Hermograph Press

08/31/2025

Violence! Moon Food! Blood in the Sky! Workin’ on my birthday! (I wonder if they are all related….)

The latest The Galactic Times has been emailed (but not posted on the website, that's in a few days--Subscribe!). In it we take a look at violence in the universe, a total eclipse we can’t see (in the America’s) and two fun ways to to measure the Moon’s size and distance if you can see this eclipse. Then recharge yourself with some half-moon foods!

I’m going to non-violently eat my birthday food now…..LK, starting another orbit around the Sun.

In This Issue:

Cover Photo — Total Eclipse World Visibility Chart

Welcome to Issue !

This Just In — Violence in the Universe; DART Dirt and Two Dissected Supernovae

Sky-Lites (+ TCA) — Measuring the Moon During the September 7th Lunar Eclipse, plus Sky Events

Astronomy in Everyday Life — Mezza Moons

08/04/2025

TGT - Who's Throwing Rocks at the Solar System?? Part 2 - Meteors and Multiple Conjunctions on the Same Day
The August 1st Issue of The Galactic Times Magazine on Substack covers a diverse set of topics. Part 2 of our article on collisions in the Solar System looks closely at the Moon. An asteroid may hit it in 7 years, causing extensive damage to even Earth orbiting satellites. But Earth is already striking back at the Moon, crashing missions and rocket debris at it, causing craters. And we might not be the first to do; a serious mission proposal from the SETI Institute seeks to have a lander trawl the Moon's Far Side surface, sifting it for technological debris that has drifted through the interstellar medium to us from space-industrial-active (once, maybe not now) civilizations around other stars.
Be sure you are free to skygaze on August 12th. A meteor shower peaks, the dawn has a brilliant double planet pair, and two other planets and the Moon (remember that?) have a triple meeting in the sky.
And one produce company must have a staff astronomer--Cosmically named veggies!
Subscribe at https://thegalactictimes.substack.com ; more info at https://www.thegalactictimes.com .
In This Issue:
*Cover Photo — An Impact on the Moon
* Welcome to Issue !
* This Just In - Why is Everybody Throwing Rocks at the Moon and Planets?? And From Where? Part 2
* Sky-Lites — Big Day August 12th—Meteors, Double-Planets, Double Conjunction
* Astronomy in Everyday Life - Cosmic Veggies

07/18/2025

Who’s Throwing Rocks at the Solar System???

Yes, suddenly a whole lot of places, not just Earth, are being hit with cosmic rocks. And some of that could highly damage a lot of Earthly used space hardware. Where is all this coming from? Why will 2032 a danger point? In fact, why do so many such events happening around Christmas’s???

Not only that, but there appears to be a tipping point coming with the Moon, AND a large increase coming in those cosmic crater creators coming from Earthlings! Even more interesting, there may be extraterrestrials debris there. LGM stuff. Seriously!

Read Part 1 of this story in the current issue of The Galactic Times Magazine. Subscribe so you can get Part 2 in your Inbox.

In This Issue:

Cover Photo — Unscheduled Target: Moon
This Just In - Why is Everybody Throwing Rocks at the Moon and
Planets?? And From Where?
Welcome to Issue !
Sky Planning Calendar —
* Moon-Gazing - Moon Passes 5 Planets, Two Bright Stars and a Cluster
* Observing—Plan-et - A Decent “Practice” Meteor Shower
* Calendar Summary
Astronomy in Everyday Life - Rare Stars on Earth

https://thegalactictimes.substack.com

07/01/2025

The estimable stellar observatory, Gaia, has shut down but not without leaving a legacy of observations that will keep astronomers happy for decades. Or would if they didn’t have a followup mission in mind that would dwarf this one.

Read all about their discoveries pertaining to our Milky Way galaxy in the major part of this Issue, reporting from the European Astronomical Society meeting this past week in Ireland.

Additionally, read about finding the outermost two planets the easy way, with them hanging out near easier-to-see brighter worlds.

In This Issue:

Cover Photo — Farewell, Gaia
This Just In - Everything Gaia, from the European Astronomical Society Meeting in Cork, Ireland
Welcome to Issue !
Sky Planning Calendar —
* Moon-Gazing - Sky Shows on the 4th (and 15th)
* Observing—Plan-et - Easy Ways to Find Uranus and Neptune
* NEW! - Calendar Summary

06/16/2025

Issue 25J of The Galactic Times has been published, to all App and email subscribers. It will go on the website later this week.

In this issue two new features are debuted:

A Calendar Summary—Following the usual Sky Planning Calendar narratives is a line-by-line summary, what will happen each day of the next half-month.

Book Preview—The first chapter of an astronomy book I am finishing called Learning Astronomy Under the Northern Sky (tentative titling). In this first look, I write about why the circumpolar sky makes a good teaching resource, and all about what circum- and polar mean with a detailed look at Polaris.

In This Just In we learn about an unusual star system….14 Herculis, visible in the current night sky…and its two Jupiters, one of which isn’t a hot one but a very cold one, and both of which orbit at roughly 90 degrees from each other!

For those who are not familiar with the sky, there are Moon, star and planet straight-line alignments in the next two weeks that will help you find them all. Further, Saturn pals around with fellow gas giant Neptune all the next month, an easy find.

Subscribe and read more about the new book coming in future issues, and sign up for the announcement of availability. Be the first to be able to buy the book!

