Mark R. Chartrand III
Bio
Published author and editor; Works include Night Sky: A Guide To Field Identification, Stars, and Planets: A Guide to the Solar System.
Stories (2/0)
Mystery of Quasars
Quasar! The very name evokes visions of vast power, primordial matter, the brightness of a trillion suns, mystery. In the decades since these curious objects were first identified, the mystery of quasars has broadened and deepened. Many astrophysicists think that quasars were only one type in a wide range of energetic extragalactic phenomena. A decade after their discovery, Britain's Dr. Martin J. Rees even called for a whole new classification scheme to replace the helter-skelter assortment of terms that was in use for high-powered radio sources with terms that recognize their basic similarity.
By Mark R. Chartrand III8 years ago in Futurism
What Was the Star of Bethlehem?
It’s a scientific detective case, really, not unlike some modern UFO reports: cold clues, conflicting observers, many possible explanations, lack of data from people who should have seen what others reported, plus a need to come up with an answer. The nature of the Star of Bethlehem, or the Star of the Magi, used to come up every year around December and was the subject of planetarium shows all over the Western world. It was the case of trying to identify a historical event using available records, modern knowledge of the sky, ancient astrology, and was subjected to the errors of interpreting extinct tongues.
By Mark R. Chartrand III8 years ago in Futurism
