Comet ZTF, which I’ll call “The Green Monster,” is coming soon to a sky near you. This is its first return since the Ice Age, so if you miss it now, you’ll have to wait another 50,000 years to see it again. In the US, you might spot it before dawn on Saturday, Jan … Read more
This collection shows 99 planetary nebulae (and “Gomez’s Hamburger,” a protoplanetary disk) imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. Copyright Hubble / ESA / NASA; processed by Judy Schmidt CC BY 2.0
Catch the first full Moon of 2023 this weekend, January 6-8. It goes by many different traditional names–the Wolf Moon, the Cold Moon, the Hard Moon, the Great Moon, the Spirit Moon. Here’s a new favorite, though: the Stay Home Moon.
Hope you’ll enjoy it, wherever you are.
Tuesday, November 7, a total lunar eclipse will be visible in North America, Central America, Colombia, and western Venezuela and Peru. It’ll begin just before sunrise and will last about an hour and a half.
From the NPR article below:
The phenomenon causes the moon to appear red, often nicknamed a “blood moon.” During a lunar eclipse, what little sunlight that’s left passes through Earth’s atmosphere to get to the moon. The more cloudy or dusty the atmosphere is, the redder the moon looks.
“It’s as if all the world’s sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the Moon,” NASA said.
NPR
Nov. 7, 2022
Ayana Archie
A total lunar eclipse is happening Tuesday, and it might be a good time to catch a peek, because the next one isn’t for three years.
The initial phase of the eclipse begins at 3:02 a.m. ET, according to NASA. The partial eclipse then begins at 4:09 a.m. ET, when to the naked eye, it looks like a bite is being taken out of the moon. The lunar disk enters totality at 5:17 a.m. ET and will last for about an hour and a half.
People in North America, Central America, Colombia, and western Venezuela and Peru will be able to see the eclipse in totality. Those in Alaska and Hawaii will be able to see all stages of the eclipse.
For the best view, it is best to be in a dark area with little light pollution.
A lunar eclipse happens when the sun, Earth and moon align. During a full lunar eclipse, the moon falls completely in the Earth’s shadow.
The phenomenon causes the moon to appear red, often nicknamed a “blood moon.” During a lunar eclipse, what little sunlight that’s left passes through Earth’s atmosphere to get to the moon. The more cloudy or dusty the atmosphere is, the redder the moon looks.
“It’s as if all the world’s sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the Moon,” NASA said.
The next full lunar eclipse will occur on March 14, 2025, but there will be partial lunar eclipses before then, according to NASA.
This Wednesday the moon will be at its closest point to the Earth for the year–the “Buck Supermoon.” More info below from Space.com.
On Wednesday (July 13), the moon will arrive at its closest point to the Earth for 2022.
On Wednesday (July 13) at 5 a.m. EDT (09:00 GMT), the moon will arrive at its closest point to the Earth for 2022: a perigee distance of 221,994 miles (357,264 kilometers) away.
Nine hours and 38 minutes later, the moon will officially turn full. Though full moon theoretically lasts just a moment, that moment is imperceptible to ordinary observation, and for a day or so before and after most will speak of seeing the nearly full moon as “full”: The shaded strip is so narrow, and changing in apparent width so slowly, that it is hard for the naked eye to tell whether it’s present or which side it is on.
So, when the moon shines down on your neighborhood on Wednesday night, keep this in mind: What you’re looking at is not precisely a full moon, but a waning gibbous moon, already many hours past its stage of full illumination. . . .
I’m happy to announce that I’ve signed with super agent Lisa Bankoff to represent my new novel, JACKSON. This has been a long time in coming so, yeah, I’m pleased. I’ll post any updates here. Meantime, here’s the pitch, in case you’re curious:
JACKSON takes its title from the small town of Jackson, Louisiana. The town’s best known as the site of the state’s first public mental hospital, and it was there, as the son of a psychiatrist, that I grew up, living and roaming on the grounds of the old asylum, hearing the screams of the patients at night. That unusual childhood experience provided the inspiration for this story.
JACKSON is a modern-day Frankenstein tale set against the backdrop of shocking, real-life brain implant experiments conducted on patients in Louisiana public mental hospitals in the 1960s. Told from the shifting points of view of Dr. Eugene Grant, a newly trained psychiatrist, and his young wife, Callie, the novel follows the couple and their son as they settle into a home on the grounds of Louisiana State Hospital, an immense, antiquated asylum in a remote corner of the state. Eugene, in thrall to the charismatic director of the hospital, is drawn deeper and deeper into the bizarre and bloody experiments they perform on their patients. At the same time, Callie grows increasingly suspicious of her husband’s work until, in a harrowing climax, she becomes a patient herself.
With shades of Southern Gothic, JACKSON also looks forward to contemporary issues of racism, sexism, and society’s treatment of its most vulnerable citizens, all the while grappling with the larger question of what it means to be sane in an insane world.
When the Sun has faded and darkness spreads across the wintery landscape, the best response is to celebrate it.
Today, December 21, marks the Winter Solstice–the longest night and shortest day of the year, when the Earth’s North Pole is tilted farthest from the Sun during its orbit. Today also marks the astronomical beginning of the winter season–which is why, you may have noticed, it’s so cold. Brrr.
Take solace in the fact, though, that also from today, the days grow longer and the nights grow shorter until, come the Spring Equinox in March, daytime and night-time are perfectly balanced.
Ancient cultures knew this, and found ways to celebrate the Solstice. Rome had their Saturnalia celebration, which began on Dec. 17 and lasted seven days. Scandinavia had the Feast of Juul, when a Yule log was burned to honor the god Thor. And the Incas, in South America, celebrated (as some still do) the Festival of the Sun–although, being in the Southern Hemisphere, it fell not in December but in June.
Here are some photos of costumes worn at winter celebrations around the world, from dangerousminds.net. Stay warm, and enjoy.
Happy Halloween from all of us here on Earth.
Since you asked: Tonight’s full moon (and partial eclipse!) is known as the THUNDER MOON. We don’t know why.
It’s also known variously as the BUCK MOON, the RIPE CORN MOON, the HAY MOON, and the OLD MOON. We don’t know why these names, either.
More at this link.
