Did you catch the moon last night? It was absolutely stunning. The full moon in August is called the Sturgeon Moon.
Tag Archives: Astronomy
The beautiful moon
I never tire of the moon’s beauty when I see it in the sky.
Blue sky moon
I always enjoy noticing our world’s largest satellite during the day. Waxing, first quarter moon.
The beauty of the moon
With everything that’s been going on in the world lately, it really helps to take some time to notice the beauty that’s also with us. Last night, I did that by admiring the full moon for a while.
Blood moon eclipse
A composite of the best photos I took during last’s eclipse.
Moonrise
As I went out the door to take out the trash tonight, the full moon was rising beautifully in the east.
I grabbed my camera and tripod, and this was the best shot I got. I can’t help but think how much better it would have been with a longer lens. Hmmm… I wonder what my tax refund will be this year?
NASA Images
I recently discovered a wonderful website for anyone interested in astronomy and space: NASA Images.
In addition to the huge collection of images and multimedia of the universe, our solar system, the Earth, aeronautics and astronauts, it’s also got a nice time line from the late 1950’s until the present day.
High resolution versions of the images are available for download.
Nothing like the Sun
Did you see the lunar eclipse last night? I stepped out of my place about every 15 minutes or so to watch the show. When I was out there I wondered how many other people throughout the ages watched the moon darken with awe, as I was doing. Watching the Earth’s shadow slowly make its way across the lunar surface, I could understand how ancient peoples might start freaking out during such an event. I was also reminded of “Sister Moon,” the title song from Sting’s excellent album, …Nothing Like The Sun (who actually lifted that line from Shakespeare’s My Mistress’ Eyes sonnet).
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the Sun.
My hunger for her explains everything I’ve done.
To howl at the moon the whole night through,
And they really don’t care if I do.
I’d go out of my mind, but for you.
I didn’t have enough ambition to mess around with my camera and tripod during last night’s -5 F temperatures, but you can see images of the eclipse from SpaceWeather.com.
Contemplating the Milky Way
One of the things I love about camping it is usually means I’m far away from the glow of city lights. Last Monday night, when I was at Peninsula State Park, I was treated to a spectacular view of the night sky. The realization that I am away from from city lights really hits me when I can see that ribbon of stars across the sky, the Milky Way.
Milestones
Tomorrow I will have worked at the Oak Creek Public Library for fourteen years. When I first started at Oak Creek I figured I would probably be there for five, maybe seven years. Fourteen years have past and I wonder where the time went. As Groucho Marx once said, “Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.”
In other news, today the planet Mars is the closest it’s been to the Earth in 60,000 years. Head outside tonight and take a look.