Non-Fiction – Page 10 – Into the West

Moon Passes Near Both Mars and Saturn this Week

Yesterday, I saw a post via Sky & Telescope’s Facebook feed that reminded me to get out my telescope. This week, starting tomorrow, you don’t need a telescope to see something amazing.

Saturday after sunset, look to the south to see the Moon near Mars.

Monday, again after sunset, look a bit farther to the south-east to see the Moon near Saturn.

Here’s a link to Sky & Telescope’s article about the Moon juicing up July:

Two Moon-Planet Conjunctions Juice Up July

But back to my telescope. I know I don’t need it to see the above two events, anyone with eyeballs can observe them. I wanted to get out my telescope and shake off the cobwebs. It’s been a cloudy spring this year, at least on the weekends. I observed Mars first, trying to see the polar ice caps, then I switched to Saturn, where I clearly saw the separation between the rings and the different cloud layers. The angle of the rings with respect to Saturn is spectacular right now.

ASOD: Postcard from 1st International Sun Day (22 Jun 2014)

I spied a wonderful ‘postcard’ from Varages in southeastern France via the Astronomy Sketch of the Day this morning:

I especially like the foreground sketches. The sun was ‘quiet’ on Sunday.

http://www.asod.info/?p=12576

Find an Island of Stars at Powell Obsevatory Tomorrow Night

A quick shout-out to everyone in the Kansas City metro area to come on down to the Powell Observatory tomorrow night.

Our scheduled program is entitled “Island of Stars” and the weather looks very promising.

I volunteer as part of Team 2 (one of several teams staffed by members of the Astronomical Society of Kansas City). I’m looking forward to meeting many new people and introducing them to the many wonders of the night sky.

More Powell Observatory Information:

The observatory is staffed by ASKC volunteers and is open to the public every Saturday night from the beginning of May through the end of October. The Star Bright Saturday Night Programs begin at dusk and include program presentations on astronomy, tours of the observatory, and (if the skies are clear) viewing through the various telescopes of the moon, planets, stars, star clusters and more! A donation of $6 per adult and $4 per child is suggested to help support the observatory and allow it to continue operations open to the public.

Hope to see you tomorrow night and always keep looking up!

What the Hell Are Tachyons?

http://io9.com/what-the-hell-are-tachyons-1583680897?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_facebook&utm_source=io9_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Ah yes! Got my math fix for the day AND a side of string theory.

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

ASOD: Phases of the Moon

Beautiful sketch work in this Astronomy Sketch of the Day posting from this past Sunday:

Moon; full moon facing, two views of dark side.
Sketch was made in my studio.
2009; published on album cover for jazz band Four, 2009
Graphite on archival paper.

Visit the Astronomy Sketch of the Day website for more great astronomical sketches.

This year’s best meteor shower prepares to take center stage | Astronomy.com

This year’s best meteor shower prepares to take center stage | Astronomy.com.

Debris from an obscure comet could light up the sky with 100 or more meteors per hour the night of May 23/24.

Astronomers expect the shower to peak sometime between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. EDT the morning of May 24 (11 p.m. to 1 a.m. PDT). This timing works perfectly for observers in the United States and southern Canada. For the best views, find an observing site far from city lights. Light pollution brightens the sky and washes out fainter meteors, lessening the shower’s impact.

The weather forecast for Lansing is dismal. Cloudy Friday and Saturday, thunderstorms predicted. Unless I want to take a long long drive somewhere, I won’t get a chance to see this new meteor shower.

Hope you have better luck in your neck of the woods!