Moon

Orb's path to the finish line in the second leg of the Triple Crown remains uncrowded. Normandy Invasion, the fourth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, dropped from contention for Saturday's 138th running of the Preakness on Sunday. Trainer Chad Brown and owner Rick Porter decided to stick with their original plan and point the horse toward prestigous races for 3-year-olds later in the summer. That leaves Orb, the colt co-owned by Baltimore County resident Stuart Janney III and Ogden Mills "Dinny" Pipps' stable, with only seven confirmed challengers at this point.

The Preakness means more to Marylanders when there's a Marylander in the race, and this year we have the obvious connection in Orb, the Kentucky Derby winner owned in part by Stuart Janney III, chairman of Bessemer Trust and resident of Butler, in the heart of horse country north of Baltimore. But the other connection is to Orb's daddy. Let's go over this because there's a good story in it. It involves two Maryland brothers who made a bet in California nearly 14 years ago on a racehorse with a screw in his knee.

May. 18, Post Time: 10:45AM Entries and comments provided by the Maryland Jockey Club First - Purse $55,000, AOC $25,000-$20,000, 3 yo's & up, One And One Sixteenth Miles Post, Horse, Jockey, Trainer, Odds 1 Aussi Austin, Rosario, R.Rodriguez, 3-1 2 Bob's Gone Wild, Vargas, J.Lopez, 20-1 3 Jarrod's Commando, Karamanos, C.Garcia, 10-1 4 Warrensburg, Boyce, D.Barr, 20-1 5 Benny Or Local, Cruise, D.Kobiskie,...

A monthly astronomy lecture at Baltimore's Space Telescope Science Institute on Tuesday will delve into Saturn's active outermost ring, known as its F Ring. The institute's Bonnie Meinke will deliver a lecture titled, "Saturn's Intricate F Ring and the Small Moons that Perturb It. " Data from NASA's Cassini mission, which has been exploring Saturn since 2004, has shown the ring to be constantly changing. Scientists believe that may be because of what are known as "shepherd" moons that orbit within or around rings like Saturn's.

Earlier this year, Venus and Jupiter adorned the western sky alongside the waxing crescent moon. Now, Mercury and Mars can be spotted alongside it. The closest planet to the sun will appear as a bright star in the sky this month. Mercury will rise above the horizon to the right of the moon around dusk Thursday and Friday nights. Further to the right will be the bright stars Pollux and Castor, according to EarthSky.org. Then, the moon will pass by Mars, too, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Before every Ravens game, the team's fine media relations staff sends reporters a useful packet of stats, info and other tidbits to help us find enough Sunday subplots to make sure you're drowning in Ravens coverage. Each week, they include a quick player Q&A. This time it was defensive end Cory Redding, whose hobbies apparently include rollerblading and crashing kids' parties that have those inflatable moon bounce things. What does Redding -- who is 6-foot-4 and nearly 300 pounds -- like to do in his spare time?

Pluto may not be a full-fledged planet, but it has five moons, astronomers have discovered. The fifth one is 6 to 15 miles wide and circles the dwarf planet in a 58,000-mile orbit, according to a research team that includes one scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel. The moon is, for now, being called S/2012 (134340) 1. It was detected in nine separate sets of images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 since June 26. The fact that a dwarf planet like Pluto can have so many moons is intriguing to scientists, according to NASA officials.

The buzz on the Internet has been all about a scary "super moon" this weekend. Seer Kit Karson, at PsychicCosmos.com writes, "Get ready for what could be moderate to severe weather patterns, increased seismic activity, tsunamis and more volcanic eruptions than normal. " But cooler scientific types say there's no evidence the unusually close full moon that rises Saturday evening will do anything of the sort. It may appear a bit bigger and brighter, they say, but not by much.

On September 12, 2004; RODNEY MOON, beloved husband of Valerie M. Moon. On Thursday, friends may call at THE NEW VAUGHN C. GREENE FUNERAL SERVICES (RANDALLSTOWN), 8728 Liberty Road from 3 to 8 P.M. On Friday, the family will receive friends from 10:30 to 11 A.M. at the Christian Memorial Church, 2001 W. North Avenue with services to follow. Inquiries to 410-655-0015.

On May 12, 2005, ANN (nee Burton) MOON of Ellicott City, loving mother of Craig W. Moon and his wife Debbie, Gary C. Moon and his wife Dorrie and Karen Ann Moon Koenig and her husband Jeff. Dear sister of William Burton and Edward Burton, cherished grandmother of Amelia, Philip, Nicholas and Ashley Moon and Jacob, Luke and Joseph Koenig. Former spouse and good friend of George Moon. Friends may call at the family owned Slack Funeral Home, P.A., 3871 Old Columbia Pike, Ellicott City on Sunday, 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 P.M. Funeral Services will be held on Monday, 10 A.M. at Glen Mar United Methodist Church, 8430 Glen Mar Road, Ellicott City.

LOUISVILLE, KY. - Trainer Shug McGaughey came to his barn Sunday morning before the sun had cleared the horizon, as he has done most days for more than 35 years. Dozens of people were gathered there, under the roof, dodging the rain and trying to get a look at Orb, who won the 139th Kentucky Derby on Saturday. The colt munched on hay and observed the scene. He let some girls come pet him and get their picture taken. Orb came out of the mile-and-a-quarter Derby, run over a drenched Churchill Downs track, with no signs of injury or fatigue and will officially begin preparing for a run in the 138th Preakness Stakes on May 18. McGaughey was shuffled from interview to interview, often saying that he still had trouble describing the feeling of winning his first Derby.

