About Me
The day before launch of the Juno mission to Jupiter, Aug. 2011
I’ll begin by stating that I am not a scientist. But I have always been fascinated by space and planets and all that exists outside of our little blue world. I’m a graphic designer by trade but have always loved astronomy. I especially enjoy the photographs of exotic locations around our solar system that robotic orbiters, rovers and satellite observatories have been able to provide. They are our modern pioneers, capturing stunning images of alien locations in unprecedented detail, showcasing the amazing variations of scenery found on the little points of light we see in our night sky.
Several years ago, I came across an application called “Riding With Robots”. This was a connection to a site built by Bill Dunford, a photographer and space enthusiast. There he would post daily photos featuring the latest images from the robotic missions around our solar system, along with a brief description and links to further reading, and a comments section for the readers. I really enjoyed his site and looked forward to new posts, as they gave me an outlet for my far-reaching imagination while sitting at my desk and offered a daily perspective on our universe most people rarely get.
When the RwR site suddenly had a post about Bill’s “signing off”, due to personal reasons, I was devastated (but he has since re-opened his site!) It was like a door to the outside was being shut and locked. It wasn’t an hour later that I decided to try to continue the theme myself, on a new site, and after contacting Bill and getting his blessing and some of his resource info, Lights in the Dark was soon up and running.
And the rest, as they say, is history. (Well, astronomy.)
If you have any questions or suggestions about anything on this site or ideas as to how I could make it better, contact me at jmajor “at” lightsinthedark dot com and send me a message, and follow me on Facebook, Twitter and/or Google+ for even more up-to-date space and science news.
As always, keep looking up!
You can find more of my space news articles on Universe Today, Discovery News and National Geographic News.
Got a question? Email me at lightsinthedark “at” me.com.
- Jason M.
Bill turned me on to your site after I expressed pretty much the same feelings about losing RwR .
Thanks to you I can return to a near-daily fix.
Hi Jason,
I for one (and I’m sure there are lots of others out there…) am extremely grateful that you’ve built this fabulous site.
Like you, I was very sad when Bill stopped doing RwR after viewing and enjoying it every day. He did a magnificent job.
But this is a truly worthy successor and I’m more than happy to support you and spread the good word to all of us space junkies out there.
Thanks again and long may you keep up the good work.
David Mallet
Thanks for the kind words and support David. And Terry too of course! I’m glad to be able to keep sharing these views of our little family of planets.
can i use the sun pic for my school project ? i half to make a websight
Brian: yes, of course, you just need to include the same image credit note that I put on these photos. All these photos are the result of someone’s talent and hard work and financial funding by lots of people!
Dear Jason,
Thanks for sharing my image with Phil Plait and for your generous comments and good press… your blog is really good work.
all the best,
Alan
My pleasure Alan, thank you for all the beautiful images for us to enjoy!
Absolutely love the pictures and explanations. Moreso, I enjoy your enthusiasm and excitement!
Keep up the fantastic work!
Terry
http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/01/plasma-jets-make-suns-corona-so-much-hotter-than-the-surface.ars
picture is beautiful and article interesting—wasn’t sure best way to send this to you so am posting it in here.
Thanks….I’ll share that on my Facebook/Twitter feed!
I just happened upon your site by accident. I love astronomical photography, and your site is a very nice addition to my internet travels.
Thanks for putting in the time and the effort to bring this to people like me.
Thank you for enjoying it!
i followed you over from Earth & Sky to here….you have been commenting on some of my photos, today….what a terrific website! And, i have to laugh because you are just like me. your math and science skills are bad, you are “tragically lazy”, and you love astronomy- you must be my long lost twin!!! LOL!! keep up the awesome work…i will introduce your site to some of my astro societies…..cheers!! lizzy
Thanks lizzy! Glad you like it !
Hi!
Just wanted to say thx for an awesome web site. Will be visiting it often!
//Phil
Hi Jason,
I just added the link to your site to the list of my featured weblogs. Aside from the content, I really love its graphic design and layout.
Keep it up!
To the stars.
Raven
Thanks Raven! I’ll return the favor!
YOU DO GOOD WORK!!
Wow, what wonderful things one finds while surfing for “ripples have ridges”.
Thank you.
What do you say regarding Comet Elenin and how it was aligned with the sun and earth on the days of the New Zealand and Chile earthquakes?
I say there was zero effect from any “alignment”. The gravity of Elenin is miniscule, and at its distance it has virtually no effect on Earth. If the Sun isn’t creating earthquakes (and it’s not) then a <10km-wide loose aggregation of ice and rock certainly isn't either.
Am so excited to have found your site. Am 88 years old woman, have no knowledge
in astronomy but am somewhat emotional at the idea to witness the discovery of all those Stars. What a beautiful and rich life I have.First the Underwater world which was my passion and now the Space. Thank you for the beautiful photos and the sharing of your discoveries. Am with you every day. Micheline
Thanks Micheline! I’m glad you are enjoying the site! I am learning something new every day as well. Stick around, there’s much more to come!
I just wanted to say how much I enjoy your website. I look forward to my daily “news from space” and all the images of the solar system. When I was a kid, my dad bought me a board game called Space Quest, which was a sort of solar system Monopoly, and it started my love affair with space.
I don’t really remember how I came upon the site, but I am certainly glad that I did. Thank you for the great site!!!
Thanks for visiting and enjoying it!
Absolutely Fabulous Jason. I had enjoyed RwR and now I enjoy this even more. I use it to educate students and kids. Blessings to everyone in our team. Maha
Thanks Maha I’m happy you like it and are sharing it with others!
very very nice work.i like it.
hi, I really liked your site, and I intend to be Astronomer me I was wondering if you had something very interesting space videos photos and anything you could send me?
thank you.
Hi, I really like your site, and I intend to be an astronomer and was wondering if you had something very interesting space videos photos and anything you could send me?
Thank you.
Hi Marcos
Thanks very much. Your best bet would be to check out NASATelevision on YouTube and follow them on Twitter, along with any other NASA resource. The Goddard Space Flight Center is a good site for videos. Check out the links in my sidebar they will take you to many great astronomy resources too. Good luck!
thank you
Hai, nice to meet you.. blogwalking here
Hey Jason,
There isn’t more news on “LIghts in the Dark” since 1st june…
I hope only that all it’s cool and that you’re in holidays and not sick…
Best Whishes.
Jeff Barani from Vence (France)
Hello Jason,
I’ve just today discovered your website, and what a delight that was! I was already enjoying your articles on Universe Today, which was already my #1 source of information on space matters! Now, I can add your site to my favorites also!
Thank you so very much for the work that you put, maintaining your wonderful site. For all of us who share the same enthousiasm about the Universe and space exploration, websites like yours are trully A Light in the Dark!
And I particularly enjoyed your entry on this year’s anniversary of Apollo 11.
It only saddens me (and angers me so) that millions of people (inside and outside the US) just spit upon this marvelous achievement, riding the conspiracy badwagon. It’s just too painful to watch any single video on the web today concerning the Apollo program, and having to be exposed to the ridiculous flodding of conspiracists comments.
Thank you! Yes, it’s a pet peeve of mine that people don’t honor this achievement as much as they should. It was quite the event, only possible because of a lot of people’s hard work and dedication.
Hi Jason,
This website is terrific!! I will keep following.