Showing posts with label moon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moon. Show all posts
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
the integral of the moon and venus
just before the sun rises for the next couple days, you can see the crescent moon close to a bright venus. we had clouds for most of our observing tonight, but they cleared for just a few minutes this morning, long enough to see the spectacle in our solar system!
while out on the catwalk, i also noticed a sign in the clouds... what looked to me to be an integral sign! ;)
while out on the catwalk, i also noticed a sign in the clouds... what looked to me to be an integral sign! ;)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
partially eclipsed sun rising
the partial solar eclipse that occurred on 4th january 2011 was not visible from my part of the world, unfortunately. but many people achieved some fantastic photos of the event, including this shot featured on APOD today taken in austria by robert pölzl.
lucky for us earthlings, there will be another 3 partial solar eclipses and 2 total lunar eclipses in 2011! most of them are visible from rather remote places on the globe, but i'm sure some folks will venture to take photos for the rest of us!
the next total solar eclipse takes place on 13th november 2012 and will be visible from the very north of australia! i'll absolutely, positively be there! anyone else?
lucky for us earthlings, there will be another 3 partial solar eclipses and 2 total lunar eclipses in 2011! most of them are visible from rather remote places on the globe, but i'm sure some folks will venture to take photos for the rest of us!
the next total solar eclipse takes place on 13th november 2012 and will be visible from the very north of australia! i'll absolutely, positively be there! anyone else?
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
eclipsed moon rising
i hope many of you got to see the total lunar eclipse which only rarely ever occurs on the solstice! i decided to enjoy the longest day of summer by heading to the harbour bridge and watching the rising of the eclipsed moon.
as the sun set behind me, i watched the shadow of the bridge extend over the neighborhood where i now live! you can actually see my new home in this shot, but you have to know where to look...
while waiting for the moon to rise, i watched boats flow past the opera house.
and then finally a tiny peak of the eclipsed moon!
there were only a couple other people on the bridge watching the eclipse, which kind of surprised me, but i guess it shouldnt. there were two ladies next to me taking photos of the opera house and they finally asked me what i found so exciting about the moon. it didnt look red, as it normally does during a nighttime eclipse, so i guess it just looked like a normal crescent moon to someone who didnt know it was supposed to be full tonight!
the moon slowly filled up as the sky grew darker.
and then the moon finally popped behind some clouds as it escaped earth's shadow and i reached the end of the bridge.
wish my camera was able to get a bit more detailed images of the moon, but it does a decent job for a little point and clicker.
happy solstice everyone!
as the sun set behind me, i watched the shadow of the bridge extend over the neighborhood where i now live! you can actually see my new home in this shot, but you have to know where to look...
while waiting for the moon to rise, i watched boats flow past the opera house.
and then finally a tiny peak of the eclipsed moon!
there were only a couple other people on the bridge watching the eclipse, which kind of surprised me, but i guess it shouldnt. there were two ladies next to me taking photos of the opera house and they finally asked me what i found so exciting about the moon. it didnt look red, as it normally does during a nighttime eclipse, so i guess it just looked like a normal crescent moon to someone who didnt know it was supposed to be full tonight!
the moon slowly filled up as the sky grew darker.
and then the moon finally popped behind some clouds as it escaped earth's shadow and i reached the end of the bridge.
wish my camera was able to get a bit more detailed images of the moon, but it does a decent job for a little point and clicker.
happy solstice everyone!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
jupiter's opposition, the equinox, and the full moon
tomorrow is the equinox, which means that the hours of daylight and darkness are very nearly equal. welcome to a new season (and hopefully lots of colorful leaves in the trees in ohio when i visit next week!).
the next few evenings will also be lovely for looking towards the sky. maybe you've noticed an incredibly bright object shining in eastern skies over the last couple months? that's the planet jupiter. wednesday, the harvest moon will be full, and the brightly shining, nearby jupiter will be hanging in the sky just below it.
