of AMH remains performed by collaborating geneticists from the universities of Ferrara and Florence in Italy, tell us that these similarities are more than superficial. Researchers report, A Cro-Magnoid individual (Now named Anatomically Modern Human) who lived in Southern Italy 28,000 years ago was a modern European, genetically as well as anatomically.14

Its the fact that members of our species, Homo sapiens, havent changed since our earliest ancestors first appeared in the fossil record that poses a problem for the traditional story of evolution, which is based upon slow changes over long periods of time.

Following 150 years of the best human minds applying themselves under the auspices of the worlds most respected universities, being funded with tremendous sums of money, and using the most sophisticated technology available to solve the mystery of our origins, if we were on the right track, it would seem that wed be farther along than we are today. In light of the failure of Darwins theory to explain our existence, and in consideration of the new evidence that Ive presented, its reasonable to ask the question thats become the big pink elephant in the room: What if modern science is on the wrong track?

What if were trying to prove the wrong theory and writing the wrong human story? The answer to this question is the reason Im sharing these discovers, and what they mean for us today, in my 2017 books and presentations. If were on the wrong track, it may help to explain why so many of the solutions applied to the worlds problems arent working. This would mean that our thinking and the solutions our approaches have produced are based on something thats not true! It would also mean that the extraordinary abilities available to us today, such as the ability to self regulate vital functions that include our immune system and heart rate variability, to trigger self-healing, our access to deep intuition on-demand, to super learning and more, appear to be part of our original blueprint rather than abilities that developed slowly and gradually over a long period of time.

My question is simply this: Why not allow the evidence to lead us to the story of our past, rather than trying to force the evidence into a template that was formed over a century and a half ago? What if there is no evolutionary path leading to modern humans? What if the pieces of the genetic puzzle that makes us who we are appeared intact and fully functional all at once as the evidence suggests, rather than accumulating gradually over time? What would such a story look like? The DNA that make us unique, the lack of fossil evidence documenting the transition from one hominid species to another, and the lack of common DNA between humans and less advanced primates all suggest that we may not belong on the same tree with the early hominids commonly shown in the textbooks. In fact, they suggest that we may not belong to a tree at all!

In other words, we may find that were a species unique unto ourselves on an evolutionary shrub that begins and ends with us. This is not to say that evolution doesnt exist or hasnt occurred anywhere. It does and it has. As a degreed geologist, Ive seen firsthand the fossil record of the evolution thats occurred in a number of other species. Its just that when we attempt to apply what we know of the evolution of plants and animals to humans, the facts dont support the theory. They fail to explain what the evidence reveals.

If we were to place the essence of the new discoveries about us into a concise list, the statements that follow would offer a high-level summary. Additionally they would give us a good idea of where the new theories, and our new story, may be heading.

So now that we know what were not, what does the best science of our time tell us about who we are? What does the new human story look like?

To honestly acknowledge these facts opens us to a paradigm that shifts the way we feel about ourselves and view our place in the universe. With this shift, we free ourselves from a paradigm of lonely insignificance and move into one of possessing a rare heritage that we are only beginning to explore.

And this is where the books, videos, television specials and presentations that Im presenting throughout 2017 come in. The new human story begins with our beginnings. It begins with the fact that from the time of our origin weve been neurologically wired and biologically enabled for extraordinary abilities. This design affords us extraordinary ways of living and extraordinary lives.

Through the remainder of this year, I invite you to share this personal journey of discovery as I offer the scientific discoveries that are so new, they are not yet reflected in mainstream media, classrooms and textbooks, and help us to apply those discoveries in our everyday lives. I look forward to seeing you at the events that follow in this newsletter, and that are listed on my only official website: http://www.greggbraden.com

Until then, I want to thank you personally for your love and support, as together, we discover what it means to be human by design.

Warmly,

Gregg Braden Santa Fe, New Mexico

TRANSCRIPT [This is] something I rarely talk about in public. I [wrote]about this 20 years ago in one of my books, and I have not talked about this very much. I had two near-death experiences, both of them in the same year of my life, when I was five years old. One of them was []

Dearest Global Family, Following my most recent book, Resilience From The Heart: The Power To thrive In Lifes Extremes (Hay House 2015) much of the media focus has been on chapters of the book that address personal resilienceour emotional and spiritual ability to embrace big change in a healthy way in everyday life, and in []

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Gregg Braden - Bridging Science, Spirituality & the Real World

