What would I do without Astronomy Picture of the Day as inspiration for posts? Dominating the horizon of the bleak Australian landscape below is a sandstone formation called Uluru, fondly (by me) known as Ayers Rock. The picture was taken shortly after sunset, and there is a blue arch rising in the east which is [...]
In a press release dated June 29, 2020, the Gemini Observatory announced the first confirmed planet in orbit around a sun-like star. A planet only about eight times the mass of Jupiter has been confirmed orbiting a Sun-like star at over 300 times farther from the star than the Earth is from our Sun. The [...]
The great globular cluster (of stars) in the constellation Hercules, a.k.a. Messier 13, is high in the night sky right now. If you have good eyes, said Edmond Halley in 1714, “it shows itself to the naked eye when the sky is serene and the Moon absent.” It is 25,100 light years away and has [...]
all over again, as someone (Yogi Berra?) once famously said. Once again I find myself struggling up a steep learning curve, advancing an inch and sliding back a foot, trying to produce an acceptable color image of a deep space object, like a galaxy or planetary nebula. The further I get into the process, the [...]
This is the Dumb-Bell nebula known to astronomers as Messier 27. Not visible to the naked eye, it was first discovered by Charles Messier on July 12, 1764, anticipating my viewing by some 236 years and a whole gob of technology that has appeared since then. His equipment was a simple refracting telescope. Mine was [...]
Here is a portion of the 1st Qtr Moon as it appeared over the province of New Brunswick last night shortly after sunset. I wanted to show the whole Moon, but my limited skills with the My Telescope online telescope controls just wouldn’t let me do it, try as I might. Look at those craters! [...]
Here is my first clumsy effort at a color image of the Whirlpool Galaxy. I’m like a journeyman carpenter using his brand new box of tools for the first time. (Which end of the hammer do I grab? Why are the studs crooked? What do I do next?) The next time I can catch a [...]
One outcome of viewing the Learning Company Understanding the Universe DVDs was a renewed interest in astronomy. In my earlier years I would have responded by purchasing a telescope and never learning to use it properly. Now, older yes and wiser maybe, I looked to the Internet to provide an armchair solution. I discovered MyTelescope. [...]
I ran across this image in my library, and I cannot find a context for it. It makes me think of the Big Bang, or one of the many little bangs since. As I continue to watch and listen to my DVD “Understanding the Universe” course, I may learn what it is. Or I may [...]
I think I am entering my second childhood, and I must say it promises to be a whole lot more fun than my first one. For one thing, I can now afford to purchase more toys, at least when I can do it without disrupting marital harmony. For another, I suddenly realize how dumb I [...]
