Hubble’s high-definition panoramic view of the Andromeda Galaxy | Astronomy.com

Mega coolness!

Andromeda Galaxy Hubble Closeup
NASA/ESA/J. Dalcanton/B.F. Williams/L.C. Johnson (University of Washington)/The PHAT team/R. Gendler

Never before have astronomers been able to see individual stars inside an external spiral galaxy over such a large contiguous area.

Hubble’s high-definition panoramic view of the Andromeda Galaxy | Astronomy.com.

Autumn Evening Colors, Pink Sunrises and Royal Blue Days

Last night after grabbing a quick dinner and running some errands, my husband and I made a quick trip through Mount Muncie Cemetery just before sunset.  I took several snapshots with my smartphone, and liked this one the best:

Fall colors at Muncie CemeteryThis morning, after commuting in the pre-dawn darkness and parking almost underground, I emerged to find this pink sunrise greeting me on this fabulous Friday morning:

20141017_072039And in honor of the World Series bound Royals (first game is here in Kansas City next Tuesday evening) enjoy this snapshot from one of my many lunch walks around the Country Club Plaza, where all the fountains are overflowing with Royal blue:

20141015_120842Have a great weekend everyone!

Summer Sunrise

Summer officially arrived yesterday, but today it dawned for the first time.  I woke up way way early for a Sunday (sometime during the four o’clock hour) and spied a hazy crescent moon from my bedroom window, but no bright shining Venus.

Late in the five o’clock hour, I went outside, taking Apollo with me, to see if Venus peaked through the clouds.  No, nothing but the moon.

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First Summer Sunrise 2014

Some of my flowers are doing well, like my day lilies and the moss roses, potted or in flower beds:

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Potted Moss Roses (four plants, various colors)
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Flower bed with moss roses, day lilies and cone flowers.

The cone flowers I planted last year and not doing very well. The one I planted at the north end of this flower bed only produced three or four leaves. The other one (shown above) is flowering, but also looks pekid. I’m just not much of a gardener. My one true success is the day lilies, which I planted six years ago on Memorial Day.

Back Porchlight Squatter

Back porch light squatterA robin built a nest on top of our back porch light.  It’s been there a week or so, but for the last couple of days, she hasn’t left the nest when we slide open the patio door.  She stayed put while I took a couple of photos of her with my smartphone.

According to the Wikipedia article on the American Robin, it only takes a couple of weeks for the eggs to hatch.  If she leaves the nest, I’ll try to take a photo of them as well.

 

Tom J Martinez PhotoBlog: Blood Moon and Great Blue Heron

http://tomjmartinez.blogspot.com/2014/04/blood-moon-and-great-blue-heron_25.html?m=1

Fellow ASKC member and astrophotography Tom Martinez relates his recent adventures with the Blood Moon and Blue Heron.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

Sun Dogs on Snow Day

The day after the Kansas City metro area got nearly a foot of snow dumped on it, I ventured out to return to work.  Most of the local schools and some businesses remained closed that day, but not my employer or the employer of one of my other vanpool riders. On the commute home, I enjoyed watching some sun dogs playing around the sinking sun.  My smartphone camera just doesn’t do them justice:

sun dogs
Click on photo to see rest of Snow Day Sun Dogs album

Apollo and the MLK 2014 Sunset

It’s been ages since I posted a sunset photo.  The wind really picked up yesterday just as the sun set on a gorgeous day:

sunset with Apollo
MLK 2014 Sunet

Of course, when I stepped outside into the backyard to take the photos, Apollo just had to join me.  He had a hard time standing still for his portrait, but this one turned out well:

sunset with Apollo
Apollo peaking around the fence at me.

It was a very busy three day weekend.  We made great progress on our remodeling project.  The weather was so nice I was able to walk both dogs without wearing a jacket and we grilled out Sunday afternoon.

Hope all of you had a great weekend as well.