Hermograph Press

04/06/2026

Two new, unplanned books are now on the work bench. One is astronomy based, the other an historical travel guide to a Revolutionary War general. Details when they are more completed, one of which has to be done by May 1st. Stay tuned for announcements AND Pre-publication discount offers!

Send a message to learn more

04/06/2026

After having an illness, I produced FOUR newsletter issues last week, three of which were (mostly) duplicated between The Galactic Times and the Classroom Astronomer newsletters.

For TGT, Issue 109:

The different names of the April Full Moon, a planetary traffic jam in the April dawns, a Sungrazing comet reminder and info for the first good meteor shower of the year, the Lyrids.

For TCA 54, a partially paid subscriber issue, a simple lesson on busting moon phase misconceptions of their causes. Then three Star Trek stars are explored in the Exploration of the Universe with Big Data Project. This part was shared with TGT109PA

Issues 109PB, and PC were identical with TCA 54PB and PC, continuing the Exploration with four non-Trek stars that are interesting on their own, and 3 stars from yours truly’s research past. Thus all of our List of Ten stars have had their first glances of general knowledge. Next issues of Exploration will be diving deeply.

03/18/2026

COOL. The sounds of Xray-reflecting ringed planets.

YUCKKKKKK. A million mirrors in orbit??

ICK. Growing food (badly) with lunar or martian soil.

and Finally….GULP….Were you born on March 28th? Are you a whale, a sea monster, or a Fish?

Read it all in the latest issue of The Galactic Times.

02/25/2026

Getting this post out early…..
In the upcoming March 1st The Galactic Times Inbox Magazine, details about the March 3rd Bloody (or not) Total Lunar Eclipse will be provided. In this Part 2 (Part 1 was in the February 15 issue) I talk about how the name Blood Moon is a misnomer. It isn’t always a bright red blood colored disc. It has in the past (recent and decades ago) been dark and even invisible! In the Deeper Looks column we’ll give you a scale to measure the darkness/redness, and also an eclipse-themed restaurant to eat in before or after the eclipse!
Also a sneak preview of a newly discovered sungrazing comet you MIGHT see in early April.
Finally, for paid Premium subscribers to both The Galactic Times and the Classroom Astronomer newsletters, the first Paid-only issue, Post #3, of the Explore the Universe with Big Data project was published today. Want to know EVERYTHING about a star? We begin by locating basic data and all its names. This issue stars with 40 Eridani, a real star but one used as the home of Star Trek’s Vulcans. Free subscribers got today a sneak preview before hitting the paywall.

02/15/2026

November--The 2nd edition of my long-selling Atlanta Civil War book comes out. Lots of pre-sales, a slowly growing calendar of book talks in Georgia and Alabama, with bookings now as far as next August.

Last week--It always happens in writing historical travel books. My aforementioned Civil War book includes the Chattahoochee (Johnston) River Line of defense. And I found recently an article from *50* years ago of touring that line of forts with sites I hadn't seen before (many such things have been bulldozed away). But one hadn't! Book, say hello to your new entry, the North Anchor Cannon Fort, the highly eroded but still hanging on northernmost fort of the line.

02/15/2026

A little bit more life in the sky, but quite possibly fewer chances for extraterrestrial life among the most common stars in the Sky.

Two studies indicate that those latter stars could suffer from not enough of the proper kind of life to evolve anything more complex than a microbe. Furthermore, the stars may be highly destructive due to space weather they generate, fouling up planetary life formation.

But, the Moon livens up the sky by covering Mercury, and then the Sun (but incompletely—leaves a ring around the…) but that is only for penguins to view. A Part 1 preview for the Moon itself gets covered over early in March.

Meanwhile a ship that’s a throwback to two - three centuries ago but modernized and named for a constellation just. like. it.

Enjoy the latest issue of The Galactic Times, #106/

In This Issue:

Cover Photo — No Life Around Trappist 1?