last night jupiter was at opposition (when the earth passes between the sun and jupiter), constituting jupiter's closest physical approach to us on earth! every earth year, jupiter goes thru an opposition position, but its physically a little closer or farther each time. this time, it happens to be closer than it has been since 1963 and closer than it will be again until the year 2022, and as such, it looks especially bright in our sky! the jovian giant is about 368 million miles away.
you can see below how the planets of our solar system are currently aligned (the map is not to scale).
earth is just to the right of the sun, and you can see jupiter in a straight line farther out to the right. even farther out is the planet uranus. in fact, if you look to the upper left of jupiter in the (northern hemisphere's) sky with the aid of binoculars or a small telescope, you should easily be able to spot uranus, and maybe even the 4 galilean moons of jupiter! from the southern hemisphere, you'll find uranus to the lower left of jupiter.
be sure to go out, take a look, take a picture, and enjoy the changing of the seasons.
the next few evenings will also be lovely for looking towards the sky. maybe you've noticed an incredibly bright object shining in eastern skies over the last couple months? that's the planet jupiter. wednesday, the harvest moon will be full, and the brightly shining, nearby jupiter will be hanging in the sky just below it.
last night jupiter was at opposition (when the earth passes between the sun and jupiter), constituting jupiter's closest physical approach to us on earth! every earth year, jupiter goes thru an opposition position, but its physically a little closer or farther each time. this time, it happens to be closer than it has been since 1963 and closer than it will be again until the year 2022, and as such, it looks especially bright in our sky! the jovian giant is about 368 million miles away.
you can see below how the planets of our solar system are currently aligned (the map is not to scale).
earth is just to the right of the sun, and you can see jupiter in a straight line farther out to the right. even farther out is the planet uranus. in fact, if you look to the upper left of jupiter in the (northern hemisphere's) sky with the aid of binoculars or a small telescope, you should easily be able to spot uranus, and maybe even the 4 galilean moons of jupiter! from the southern hemisphere, you'll find uranus to the lower left of jupiter.
be sure to go out, take a look, take a picture, and enjoy the changing of the seasons.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
perseids and planets: evidence
did anyone get out to see the perseid meteor shower or the planets last week? in case you were clouded out or just not lucky this time around, you can see a nice 2010 perseids photo gallery, from which i've chosen a couple to share.
this is a shot by david harvey from mount lemmon in arizona, USA on august 12, 2010:
this capture comes from amir abolfath, from the alamut castle in iran, august 14, 2010:
today's APOD shows a lovely view of the current planetary alignment from a beach in portugal.
here's a key they provide so you can keep an eye out over the next few evenings! :)
this is a shot by david harvey from mount lemmon in arizona, USA on august 12, 2010:
this capture comes from amir abolfath, from the alamut castle in iran, august 14, 2010:
today's APOD shows a lovely view of the current planetary alignment from a beach in portugal.
here's a key they provide so you can keep an eye out over the next few evenings! :)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
planets and the perseid meteor shower
tonight and the next few nights, the solar system treats us to the lovely sights of the perseid meteor shower. go outside and enjoy nature's display of meteors as the earth passes thru the interplanetary debris left by comet swift-tuttle.
you can also see where other people on earth have seen perseid meteors fly across the sky, or report your own sightings, via twitter, to help with the online project meteor watch.
even if you don't want to relax peacefully waiting for the meteor shower, you can pop out to see some excellent planetary alignments over the next few nights as well. venus is the super bright object in the west, and a bit to the south. mars hangs just above to the left and saturn above to the right. the sliver moon passes below this planetary triangle tomorrow night, aug 12th and to the left of the group on the 13th.
you can also see where other people on earth have seen perseid meteors fly across the sky, or report your own sightings, via twitter, to help with the online project meteor watch.
even if you don't want to relax peacefully waiting for the meteor shower, you can pop out to see some excellent planetary alignments over the next few nights as well. venus is the super bright object in the west, and a bit to the south. mars hangs just above to the left and saturn above to the right. the sliver moon passes below this planetary triangle tomorrow night, aug 12th and to the left of the group on the 13th.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
crescent moon and venus tonight!
if you have clear skies today, look for the tiny crescent moon and try to spot venus nearby! its rare (and exciting, i think) to see another planet during the day.
