What is the most visually striking feature of the planet Jupiter? In my estimation, there are two likely answers to this question. One - the four Galilean moons (Europa, Callisto, Ganymede and Io) are easily visible, dynamic, and were mankind's first direct evidence that bodies in our solar system orbited something other than Earth, shattering…Read more Jupiter’s Great Red Spot: A Shrinking Mystery
Astronomy
Happy Imbolc!
Feb 2 (this year) marks one of the traditional "cross-quarter" days of the year, halfway between the winter solstice and the spring (vernal) equinox. Astronomically, it occurs specifically at 6:50pm Eastern Standard Time on Feb 2. This specific event was celebrated by ancient Gaelic cultures, no doubt using various stone henges to mark the time,…Read more Happy Imbolc!
BepiColombo: Why Is It So Hard To Get To Mercury?
Back in October, 2018, the BepiColombo mission launched. It intrigued me then, and I made a note to learn more and write about it at the time. What piqued my interest most was the journey BepiColombo would have to take, a journey of over seven years to reach a planet that's only an average 48…Read more BepiColombo: Why Is It So Hard To Get To Mercury?
Observing Mars Retrograde: A Beginner’s Guide
Mars is in retrograde, and with some prominent stars and easy constellations in the background, now (and over the next few weeks) is a perfect time to see it! When the ancients were trying to figure out the nature of the heavenly spheres, motion of planets caused a lot of confusion. This is particularly true…Read more Observing Mars Retrograde: A Beginner’s Guide
Comets Old And New
You may or may not have heard, but there's a really bright comet out there right now. Comet C/2024 G3 ATLAS (catchy!) reached perihelion (closest approach to the sun) on Monday, January 13th. It passed by the Sun at a distance of 0.094 AU. One Astronomical Unit (AU) is the average distance from the Earth…Read more Comets Old And New
Partial Solar Eclipse, MD
The solar eclipse that took place this morning, June 10, 2021, was an annular eclipse in some parts of the world - notably Greenland and parts of northeastern Canada. There, the Sun was blocked by a Moon slightly farther away from us than average, such that it appeared just too small to cover the entire…Read more Partial Solar Eclipse, MD
Seven Minutes of Terror
With any luck, it all happens tomorrow!! Perseverance and its little stowaway helicopter, Ingenuity, land at Jezero Crater, on the surface of Mars! I know a lot of people are discussing this right now, but after my post a week or so ago discussing the orbital mechanics of a Mars mission, and why launch windows…Read more Seven Minutes of Terror
Interplanetary Superhighway (Math, Geometry, and Mars Missions)
Let's say you've got nothing else going on, and you decide to launch a mission to Mars, as you do. Technically, assuming you had the rocket and the launch pad and the range clearance, the time and money, etc, you could do that tomorrow some time. BUT, this is a little like Steven Wright's assertion…Read more Interplanetary Superhighway (Math, Geometry, and Mars Missions)
A Worthy Comet
Pictures of Comet NEOWISE are all over the place these days, and with good reason. It has been putting on a surprisingly good appearance over the past week, with a beautiful tail, and for a while even breaking the naked-eye-visibility barrier. The phrase "best comet since Hale-Bopp in '97" seems to be floating around among…Read more A Worthy Comet
Mars and the Moon
This morning, the Moon passed in front of the planet Mars. My view of the event from the east coast of the US was entirely daylight, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to resolve anything. I was up around 6:30am, and the sky was mostly clear. I stepped out on the back deck and…Read more Mars and the Moon
Watch the Moon Block Mars – Feb 18, 2020
I've been meaning to write about this for a while now, but things keep me busy, as they do, and now it's almost too late, because this event happens TOMORROW AT DAWN!! Tomorrow, the Moon will slide directly between Earth and the planet Mars, causing an eclipse, of sorts. This type of event is called…Read more Watch the Moon Block Mars – Feb 18, 2020
Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betel….
There's something amiss in the night sky these days. The evening is going well - I'm sitting by a crackling fire that I just used to clean a Dutch oven from our last trip out. (Something I actually neglected for about a week, just because I kept forgetting about it. I've learned that burnt molasses…Read more Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betel….
Midnight Sun
I recently returned from a vacation in Iceland. I spent a week just south of the Arctic Circle, one week after the summer solstice. There's a lot to talk about following such an amazing trip (and I will), but having recently written about dark skies, I thought a lot about the almost-24-hour daylight we…Read more Midnight Sun
Dark Skies
"The Lorax", by Dr. Seuss, is a cautionary tale of environmentalism, one in which all resources (truffula trees) are completely consumed to make consumer products ("You Need A Thneed!"). The landscape, devoid of trees, becomes a barren wasteland, no longer suitable for life. It's a classic tale, a metaphor for human excess and a call…Read more Dark Skies
Opposition (Astronomy, Week of 6/16/19)
Happy Father's Day all! A least to all the fathers out there. I haven't been sharing any astronomical thoughts for a while, as I've been too busy being a dad, myself. But despite my lack of writing, I've consistently been looking up. Enough to notice that Mars has slipped away and almost disappeared into the…Read more Opposition (Astronomy, Week of 6/16/19)
Flying Squirrel Outdoors 