‘Love Charger Baba’ brought bling to spirituality – Times of India

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CHANDIGARH: "Your love makes spring of the world," sang controversial preacher Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan in his musical album 'Highway Love Charger' released in May 2014. Less than a year later, he would release his first movie 'MSG: The Messenger of God', solidifying his image of 'Rock Star Baba'. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan, who became the head of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda in 1990, is among the most "multi-talented" spiritual leaders in the country. Saint/Philanthropist/Versatile Singer/Allrounder Sportsperson/Film Director/Actor/Art Director/Music Director/ Writer/Lyricist... goes the list in the bio on his verified twitter handle. His dera is just as diversified and spread out, controlling assets worth crores. The real strength of the dera, however, is its lakhs of followers, who are standing behind the 50-year-old preacher, despite criminal charges like rape and murder against him. He has been described by his followers as social reformer, religious teacher, engineer, agriculturist and author. Born in Gurusar Modia, a small village of Rajasthan's Sri Ganganagar district, in a simple family, he apparently likes being addressed as "his holiness" and his family "the royal family". The transformation has not been gradual. Claiming to have supernatural abilities from childhood, he was known as Meeta in his youth. When he first took over the dera, the preacher used to dress up in a simple white kurta-pajama. But he reinvented himself into what many call the 'Guru of Bling' with garish costumes, elaborate headgears and jewellery galore. His wardrobe has been called a mix between costumes from B R Chopra's Mahabharat and that of an eccentric rock star. The baba, who is fond of luxuries like custom-made cars and jets, all claimed to be designed by him, not only has ashrams running into hundreds of acres across the globe but is also believed to have earned hundreds of crores from the movies he has made in which he plays a hero with almost Superman-like qualities. He has produced five movies so far 'MSG' being the most popular. Gurmeet is also among the very few 'VVIPs' in the country who enjoy Z-Plus security.

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'Love Charger Baba' brought bling to spirituality - Times of India

A Culture of Spirituality, by Sadhguru – Easterneye (press release) (subscription)

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It is natural for human intelligence to seek what is life and beyond to look at life and to long to know. So how can you avoid spirituality? You have managed to avoid it for a long time because you are deeply attached and identified with things that you are not. When I say things that you are not, it includes your body and your mind. Once you are identified with something that you are not, your intelligence is twisted out. It cannot see anything straight because from then on, it works only from that identity. Suppose you say, I am a woman, the way you think, the way you feel, everything is like a woman. You got identified with a few body parts. Your intelligence cannot see anything straight.

This is the reason a spiritual program becomes necessary. If people were not twisted out, spirituality would be a natural thing. It would not be something that someone has to teach you and remind you of. It is very natural for you to look around and see that there seems to be something beyond the physicality of life it is so simple to know it. It is unbelievable how such a large segment of population goes without noticing it. If you just close your eyes for two minutes, you can see that you seem to be a little more than a body. So why does someone have to come and remind you?

Anyone can see it, but just a handful of people do, because right from childhood, everybody around you is a vested interest. Everybody is encouraging you to get identified with them. Your parents want you to get identified with them, your teachers want you to get identified with them and their kind of education, your leaders and others want you to get identified with their nation, caste, creed and whatever else, because everybody has their own agenda, their own desire to gather people and use them for their purposes.

I am not saying all the activity that is being done is of no worth. There is worth to it, but just because you are doing something, there is no need to be identified with it, even if it is extremely useful. The moment you get identified, you get twisted out, and twisted out human beings cannot truly bring wellbeing to people. The moment you are identified with something, you split the world into a million pieces. Once you split everything in your perception, everything that you do will only enhance that split and that is not for the ultimate wellbeing of humanity at all.

In a way, it is really a shame that we have to go about reminding people about their spirituality. We want the spiritual process to become a part of living culture. Like how a mother teaches a child to brush his teeth, we want the spiritual process to become like that without any effort, without the mother knowing about it, she teaches her child the spiritual process. It was so in this culture just a generation or two ago. Even today in India, the essence of the spiritual process is not controlled by any one organization. There is no one guiding and controlling it as it is done in other parts of the world. It is just a part of ones life. Everyone teaches it the way they know it. The spiritual process was made so much a part of life.

It has been left unregulated like this because it was never an organized process of religion. It was just various methods for ones evolution. This country is the only godless country on the planet because there is no concretized idea of God here. Anyone can worship whatever they feel like. People are worshipping all kinds of things. There is no such word as heretic in India because every human being has some sense of love or devotion towards something. Somebody loves their mother, somebody loves their god, somebody loves money, somebody loves their work, somebody loves their dog, somebody loves their cow. It does not matter what, he is on the spiritual path. The question is just whether his spiritual path is feeble or strong; but there is nobody who is not on the path. Everybody is on the path in his own erratic way.

Ranked amongst the fifty most influential people in India, Sadhguru is ayogi, mystic, visionary and bestselling author. The head of Isha Foundation, Sadhguru has been conferred the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in 2017, the highest civilian award of the year, accorded for exceptional and distinguished service.http://isha.sadhguru.org/

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A Culture of Spirituality, by Sadhguru - Easterneye (press release) (subscription)