Welcome to The Galactic Times Inbox Magazine Issue #106!

This Just In —Low Mass Lifeless?

Sky-Lites — Mercury, Saturn, Neptune Highlights, An Annular Solar Eclipse for Penguins, For the Future

Deeper Looks — The March 3rd Total Lunar Eclipse, Part 1

Astronomy in Everyday Life – Sails of the Sky and Earth

02/04/2026

Its Just a Phase….

And yet it is more.

The Full Moon has more things (products, art, signs, places) named for it than any other phase of the Moon. It also is the only phase that has a name besides Full Moon. And it has many names. Learn the 14 we know about in the February 1st issue of The Galactic Times.

Also, two new names have joined the astronomical Lexicon, Cibola and Siwarha, both dealing with stars we can’t see.

Enjoy! The Galactic Times https://thegalactictimes.substack.com

01/19/2026

In the January 1st Issue of The Galactic Times, #103, we reported on Destroyed Domes—Observatories destroyed by Nature, or humans. Sad….

In the January 1st and 17th issues ( #103 and 104), Sky-Lites lets you know what’s happenings in the sky with the Moon and planets. We have just two visible in the sky right now, Jupiter and Saturn. But near month’s end—if you are very careful—you can view Mercury and Venus close together. VERY carefully…..

In both issues, like in the Classroom Astronomer issues of the same dates, we started the Exploration of the Universe with Big Data Posts, these for free, on what kind of data do we need to explore the stars, what ten stars we will use to do these explorations, and in what data archives. The next Exploration Posts will be available only to Premium (Paid) Subscribers.

01/19/2026

Articles in the Classroom Astronomer Newsletter the past two issues were a two parter, on Observing Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion in Action. In January 1st’s Issue #51 the Third Law relating a planet’s distance from the Sun to its orbital period, P-squared versus D-cubed, was explored, and shown to be universal even to moons around a planet. Using real observations or online simulations we looked at Jupiter and its Galilean Moons to see it holds there, too. In Issue #52, we looked at the Second Law, that planets must move faster when closer to the Sun, than when farther. How? By counting days between the seasons and seeing all seasons are not equal. We also find that that simple normal calendar helps show the Moon is in an elliptical orbit, too, by counting days between New, Quarter and Full phases. Simple and elegant!

In #52 also we also listed more simulations of Jupiter and its Moons, and of Saturn and its moons which you can use for these exercises, and for planning observing sessions.

01/19/2026

In the January 1st and 17th Issues of The Galactic Times and The Classroom Astronomer newsletters, we have begun to explorer astronomy’s Big Data. In the first of the issues, Post #1 on this was setting the scene—What kinds of data is out there to understand the Universe? Answer: Just brightness, color, and location, but there is more to all three than concepts that simple. In Post #2, we looked the cast and the location of the play—Ten Objects from well-known to barely researched unpublished unusual stars. Stars included Polaris, Dubhe in the Big Dipper, Wolf 359 and 40 Eridani, from Star Trek. We also listed the datasets we will be using to find out more about these ten objects as examples of our searching online. These two Posts are available free in these two issues, but from now on, they will be behind a paywall for Premium (Paid) Subscribers only.

12/26/2025

Hermograph's latest book, Walking the Line 2nd Edition, has its first review!
...This new work is a monumental achievement. (Dr. Krumenaker) includes detailed maps, current photographs, and all kinds of illustrations to help the Civil War enthusiasts and historians today to find the exact spot where these things happened. It is a bit mind boggling how much he has managed to fit into this slim 102-page volume. ... Presumably, those who will be using this guide would already know a lot about the Civil War and Atlanta, but beginners should be able to pick it up and use it to get started. ... --Kenneth H. Thomas Jr., (former Atlanta Journal Constitution columnist), Geneaology Bulletin, December 15, 2025.

Check it out at https://www.hermograph.com/walkingtheline/