In July 1878, a total solar eclipse plunged the American frontier into darkness for barely three minutes. What followed was a collision of science and frontier chaos! A gunslinger named Texas Jack fires a revolver through a Wyoming hotel window to impress a young Thomas Edison. Edison retreats to a drafty chicken coop to testContinueContinue reading “Wild West Eclipse of 1878”
Podcast Archives
The Carrington Event
On August 28, 1859, a telegraph operator in Washington, D.C., gets knocked to the floor by a spark at his desk. Four days later, two astronomers watch something erupt on the surface of the Sun. Follow the storm as it races across the Atlantic, lights up rooftops from Broadway to San Francisco Bay, and turnsContinueContinue reading “The Carrington Event”
The Farm Boy Who Discovered Pluto
How did a hardworking Kansas farm boy find his way to Pluto? In this episode, we dive into the true story of Clyde Tombaugh. After Clyde spent months grinding telescope mirrors in an underground root cellar, a June hailstorm ruined his family’s crops and his hopes for college. Discover how his salvaged farm parts andContinueContinue reading “The Farm Boy Who Discovered Pluto”
The Great Comet of 1861
In 1861, as America descended into the Civil War, a great comet appeared, visible even in daylight. For a moment, the world paused to watch. A young Australian farmer named John Tebbutt was the first to recognize it. Armed with a tiny telescope, a sextant, and a determination to understand the heavens, he would goContinueContinue reading “The Great Comet of 1861”
An August Night Under the Perseids
A 1980s backyard night of amateur astronomy in Arvada, Colorado gets hijacked by high-school stoners, Iron Maiden, and late-night roof climbers. Host and author Wayne McGraw shares a true Gen X story that begins with watching the Perseid meteor shower, tracking Saturn, finding the Andromeda Galaxy, and ends with teens who would never have crossedContinueContinue reading “An August Night Under the Perseids”
The Great Comet of 1882: Shattered by the Sun
We uncover the story of the Great Comet of 1882, so bright it was visible in broad daylight right beside the sun, only to shatter into pieces before the world’s eyes. Step into the backyards, balloons, and observatories of astronomers and everyday witnesses who watched history’s brightest comet crumble in real time.
The Great 1913 Meteor Procession: The Night the Sky Unraveled
In February 1913, thousands of people across the Western Hemisphere witnessed a slow-motion cosmic parade of meteors grazing the atmosphere. In this episode, we dive into eyewitness accounts of that unforgettable night and explore the scientific research that revealed the truth behind the spectacle. It wasn’t just a meteor shower. It was an awe-inspiring disintegrationContinueContinue reading “The Great 1913 Meteor Procession: The Night the Sky Unraveled”
The Great Comet of 1811: Companion to a Shaking World
Discover the history of the Great Comet of 1811. Visible to the naked eye for nine months, this spectacular comet mystified the globe, coincided with the terrifying New Madrid earthquakes, inspired Tecumseh and Napoleon, and even yielded a legendary wine vintage.