the pair will be brilliant in the evening sky as well!
the pair will be brilliant in the evening sky as well!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
moon zoo
from the great group of people who brought you the wildly exciting, fun, and scientifically productive galaxy zoo, comes the new moon zoo!
using images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, you can explore the surface of the moon in great detail, helping to identify and describe craters so that scientists can learn more about the history of our moon.
from the website: "Craters can tell us more than just the history of the lunar surface though. In particular, you're asked in Moon Zoo to look for craters with boulders around the rim. Boulders are a sign that the impact was powerful enough that it excavated rock from beneath the regolith (the lunar 'soil') and so by keeping an eye out for these we can begin to map the depth of the regolith across the surface of the Moon."
enjoy the moon zoo!
using images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, you can explore the surface of the moon in great detail, helping to identify and describe craters so that scientists can learn more about the history of our moon.
from the website: "Craters can tell us more than just the history of the lunar surface though. In particular, you're asked in Moon Zoo to look for craters with boulders around the rim. Boulders are a sign that the impact was powerful enough that it excavated rock from beneath the regolith (the lunar 'soil') and so by keeping an eye out for these we can begin to map the depth of the regolith across the surface of the Moon."
enjoy the moon zoo!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
hola mars
right now our neighbor mars is as physically as close as it ever gets to us, a position called opposition. mars is the bright orange speckle rising in the eastern sky.
to get ahold of mars' position in our sky for the next couple months, look up a bit after sunset on friday, the 29th of january, and see our nearly full moon sitting just next to mars in the sky for the evening.
to get ahold of mars' position in our sky for the next couple months, look up a bit after sunset on friday, the 29th of january, and see our nearly full moon sitting just next to mars in the sky for the evening.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
lunar eclipse on new years eve!
the last eclipse of 2009 will occur on new years eve! everyone around the world will see a full moon that night, and it will be a blue moon - the second full moon occurring in a month. look to the east, in the constellation gemini.
image from earth sky.
on new years eve, the earth will float almost directly between the sun and the moon, causing a partial lunar eclipse. the greatest eclipse occurs at 19:23 UT, when the edge of the moon passes thru the earth's shadow. this eclipse will be visible to people in europe, africa, asia, india, and some of australia - too bad americas! but you will have this view during the first few nights of 2010, as the moon passes close by mars on january 2nd!
the above map comes from sky and telescope, who state that "the Moon is plotted for North America; in Europe, move each Moon symbol a quarter for the way toward the one for the previous date."
image from earth sky.on new years eve, the earth will float almost directly between the sun and the moon, causing a partial lunar eclipse. the greatest eclipse occurs at 19:23 UT, when the edge of the moon passes thru the earth's shadow. this eclipse will be visible to people in europe, africa, asia, india, and some of australia - too bad americas! but you will have this view during the first few nights of 2010, as the moon passes close by mars on january 2nd!
the above map comes from sky and telescope, who state that "the Moon is plotted for North America; in Europe, move each Moon symbol a quarter for the way toward the one for the previous date."
Sunday, August 9, 2009
suzhou, china
after viewing the total solar eclipse in ningbo, china, i headed to the city of suzhou which is located about an hour west of the massive shanghai. despite the torrential downpours of water from the sky that occurred during the majority of my time in suzhou, i really enjoyed exploring the gardens and the old city, the company of my hosts, and the loud, booming thunder!
one thing that surprised me about suzhou was the density of *electrically-powered* motorbikes!! when the chinese find a fad, it really takes hold because bikes with real motors were so rare that they seemed really loud and out of place. luckily, the people i stayed with had a couple electric bikes, so i got to ride around town on one! it was great and strange to have a whole conversation while riding on the back of a scooter!
suzhou is famous for the ancient gardens that exist throughout the city, and i explored several! the humble administrator's garden is a massive plot (52,000 sq. meters = 12.85 acres!) that was originally created in 1509. there are dozens of buildings, waterways, lotus gardens, bridges, and bonsai plants, etc... it's incredible.
peaceful lotus plants grew in the water.
