Posted on by Fraser Cain

Join Fraser and Dr. Paul Sutter to Tour Costa Rica in March, 2019

Wild Skies of Costa Rica with Fraser and Dr. Paul Sutter
Wild Skies of Costa Rica with Fraser and Dr. Paul Sutter

Got any holiday plans in March, 2019? Why don’t you join me and Dr. Paul Sutter for a trip to Costa Rica.

I’ve been to Costa Rica once before, and I was amazed by the amount of wildlife and biodiversity of this amazing country – I can’t wait to go back. In the daytime we saw hummingbirds, toucans, macaws and all kinds of monkeys. At night the jungles come alive with sights and sounds if you’re brave enough to explore them. There’s so much history around every corner, and the night skies are really really dark once you get away from the light pollution of the big cities.

And to capture that experience, we’re going to be going to touring many of the country’s amazing features, from Guanacaste beach on the Pacific Ocean to the Mondeverde Cloud Forest.

During the days we’ll be discovering the country’s natural wonders, and then at night we’ll be setting up telescopes provided by Oceanside Photo and Telescope to showcase the night sky from areas with almost no light pollution.

Costa Rica Itinerary
Costa Rica Itinerary

Here’s our itinerary:

  • Mar 2: Arrive in San Jose • Overnight: Doubletree Cariari Hotel
  • March 3: Coffee plantation tour • Evening stargazing • Overnight: Esplendor Tamarindo
  • Mar 4: At leisure in Guanacaste beach • Evening stargazing • Overnight: Esplendor Tamarindo
  • Mar 5: Monteverde Cloud Forest • Evening stargazing • Overnight: El Establo
  • Mar 6: Butterfly & Hanging Bridges tour or Canopy zip line • Migratory birds expert talk • Evening stargazing • Overnight: El Establo
  • Mar 7: Tree nursery • Arenal Volcano • Lake Arenal Cruise • Evening stargazing • Overnight: Arenal Springs Resort
  • Mar 8: Cano Negro guided riverboat trip • Evening stargazing • Overnight: Arenal Springs Resort
  • Mar 9: Zarcero Topiary Garden • San Jose City Tour • Farewell dinner • Overnight: Doubletree Cariari Hotel
  • Mar 10: Depart San Jose

The trip includes roundtrip airfare, tour transportation, airport transfers, entrance fees to all the places, breakfasts, dinners, and we’ll be joined by expert guides.

And of course we’ll be doing live taping of Space Radio and the Guide to Space.

This will be the third trip I’ve done with Paul and Astro Tours. Our first trip was Iceland in February, 2018, and I had an amazing time. In September we’ll be cruising the Caribbean.

Put down a reservation to book your spot, and then join us in March in Costa Rica.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Watch Universe Today’s Fraser Cain School the Cast of ‘Interstellar’ on Black Holes

Interstellar poster
Interstellar poster, courtesy Paramount.

Space fans have been waiting for the movie “Interstellar” which opens in theaters this Friday, November 7. Today, the cast and crew of Interstellar did a special Google+ Hangout on Air at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. Host Kevin Frazier and the cast had their chance to throw a few space-related questions to the astronauts and scientists assembled for the Hangout. Our own publisher, Fraser Cain, was the unfortunate target for the question, “can you explain what a black hole is?” You can watch the entire Hangout above; Fraser schools them at about 35:33.

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Attention Public Relations: Here’s What Internet News Wants From You

This is a summary of a talk I gave recently. There was enough slack-jawed astonishment from public relations folks that I thought it might be helpful for others.

My name is Fraser Cain, and I’m the publisher of Universe Today. A space and astronomy news website read by more than 3 million people a month. We have 65,000 RSS subscribers and email readers. We’ve published about 25,000 articles on Universe Today over the last 12 years, and deeply understand what our readers want.

So, if you’re in public relations, and you want to reach out to publishers and news editors, to get them to publish your news, let me tell you what we want. Although I’ll give you examples for space/astronomy, I’m sure this is exactly the same in every news market on the internet.

We want scoops!
Continue reading “Attention Public Relations: Here’s What Internet News Wants From You”

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Off to Dragon*Con

I’m venturing from my Canadian stronghold to the hotlanta for the next week to participate in DragonCon. I’m taking the whole family this time, and unleashing them on an unsuspecting crowd of sci-fi fans.

Here’s what I’m scheduled to be doing:

  • Parsec Awards: Saturday, 4:00pm Regency V
  • Astronomy Cast Live: Sunday, 4:00pm Hilton 204.
  • Junior Science Podcasting: Monday, 11:30am, Hilton 204

Uh… that’s it. For the rest of the time, I’ll be a rabid sci-fi fan, attending lots of cool stuff. But drop me an email at [email protected] if you want to hang out.

See you there… or not.

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Universe Today Hangouts on Google+

I know I mentioned that I was on Google+ a couple of days ago, but I just wanted to give you another reminder. Since I did that post, Pamela and I did a live recording of Astronomy Cast during a Google+ Hangout. I’ve also done Hangouts with Phil Plait, Chris Pirillo, Adrian West, Jon Voisey, Jay Cross, and other Universe Today friends, writers and supporters. I’ve been trying to coordinate at least a Hangout a day right now, figuring things out; it’s been a lot of fun. If you’re looking for an invite to Google+, just send me an email at [email protected], and I’ll get you hooked up.

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Fraser on Google+

Just in case you were wondering, I’m on Google+. Not that I use it much yet, I’m still in the “kicking the tires” stage, but if you want to encircle me. Here’s a link to my profile… I think.

I’ll let the other Universe Today team members link up their profiles… if they choose, in the comments.

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Dragon*Con 2011

The folks at Dragon*Con have decided to decline having me as a guest this year. I already have my plane tickets, hotel booked, so I’m still going to go – I just signed up with a regular membership. It’s too bad, but then, this gives me the freedom to just enjoy the convention as a fan, and not have to participate in panels, help promote the convention through Universe Today, etc. I think we’re still going to do an episode of Astronomy Cast live, just because that’s so much fun. I’m bringing the whole family: wife, kids, even the mother-in-law. Anyway, you’ll see me lurking around the Astronomy Cast booth, or watching panels. It should be a fun vacation. 🙂 See you there!

Posted on by Fraser Cain

New Podcast – Astronomy Cast

In case there’s any room left on your podcast schedule, I wanted to let you know about a new project I’ve been working on with Dr. Pamela Gay from Slacker Astronomy. We’ve started a new podcast called Astronomy Cast. Every week, Pamela and I will chat about a specific topic in astronomy to try and give the listeners a deeper understanding of the topic. Over the coming weeks, we’ll talk about dark matter, dark energy, extrasolar planet detection, etc. Less news, and more background and explainer.
Continue reading “New Podcast – Astronomy Cast”