LK

In This Issue:

Cover Photo — Direct Image of a Cold Jupiter
This Just In - Cloudy with a Chance of Wind (Cover Story)
Welcome to Issue !
Sky Planning Calendar —
* Moon-Gazing - Moon Straight-Line Aligns With Planets and Stars
* Observing—Plan-et - Saturn Hangs With Neptune
* NEW! -Calendar Summary
NEW! -Book Preview - Learning Astronomy Under the Northern Stars

06/01/2025

Back from a month off to recover from a long Spring book tour. Here’s the Table of Contents of the June 1st issue, being mailed late tonight to subscribers and posted on Substack in a week. Subscribe now to read about Astronomy Outreach in India activities you can do on the upcoming June Solstice and with any kind of spectroscope or diffraction grating. See how to measure your area lighting efficiency with spectra. A pair of planet-planet conjunctions in the next two weeks, and Mercury replaces Jupiter in the evening sky.

In This Issue:

Cover Photo — Zero Shadow Day (and Not Always the Solstice!)
Welcome to Issue !
TCA - Towards Cosmic Awareness —
* Astronomy Outreach Ideas from India (Cover Story)
* Measuring Area Lighting Efficiencies
Sky Planning Calendar —
* Moon-Gazing - The Moon Gets Ever Closer to Stars
* Observing—Plan-et - A Pair of Interesting Planet-Planet Conjunctions

05/03/2025

Ashes to Ashes, or Perhaps Space?

I read an article recently in the New York Times about a building owner discovering the ashes in a building basement of the great 1950s-1960s science writer W***y Ley who wrote over 150 books that were the training manuals for many of the early space pioneers and engineers. The image in this note is one of his major books, which I have a copy. Ley died as Apollo 11 was launched and never got to see men on the Moon. Or his own grave.

I’ve been in touch with the people holding on to Ley’s ashes and they and the only known relative of Ley want to send those ashes in space. Deep Space. Or at least the Moon.

In my story you can read not only all about this saga but find the links to the NYT article but also a GoFundMe to raise at least $12,000 to send this great writer into space, a ride he deserves.

[Note: I have nothing to do with the GoFundMe.

Additionally, Issue 25H of Tthe Galactic Times has in it….

Cover Photo — Send W***y Ley to Space!
Welcome to Issue !
This Just In — Ashes to Ashes, or Perhaps Space?
Sky Planning Calendar
* Moon-Gazing - A Month of Sky
* Observing—Plan-et - Saturn’s Big Day and Other Observations
Astronomy in Everyday Life - Charlie Brown’s Spaceport?

Subscribe at https://thegalactictimes.substack.com to get issues in your email on issue date!

04/23/2025

A Review of "Nine Days Traveling"!

"Those already well-versed in local history might be surprised by the additional details that Krumenaker's book (Nine Days Traveling) provides....In the end, if you are interested in local history....I highly recommend that you read Krumenaker's book. I've only briefly touched on the wealth of information that you'll find between its covers. No local history library is complete without a copy of this book." - Lee Peacock, Monroe Journal, April 10, 2025.

04/07/2025

Despite heavy rain and thunderstorms, the event at Perdue Hill celebrating Lafayette took place. Here is a photo of me interviewing The Man himself inside the exact same Masonic Hall that he talked to the citizens of the then-city, now-ghost town of Claiborne. Illustrated with photos and drawings of Claiborne of 1825 and photos of the sites today.

This Sunday in Loachapoka, AL, a few miles west of Auburn, will be my last spring Bicentennial Lafayette presentation, at 2:30 PM for the Lee County Historical Society. If you need info, just respond here!

Photo courtesy of the Perdue Hill-Claiborne Foundation.

LK

03/31/2025

The April 1st Issue of The Galactic Times is scheduled for tomorrow night (no fooling) ( couldn’t resist….). It will be emailed to subscribers, and posted on the Web in a week. Why wait? Subscribe at https://thegalactictimes.substack.com !

TGT - Brown Dwarfs and X-rays and Triplets, Oh My!

TGT 4/1/25: This Just In--News About Brown Dwarf Stars and Archaeology of a Dead Star, A Hail and Farewell; Sky Gazing Calendar--A Time With No Moon and Planets, A Fast Re-emergence of Three Planets.

03/25/2025

In This Issue:
Cover Photo — What a Difference Two Weeks Makes

Welcome to Issue of The Galactic Times! Learn about the Partial Solar Eclipse for the NE of the USA and Europe. Don't think of the state of Georgia as particularly astronomical? Think again. Where else do you find a town named for the Southern constellation of the Peacock?

Now posted on the Substack website (subscribers get it in the email one week earlier!)
- - - - -

Sky Planning Calendar —

* Moon-Gazing -

* Observing—Plan-et - Venus and Mercury, Planetary Space Rocks, Drop Like Rocks Out of the Evening Sky, Quickly Enter Dawn

Deeper Look: A Partially Shy Sun - March 29th Solar Eclipse

This Just In — A World Minus Rings But Plus Many Moons

Astronomy in Everyday Life —Georgia on my….Universe?

03/25/2025

Whew! 11 events in 8 weeks! No wonder I am tired! But all is good and the numbers are increasing with every visit.

Just got back from Milledgeville, GA where over 50 persons attended my talk on Lafayette in that state. That followed a talk in Mobile History Museum where more than *80* attended a talk there. Coming up in less than two weeks are two days in Claiborne, AL, where I will, among other things, interview Mssr. Lafayette himself on stage in front of hundreds. One last bicentennial talk, nearby in Hermograph Press' home turf, Lee County AL (Yay! No hotels!) to the Historical Society there, which closes out the Spring Book Tour.

Then 2+ months later, in July, I am putting the Lafayette hat back on to headline a fundraiser with 400 persons for the tornado-damaged Alabama Veterans Museum in Athens, AL.

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