this lady floating in her boat was selling the fruits of the lotus plant.
you peel away sections and eat the the pods inside. the pods can be as big as grapes, but taste more like edamame beans.
bamboo everywhere.
scenes from walking thru town....
ducks in a row on the side of a road...
ancient canals run throughout the city. they are nice to walk beside and have obviously been used for hundreds of years by the people of the city. there are many stairs leading down into the water and benches and pavilions all along in order to sit peacefully, relax, and take shelter from the regular rainstorms!
for lunch, i stopped in a little tea house and had rose tea and dim sum. yum! apparently, i didnt use all the little plates properly because they kept bringing more little empty plates, pointing to things, and leaving the plates on the table. i was confused, but nodded and smiled and thoroughly enjoyed the meal!
another garden i really enjoyed was the lion grove garden, built in 1342!
the strange rocks that decorate the garden represent lions doing their many activities. the limestone rocks were transformed into their odd shapes while sitting at the bottom of lake taihu, then they were transported to form such classical gardens.
the rocks are strategically placed around the gardens to form labyrinths! the whole place is like a giant playground to explore, and i had so much fun running around thru the tunnels and paths made of these crazy rock structures! they also use zigzag bridges, because evil spirits cant turn sharp corners!
i really enjoyed the final meal in suzhou which was at a vegetarian restaurant. this odd seaweed thing wasnt my favorite dish though!
so many yummy choices....
see the full set of pictures here.
one thing that surprised me about suzhou was the density of *electrically-powered* motorbikes!! when the chinese find a fad, it really takes hold because bikes with real motors were so rare that they seemed really loud and out of place. luckily, the people i stayed with had a couple electric bikes, so i got to ride around town on one! it was great and strange to have a whole conversation while riding on the back of a scooter!
suzhou is famous for the ancient gardens that exist throughout the city, and i explored several! the humble administrator's garden is a massive plot (52,000 sq. meters = 12.85 acres!) that was originally created in 1509. there are dozens of buildings, waterways, lotus gardens, bridges, and bonsai plants, etc... it's incredible.
peaceful lotus plants grew in the water.
this lady floating in her boat was selling the fruits of the lotus plant.
you peel away sections and eat the the pods inside. the pods can be as big as grapes, but taste more like edamame beans.
bamboo everywhere.
scenes from walking thru town....
ducks in a row on the side of a road...
ancient canals run throughout the city. they are nice to walk beside and have obviously been used for hundreds of years by the people of the city. there are many stairs leading down into the water and benches and pavilions all along in order to sit peacefully, relax, and take shelter from the regular rainstorms!
for lunch, i stopped in a little tea house and had rose tea and dim sum. yum! apparently, i didnt use all the little plates properly because they kept bringing more little empty plates, pointing to things, and leaving the plates on the table. i was confused, but nodded and smiled and thoroughly enjoyed the meal!
another garden i really enjoyed was the lion grove garden, built in 1342!
the strange rocks that decorate the garden represent lions doing their many activities. the limestone rocks were transformed into their odd shapes while sitting at the bottom of lake taihu, then they were transported to form such classical gardens.
the rocks are strategically placed around the gardens to form labyrinths! the whole place is like a giant playground to explore, and i had so much fun running around thru the tunnels and paths made of these crazy rock structures! they also use zigzag bridges, because evil spirits cant turn sharp corners!
i really enjoyed the final meal in suzhou which was at a vegetarian restaurant. this odd seaweed thing wasnt my favorite dish though!
so many yummy choices....
see the full set of pictures here.
