Archives for the 'astronomy' Category
Transient Astronomy
Published on 10 Jan 2008 at 10:23 am.
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Filed under astronomy, conference blogging.
When I first got started in astronomy, there was an old piece of paper thumbtacked to the wall next to the phone at the observatory at the university where I was getting my master’s degree. To my knowledge, no one ever called that number. It was the phone number for the IAU’s Central […]
Where is today’s Cosmos?
Published on 20 Dec 2007 at 9:22 am.
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Filed under astronomy.
I knew for a long time that I really wanted to be a scientist. Eventually, my interest began leaning towards physics. Also, I had always had an interest in astronomy, but what really fueled that interest was a television show that ran on PBS during my first semester in college. That was […]
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December 15, 2007, Star Party
Published on 8 Dec 2007 at 1:40 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under astronomy, observing.
I will be doing a star party on December 15 at Dinosaur Valley State Park, in Glen Rose, Texas. For those who don’t know, Glen Rose is a small city southwest of Fort Worth. You can find directions to the park at their web site. The star party will be held at […]
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Integrated Magnitude and Comet Holmes
Published on 4 Nov 2007 at 12:26 pm.
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Filed under astronomy, comets.
Raw observational data for magnitude estimates for Comet Holmes suggest that the comet is holding at a magnitude of about 2.5 or so. Some estimates are a bit brighter, and some are a bit dimmer. But, people are asking me why it is getting harder to see the comet if it is staying […]
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Seeing Mercury this week
Published on 30 Sep 2007 at 12:21 pm.
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Filed under astronomy, skywatching.
Mercury swings around the Sun very quickly. It takes only 88 days to make a complete orbit. Being quite a bit closer to the Sun than the Earth, Mercury never seems to stray far from the Sun in the sky. However, it is now about 25° to the east of the Sun […]
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Harvest Moon
Published on 26 Sep 2007 at 1:25 pm.
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Filed under astronomy, sky lore, skywatching.
Full Moon occurs today at 19:45 UT (2:45 pm Central Daylight Time). You may have gone out to look at the Moon the last few nights and thought that it looked full, but really it was not quite full. The Full Moon is defined by the moment that the Moon is most nearly […]
Equinox ≠ Equal Nights
Published on 23 Sep 2007 at 2:57 pm.
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Filed under astronomy.
This morning, at 09:51 UT (4:51 CDT), the Autumnal Equinox occurred. The term “equinox” has as its root meaning in Latin “equal nights.” Many introductory books about astronomy, and virtually all K - 12 books, say that the equinox is the day that days and nights are equal length: 12 hours of […]
