Author: Bryan Mendez
Is that lack of diversity in real life STEM professions reflected in the movies? Dr. Mendez examined hundreds of movies to quantify the diversity of STEM characters in popular US films.
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Christmas is also totally an astronomical celebration. Christmas began as a celebration of the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere.
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April 1st, 2018 is the Christian celebration of Easter in the Gregorian Calendar and it is also the start of a new year in the Maya Haab calendar. Next year they won’t occur on the same day. Both events are astronomical in origin. Let’s explore how these two calendars work.
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Examine the astronomical connections in the Chinese calendar.
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February 2nd is celebrated in the United States as both Groundhog’s Day and Candlemas, or Dia de la Candelaria in Spanish. Both celebrations have their roots in astronomical events.
Candlemas (Dia de la Candelaria) is a Christian celebration of the presentation of Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem, commemorating Mary's ritual purification after her childbirth. Following ancient Hebrew tradition, this took place 40 days after Jesus was born. Therefore, Candlemas is now celebrated 40 days after Christmas (Dec 25) on February 2nd. Some people do not remove Christmas decorations until this date, as it marks the end of the Christmas season.
These dates are where the first astronomical connection comes into play.
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October 31st - November 2nd is a festive time in the Americas, where we celebrate life by acknowledging the dead. The holidays of Halloween and Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) have long and complex histories. However, as with many holidays, the roots of these celebrations have connections to astronomy.
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At Palenque, the famous Classic Maya site in the southern state of Chiapas, a poetic statement is replayed year after year in the written history as well as in the art and architecture of the site.
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Perhaps the most violent of all the predictions for how the world could end in 2012 is the idea that one or more stars might explode on December 21 and wipe out all life on Earth.
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Solar storms are another common concern for those worried about Doomsday in December of 2012. But what are the real dangers from the Sun?
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Another suggestion you sometimes hear for how doomsday will arrive on December 21
st, 2012 is that the Earth’s poles will experience a drastic shift, leading to disaster.
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