Monday, August 3, 2009
being followed by a moon shadow
this image was captured by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at the exact moment when the moon's shadow was passing over me in ningbo, china a couple weeks ago during the total solar eclipse! cool! the shadow is only about 100 miles wide - not every big!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
eclipse 2009 - 6m 42s
many people opt to jump on a cruise ship to view total solar eclipses since the mobile boats can, ideally, move quickly over the water to find clear patches of sky! unfortunately, reports i received from friends on boats last week were not all positive.
yesterday, APOD featured the panoramic image below, captured by babak tafreshi, as he cruised along on the deck of a boat at the point of maximum eclipse!
notice how the horizon, in every direction, resembles a sunset, as photons from the sun still scatter thru the atmosphere a hundred miles away!
there are some other artistic eclipse photos at spaceweather.com. i particularly like this one by alan dyer:
yesterday, APOD featured the panoramic image below, captured by babak tafreshi, as he cruised along on the deck of a boat at the point of maximum eclipse!
notice how the horizon, in every direction, resembles a sunset, as photons from the sun still scatter thru the atmosphere a hundred miles away!
there are some other artistic eclipse photos at spaceweather.com. i particularly like this one by alan dyer:
eclipse 2009 - behind the scenes
brady has put together a behind the scenes video series from our china trip to see the total solar eclipse. you can view the uncut totality footage from the 4m 21s event, some of the extra footage we recorded that didnt make it into the final cut, and of course, the full video.
click here to view, and enjoy!
click here to view, and enjoy!
yes, we landed on the moon.
will the moon landing conspiracy ever be officially defeated? i freaking hope so, because its quite annoying in my line of work to constantly encounter people who assume that humans faking the moon landing is a valid possibility. ugh. can we please stop instilling this nonsensical doubt into the minds of our children? humans landed on the moon... be proud, not asinine!
rant completed; now for informative humor!
to help people on the internet move in a positive direction, cracked.com provides a handy 'People Who Would Have to Be Full of Shit' conspiracy theory chart...
spotted by mike's meandering mind.
rant completed; now for informative humor!
to help people on the internet move in a positive direction, cracked.com provides a handy 'People Who Would Have to Be Full of Shit' conspiracy theory chart...
spotted by mike's meandering mind.
Monday, July 27, 2009
total solar eclipse 2009 - photos!
here are a few still shots from the total solar eclipse last week!
while riding in the taxi to ningbo, brady and i feared we were seeing our only glimpse of the sun for the rest of the week :(
the morning of the eclipse! the crazy-looking building is china's first zero-emissions building, which houses the center for sustainable energy technologies at the university of nottingham.
ready to go!
people slowly gathered around us and looked thru the glasses. our first visitor was from the campus's security department. the guy looked very serious and not at all happy to see us with video cameras! but as soon as we handed him the eclipse glasses and had him look at the sun, he got a huge grin on his face and went off to gather some friends to bring back!
all credit for the success of the video goes to this guy - brady haran! i was just happy (and giggly) to be along for the ride :)
getting closer...
almost there...
self portrait during totality!
i didnt get any good still shots of the sun itself amid my excitement, but you can watch our video of the whole event if you want! cosmos4u also has a nice summary of eclipse coverage to browse.
here's my quote from the university of nottingham press release:
while riding in the taxi to ningbo, brady and i feared we were seeing our only glimpse of the sun for the rest of the week :(
the morning of the eclipse! the crazy-looking building is china's first zero-emissions building, which houses the center for sustainable energy technologies at the university of nottingham.
ready to go!
people slowly gathered around us and looked thru the glasses. our first visitor was from the campus's security department. the guy looked very serious and not at all happy to see us with video cameras! but as soon as we handed him the eclipse glasses and had him look at the sun, he got a huge grin on his face and went off to gather some friends to bring back!
all credit for the success of the video goes to this guy - brady haran! i was just happy (and giggly) to be along for the ride :)
getting closer...
almost there...
self portrait during totality!
i didnt get any good still shots of the sun itself amid my excitement, but you can watch our video of the whole event if you want! cosmos4u also has a nice summary of eclipse coverage to browse.
here's my quote from the university of nottingham press release:
Dr Amanda Bauer, from the School of Physics and Astronomy, who also travelled to China to see the eclipse said: “A total solar eclipse is the most spectacular astronomical event you can see with the naked eye. After travelling all the way from Nottingham to Ningbo, it looked like we might be thwarted by the weather. But the clouds cleared in time, and I was stunned by how spectacular it was. I'd seen pictures and video before, but I was not prepared for how big it looked and how dark and cool it became. For four minutes it felt like we were on a different planet.”
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