Posts Tagged ‘astronomy’
Full flower blue moon…
You can see the flower moon this evening — provided, of course, that Mother Nature does not send in a platoon of clouds to obscure the event at your location.. She has done that to me several times in the last year or so, but I hope your luck is better.
Stars or not?
Living in the country does have its advantages, such as being able to step outside my back door and see the stars if the weather permits. The occasional passing vehicle doesn’t contribute much in the way of light pollution. As far as I know, the star count is a British thing, although I’ve heard of a few groups in the US which do the same thing as a sort of weekend getaway project.
While I certainly enjoy being able to watch the night sky, I am made somewhat uncomfortable by things which I can’t identify, such as a large aircraft with no lights on which made no sound as it flew overhead. It was either whisper quiet or was flying much higher than my estimation and was therefore much larger.. It also did not show up on the app on my phone which identifies most commercial planes in the air. Something to ponder….
Super Snow Moon…
Our second supermoon of the year will be Tuesday night, and is so named because there is generally lots of snow around. If you watched the Super Blood Wolf Moon that took place on January 21, you will note this one is even larger and brighter, because it’s closer to Earth. There will be a third and final supermoon on March 21st, so this is a rare year for lunar treats.
Skywatcher alert!
For those of you who share my enthusiasm for watching the skies for celestial events, there will be a total lunar eclipse and a supermoon on Sunday night. Weather permitting in your area, we might have quite a show, so check with your local news station and here for more information.
Perseid meteor shower, 2018
I’m always leary when someone predicts the Perseid Meteor Shower will be great and wonderful, because it seldom lives up to the hype. Apparently the ideal time to watch for the shooting stars is Sunday night through early Monday morning.
if the dim moon the USA is scheduled to have doesn’t entice you to get out, even though there is supposed to be a lot of action this year, you can always watch the event unfold online at one of the sites mentioned in the links.
Given the current heat and humidity at my location, watching from the comfort of my own chair without having to deal with any bugs or weather is becoming ever more appealing…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6047627/Perseids-meteor-shower-brighter-year.html
Astronomical streaming…
The USA was not one of the locations able to view the Blood Moon, but NASA and other outfits captured it all on tape for us. I’d rather see these displays captured for me by professionals than bear the disappointment of Brits who were stymied by rain and clouds.
Milky Way’s center…
…is actually a supermassive black hole, and a new South African radio telescope array has captured a stunning picture of it. The universe is simultaneously a place of stunning beauty and terrifying possibilities.
