Want to see planets? It’s getting harder. In February, we’ll have to peek around the Sun a lot. But Mars and Uranus are still in the evening sky. Jupiter edges out into the morning sky. Saturn follows Jupiter, but it’s going to harder to find. Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury cluster low in the east-southeast before … Continue reading Heads UP! for February 2021
Astronomical Phenomena for 2021 is Available
Thank you, United States Naval Observatory, for letting me know the long-awaited and very useful Astronomical Phenomena for 2021 is available if you fill out a form at https://astro.ukho.gov.uk/nao/AP_Download.html .
SOHO: Watching the Space In the Glare of the Sun -updated
Jupiter and Saturn in SOHO's C3 camera. SOHO C3 camera photo 2:46am EST on Tuesday, January 19th. Jupiter and Saturn are the two brightest dots to the left of the Sun. The location of the Sun is marked by the white circle. The Sun is blocked by the camera - you can see where the … Continue reading SOHO: Watching the Space In the Glare of the Sun -updated
Three of a kind
Low in the west-southwestern sky tonight were the three planets: Jupiter, Mercury and Saturn. I used the top of the bleachers at the Ardsley High School field as a perch to spy the evening planets. When I took this photo with my zoom lens, Jupiter was 3 1/2 degrees above a level horizon, Mercury and … Continue reading Three of a kind
Surveyor Selfie
The photo information says 2008, but I think it was much longer ago, I was on one of my visits to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. They had a test model of the Surveyor spacecraft, hanging next to the second-floor level at the Museum. Surveyor was an uncrewed three-legged spacecraft. NASA … Continue reading Surveyor Selfie
Seeking a Star, Seeking a Child
Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6th, which commemorates the "Wise Men" finding the Jesus and his family in the little town of Bethlehem. When I heard the story this year, the phrase ". . . the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over … Continue reading Seeking a Star, Seeking a Child
Heads UP! for January 2021
Happy arbitrarily-placed beginning of the New Year, 2021! In 2021, we’ll find out how spoiled we were by the easy-to-find bright planets in 2020. At least we had that! Summary for January: The cavalcade of bright planets comes to a close as we start calendar year 2021. Jupiter spurns Saturn as the solar glare overtakes … Continue reading Heads UP! for January 2021
2021 Annual Review of Annual Reviews
Updated January 22, 2021: The 2021 edition of Astronomical Phenomena may be found here, by filling out a form at Her Majesty's Nautical Almanac Office :https://astro.ukho.gov.uk/nao/AP_Download.html Updated 12 31 2020, since the Dunlop and Tirton book just arrived. What do you want in an almanac? Just happy with the approximations, long range forecast guesses and … Continue reading 2021 Annual Review of Annual Reviews
People, Look Southeast!
The Moon is way up over Venus in the dawn sky this morning (Friday, December 11th). 6:30am EST from front yard in Southern Westchester County, New York. Canon XS on tripod zoom lens at 55mm; 1 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 400. No processing. iPhone SE photo with NightCap app about 15 minutes before the … Continue reading People, Look Southeast!
A quick shot of Jupiter and Saturn
From my backyard looking up the hill, Jupiter and Saturn are those two bright dots. This is about 45 minutes after sunset, so get out there and see them before they set at 7:15 standard time. Canon XS on tripod with zoom lens at 55mm, f/5.6, five seconds, ISO 1600.
