Last Sunday we watched the very popular new show, Cosmos, which is a remake of the famous Carl Sagan series from the 1980’s. In this episode, the astronomer Haley sailed south to chart the stars of the southern hemisphere in the 1600’s. Have you ever wondered what the sky down under looks like? Do they see any of the same constellations we see at night? Well, actually, they see most of the same constellations we do, but sort of upside down. Here are snapshots from my amat

Twice a year, a day comes along where the length of daylight equals the length of darkness. Today we call that day the “equinox”. We recognize the vernal equinox as the first day of spring and the autumnal equinox as the first day of fall. These two days have always been important indicators for man since even ancient times. Before Europeans came to America, Native Americans did not have bankers, insurance agents, or real estate agents so where did they get their calendars

“Suddenly, without any warning, under a huge overhanging ledge the boy showed me a cave beautifully lined with the finest cut stone. It had evidently been a royal mausoleum. On top of this particular ledge was a semicircular building whose outer wall, gently sloping and slightly curved, bore a striking resemblance to the famous Temple of the Sun in Cuzco.” Hiram Bingham’s first encounter with Machu Picchu in 1911, was the mausoleum cave and the Temple of the Sun or Torreon

“In the variety of its charms and the power of its spell, I know of no place in the world which can compare with it. Not only has it great snow peaks looming above the clouds more than two miles overhead and gigantic precipices of many-coloured granite rising sheer for thousands of feet above the foaming, glistening, roaring rapids, it has also, in striking contrast, orchids and tree ferns, the delectable beauty of luxurious vegetation, and the mysterious witchery of the jun