Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day: Click on the picture to go to the site. This little version does not do the picture justice. I think it is one of the best astronomy landscapes that has appeared on APOD in all its years. The APOD description: This sky is protected. Yesterday marked the 50 year …
Moon of fear
From yesterday's Astronomy Picture of the Day: Phobos: Doomed Moon of Mars This moon is doomed. Mars, the red planet named for the Roman god of war, has two tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, whose names are derived from the Greek for Fear and Panic. These martian moons may well be captured asteroids originating in …
What scientists were really saying about “global cooling” in the 1970s
I remember hearing it too, back in the 1970s: "We're heading into another ice age." Today we hear: "Why should we believe the climate scientists when they predict global warming? Back in the 1970s, they predicted the Earth's climate was going to get much colder." But was "global cooling" really the consensus back in the …
Continue reading What scientists were really saying about “global cooling” in the 1970s
Christ-less Christianity
If I could pass on just one thing about Christianity and the gospel to my children, students at BCA, and church, it would be this: The gospel is all about Jesus Christ and what he has done for us in his incarnation, life, death and resurrection; not about what we do for him. You wouldn't …
Green Gasoline
The burning of petroleum (and other fossil fuels) is a primary contributor to the increase of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere. Burning of plant material, on the other hand, does not increase the concentration of CO2, because the carbon in the plant came from the atmosphere in the first place, through the process of photosynthesis. …
Geology of the Moon
From the Wikipedia Picture of the Day for April 4th: This false-color mosaic showing compositional variations in the geology of the Moon was constructed from a series of 53 images taken through three spectral filters by the imaging system of the Galileo spacecraft. Bright pinkish areas are highlands materials, such as those surrounding the oval …
Kilauea eruption images
Kilauea, one of five shield volcanoes on the island of Hawaii, has been erupting continuously since 1983. Its eruption during the past month (March 2008) included the first explosive eruption at Kilauea since 1924. The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory offers spectacular images: Halemaumau crater, at the summit of Kilauea Lava streams into the ocean, making …
Nine months until Christmas — A solid reason to oppose abortion
From Abortion and Christmas by Scott Stiegemeyer: Even though we are still basking in the glory of the Festival of the Resurrection, today my mind turns toward Christmas. That’s because today is the commemoration of the Annunciation, the scene in Luke’s Gospel where the angel tells Mary that she will bear a son who will …
Continue reading Nine months until Christmas — A solid reason to oppose abortion
Anne Rice on faith
Gene Edward Veith (Cranach) quotes Anne Rice, former atheist and vampire novel author, on her conversion to Christianity: Anne Rice, who became famous for writing highly literate vampire novels, gives more details about her conversion to Christianity in a forum on the Washington Post online: On Faith: Guest Voices: My Trust in My Lord. Sample: …
The Cat’s Eye
From today's Astronomy Picture of the Day: Cat's Eye Hubble Remix Explanation: Staring across interstellar space, the alluring Cat's Eye Nebula lies three thousand light-years from Earth. One of the most famous planetary nebulae in the sky, the Cat's Eye (NGC 6543) is over half a light-year across and represents a final, brief yet glorious …
Another spring flooding image
Here's another image related to this week's heavy rainfall and flooding in Missouri and adjoining states: In this image, red areas (very tiny) received greater than 200 mm (8 in) of precipitation, orange areas receive more than 150 mm (6 in), and yellow areas received more than 100 mm (4 in). The image and a …
Spring flooding
The USGS has an online map called WaterWatch, which portrays conditions from stream gaging stations. Parts of Missouri and Arkansas have received a foot of rain this week, and that storm system has spread to the east. Black dots on the map are areas that are currently the highest above normal. The map is clickable--you …
Shuttle launch
Night time launch of the space shuttle Endeavor, from today's Astronomy Picture of the Day: Photo by James N. Brown Grace and Peace
The Bad News of the Gospel
This item was originally posted in March, 2006. (Wow! That reminds me---The GeoChristian is two years old this week!) It is now part of my blog recycling program. Because I have new readers at The GeoChristian, I will occasionally go back and re-use some of my favorite blog entries. As a teacher, I've seen a …
Bad kitties
Gracie likes to lay down on the laptop keyboard. Cinder likes to be in the way when I'm trying to type. That is the price I pay for having a little piece of nature in the home. Grace and Peace
Southern Baptists and global warming
Don, at The Evangelical Ecologist, has a couple posts on a new statement written by some Southern Baptist leaders who feel their denomination's stance on anthropogenic climate change and other environmental issues is too weak: A Southern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change An Open Letter to Southern Baptists One thing I appreciate …
WWTelescope — the next big thing?
WorldWide Telescope could do for astronomy what Google Earth has done for the Earth sciences. I haven' seen it yet; it is coming out some time in the spring of 2008. With WWTelescope, one will be able to view any place in the sky with imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope as well as from …
Happy pi day
Today is pi day (3.14). Click here for my pi day jokes from last year. Click here for pi to one million decimal places, just in case you ever need it. Click here for the official Pi Day web site. Pi day just also happens to be Albert Einstein's birthday. That seems appropriate. Grace and …
Google Earth & microclimate
Google Earth came in handy today for illustrating microclimate. At lower elevations in the Bridger Range near Bozeman, Montana, dense pine forests form on north-facing slopes, whereas grass dominates the south-facing slopes. There is enough of a difference in soil temperature and moisture between the two sides of the ridges to make a significant difference …
Plant hardiness zones
Welcome to The GeoChristian. Out of over 600 posts on my blog, this one on plant hardiness zones is the one people find second most often via search engines. The purpose of The GeoChristian is twofold: 1. To enhance science literacy within the Evangelical Christian community. 2. To present a Biblical Christianity that is hostile …
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