About

“Dad, I have to have a telescope!”

That’s how it began.

I was twelve at the time—and my dad didn’t believe me. Up until then, he had known me as the little girl who followed him around on all his adventures, repeatedly saying, “Dad, this is your thing, not mine. I’m just here to be with you.”

Well, I really did enjoy being with my dad. But I had been bitten by the astronomy bug, and it sure wasn’t just “his thing” anymore.

So, I did what any reasonable twelve-year-old would do: I set out to prove that I really was interested in astronomy now, enough to enjoy a telescope of my own.

I asked my dad, “What if I wrote a report on astronomy? Then would you believe me?”

He said he would. But, of course, he didn’t believe I would end up writing it.

I wrote it—and it was five pages long.

My dad, then, had to concede that I had indeed fallen in love with the cosmos. So he set out to find me the perfect telescope to nurture my newfound passion.

Now, one thing to know about my dad is that he’s quite the astronomy guy himself. My early understanding of the scientific method, I owe to him. At this time, he owned two telescopes—a 3-inch refractor and an 8-inch Cassegrain—and a very high-tech mount nicknamed “Nomad.”

He decided to buy me a telescope that he would enjoy if I lost interest. And to this day, he jokes that his biggest regret is that I actually stuck with it and kept the ‘scope!

However…since getting my first telescope, I’ve realized that not everyone has the same opportunities I had. Not everyone grows up with parents who are so readily able to buy them a good telescope. Not everyone has a science education woven into their very upbringing.

Not everyone finds it easy to learn about the cosmos.

And that is why I’m here.

So who the heck am I, you ask?

My name is Emma. I’m a 25-year-old student with a passion for astronomy, astrophysics, the universe, and science in general. My favorite thing to do is share my passion with others. When I’m not engaged in community outreach, I’m writing—both astronomy nonfiction and science fiction.

It’s important to note that I am not an expert. I consider myself a science communicator. I don’t claim to be an expert in any field—yet. I do claim to be an enthusiastic lifelong learner, which is all I believe anyone interested in science really needs to start out.

My experience with astronomy includes years of personal research, roughly a decade of showing children and parents the stars through my telescopes, several high school and college courses (astronomy, chemistry, physics, and calculus), and nearly ten years of writing and administrating this blog.

Across all my pursuits, I hope to reach everyone.

My ultimate career goal is to become a professor and researcher at a four-year institution, where my primary audience will be adults. On the other end of the spectrum, my community outreach has primarily involved children. I’ve tried to use my own story of falling in love with the universe to inspire other youth to pursue science.

And here on this blog, my audience is the layperson, whatever the age group. People who are fascinated by the night skies—or by nature in general—but maybe aren’t sure how to take the first step. People who love looking, and are looking to understand.

If that’s you, you’ve come to the right place. I promise not to bog you down in technobabble, or to send you site-hopping all over the internet to figure out what I’m talking about. This blog is designed to slowly build on itself, much like a school course, so that everything you need to understand a particular topic can be found elsewhere on my blog.

I have done this so that people who find my writing style accessible can find all the information they need in that same accessible style. However, you are always welcome and encouraged to seek out expert information on any subject you find here. I’m not an expert or a researcher—yet! —but what I am is a learner, a talker, and a writer.

And I have to admit…I’m a huge people person, so I look forward to meeting you all.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you around my blog!

~Emma

P.S. Want to get in touch? Scroll all the way down this page to find a comment form, or you can head over to my contact page to send an email! (Or find me on Facebook.)

Please also take a moment to check out my comment policy 🙂

Dedication
For my grandma
Who gave so much
And asked so little.

This is a science education blog written by a non-expert, so here’s some obligatory information on my sources!

  • Astronomy:
  • Chemistry: Chemistry, published by Prentice Hall
  • Physics: Physics: Principles and Problems, published by Glencoe and McGraw Hill
  • Earth Science: Earth Science, published by McDougal Littell
  • All Life Science Topics:
    • Biology, published by Prentice Hall
    • Ecology by William D. Bowman & Sally D. Hacker & Michael L. Cain
    • Life in the Universe by Jeffrey Bennett & Seth Shostak, published by Pearson
    • Introducing Paleontology: A Guide to Ancient Life by Patrick N. Wyse Jackson
  • Geology: Essentials of Geology by Frederick K. Lutgens & Edward J. Tarbuck, published by Pearson and Prentice Hall
  • Meteorology:

More sources to be added!

64 thoughts on “About”

  2. Pingback: New Stuff! | Science at Your Doorstep

  3. Hi Perse – hope all is well – I was MIA for most of July – very sorry to hear about your horse. It’s kind of like walking away from your best friend for no reason at all.
    I’ve nominated you for the Blogger Recognition Award (no strange questions to answer) – my post is here ==> https://timeformythoughts.wordpress.com
    As always, feel free to disregard if you haven’t got the time or inclination.
    Carol

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  6. Congratulations on your Liebster Award! Thanks for linking to my site, too.

    I wanted to you know that there are some free social follow buttons you can use, seeing as how your site is a WordPress site. They are the ones from about.me and you can learn more about them at http://wordingwell.com/about-me-benefits/.

    They are super-easy to install (it’s simply a widget!) and you’ll grow your following in no time!

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  10. I’ve nominated you for the Real Neat Blog Award—no link yet because I scheduled the post for tomorrow morning (EST) while I’ll be at work. Do not feel obligated to accept or pass it on unless you have the time & the inclination.

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  11. Hi Perse. Wanted to write an email, but couldn’t find it…I would really like it, if you would guest blog for me. I was hoping to have 4 guest bloggers who would do a guest post each and I would post it over the next couple of weeks. Kind of every week or every two weeks a guest post. If you are happy to write a guest post every month for me that would work. If it is too much, we can make it every two months or so. If you would rather have a one time guest post, that is fine too. Or if you just want to write when you feel like it: Fine with me too. I am so new to this, that I don’t mind really…Open for everything 😉
    I was hoping that you could either write something astronomy (moon?) related OR maybe in relation to your horse. If you rather write a story, let me know. As I said: I am totally open. Feedback and ideas are appreciated.
    I thought, once we figure out what topics you guys will write about and how on what a frequency, I will post an introduction of you guys and your blogs in which I ask you a couple of questions as well. I will have a new page for the guest blogs. Kind of what I did with the “Your Stories” feature in Couples. Each of you will have his/her own page. Let me know your take on it: amommasview@gmail.com

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  12. An interesting variety of topics, I like that. As you have probably noticed, I found your blog through Blogging 201. I am now a new follower. Do feel warmly invited to visit my blog, too, and maybe follow it back if you find something there to interest you. 🙂

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    • It’s going well. I’ve been busy with other things, but I’ve made headway with my current novel. It’s a Star Trek fan fiction novel, unfortunately, but I’m planning on rewriting several of my non-fan fiction ones when I have time. Thanks for asking! 🙂

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  15. I love the new format for your work. I haven’t read your stories yet. But I plan to. You are very organized. I’ll let you know what I liked best about the books I’ll read. Jane

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      • Hmm, looks like I had more updating and editing to do than I thought…I just keep getting ideas for this site! Oh well…keep reading, there’s more to come!

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