The moon will be full Thursday night, known by most as the "Full Pink Moon. " And it will be marked by a partial lunar eclipse in the eastern hemisphere. For those on the other side of the world, the eclipse could make the moon indeed look somewhat pink. It will pass through the edge of Earth's shadow, but that will occur well before nightfall for the U.S. The moon reaches its "fullest" point at 3:57 p.m. Clear skies are expected to allow it to shine brightly in the Baltimore area.

Asian food aficionados probably think they're living next door to nirvana these days. No longer does the crowd have to agree on one type of fare. With the current trend in Far East-style eateries, most everyone can be satisfied. Among the newer such restaurants on the block is East Moon Asian Bistro, which opened in October 2011 in the Shipley's Grant community in Ellicott City. Behind the rather unprepossessing plate glass windows is a large, sleek dining room with separate sushi bar and wet bar. Decor in the 130-seat dining room is about as neo as you can get -- sleek, slick, bespeaking an expensive decorator and plenty of startup money from the on-site owner, Danny Tian, and co-owners who run the three other East Moon eateries elsewhere in the region.

Last December, an American milestone passed virtually unnoticed. Forty years earlier, Harrison Schmitt became the 12th and last person to walk on the moon. Mr. Schmitt and the 11 men who preceded him - beginning with Neil Armstrong in 1969 - had this in common: All were employees of the United States government. Some have argued that sending men to the moon may not have been the most prudent use of American resources or ingenuity. But the realization of President John F. Kennedy's dream of a U.S. moon walk before the end of the 1960s became a symbol of the scientific and imaginative leadership of this country and what Kennedy termed our "freedom doctrine" during the Cold War. Now, the United States has an opportunity, even an obligation, to mobilize its resources and knowhow to achieve a more practical, and pressing, end. Increasingly under siege by destructive and deadly weather events - wrought, many scientists believe, by man-made climate change - we need to make a national commitment to weather research, including the fields of geo-engineering, weather modification and storm mitigation.

The snow on the day after the Christian observance of Palm Sunday and the first day of the Jewish observance of Passover was certainly an unusual occurrence in Harford County. The most vital of holidays for both faiths are very closely associated with springtime and the re-emergence of life. In Passover, the coming of age of the Jewish nation is celebrated as it signifies the Hebrew nation's departure from the despair of slavery in Egypt to freedom in a Promised Land, a territory flowing with milk and honey.

March's full moon arrives Wednesday morning, the first to fall after the vernal equinox. It is the fourth full moon after the winter solstice, something that usually falls in April. This full moon is known by names including Grass Moon, Egg Moon, Growing Moon, Waking Moon and Pink Moon. But if you ask sources like the Farmer's Almanac or Old Farmer's Almanac, it is the Full Worm Moon. In ancient times, the naming of full moons was dependent on where they fell relative to events like the winter solstice or vernal equinox, but modern usage sticks with the same moon name for any given month.

On June 9, 2004, BEATRICE A., (nee Allen) HARDY MOON of Columbia, beloved wife of the late Ellis Moon and Christopher Hardy, devoted mother of Dr. Christine H. Carrington, loving grandmother of Michael S. Carrington, Dr. David C. Carrington and Lisa Carrington Bundy, dear great-grandmother of Mark A. Bundy, Michael J. Carrington, Nina A. Bundy and Nicole G. Carrington. Family will receive friends Sunday, 5 to 8 P. M at E. W Lawson & Son Funeral Home, 109 S. 9th Street, Palatka, FL. A funeral service will be held Monday 11 A. M at Bethel AME Church, Palatka, FL. Interment Evergreen Cemetery.

* Editor's note: On a starless night, music shines the way to safety. Granddaddy and I are walking at night. The city streets are dark. The shadows of the parked cars are as huge as giants, as gray as rats and twice as creepy. The houses all have mean expressions on their faces. I keep hoping we'll get home soon, but Granddaddy stops to look at the moon. "Y'know, when I look at the moon, Noni, it makes me think of down home," says Granddaddy. "That's an Alabama moon -- round and deep and low in the trees.

Dewey Beach, Del. Delaware Music Festival Four stages, 22 bands, no cover charge - and did we mention it's at the beach? If this sounds like fun, head to the Delaware Music Festival. Since 2003, this festival has showcased performances by some of Delaware's best bands. Enjoy dancing, singing and a preview of summer fun all weekend at the Rusty Rudder. The Delaware Music Festival begins Friday, March 29, at 9 p.m. and continues until 1 a.m. March 31. The event at the Rust Rudder is free to the public.

The moon reaches its “fullest” phase at 3:26 p.m. today, so when it rises at about 6:05 p.m., it will be shining brightly, with clear skies expected. The International Space Station will meanwhile make a few passes over Maryland this week, but clouds could block it. You might call it the "Full Snow Moon," which is the name the Farmer's Almanac and Old Farmer's Almanac call February's full moon. February was often the snowiest month of the year for  Algonquin American Indian tribes from New England to the Great Lakes.