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George Bishop, Jr., heartily endorses Biden/Harris in the upcoming presidential/vice-presidential election in the US.  Go Joe!

Comet NEOWISE!

I’ve been neglecting this site, I know  But here’s something worth coming back for:  Comet NEOWISE, which is lighting up skies all over the world.  It’s visible right now to the naked eye in the Northern Hemisphere.  Here’s a recent photo from Slovakia:

Stunning, right?  NEOWISE (named after the space observation satellite that first spotted it) has a 6,800-year orbit, which means it won’t pass this way again until the year 8820, when the Earth will be nothing but a black cinder ruled over by evil robots.  

Space.com has useful information on how to view the comet, pasted here:  

Don’t miss Comet NEOWISE in the evening sky now. It won’t be back for 6,800 years.

By Tariq Malik

An amazing comet that thrilled early-morning stargazers earlier this month is now visible in the evening sky, and it’s a sight you won’t want to miss. After all, this comet won’t be back for 6,800 years, NASA says. 

Comet NEOWISE can now be seen just after sunset for observers in the Northern Hemisphere, according to NASA. (Sorry, Southern Hemisphere skywatchers, it’s not visible there.) The comet made its closest approach to the sun July 3 but was only visible before dawn until now.

“If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, you can see it,” said Joe Masiero, deputy principal investigator of NEOWISE, the NASA space telescope that discovered the comet, in a NASA Science Live webcast Wednesday (July 15).  “As the next couple of days progress, it will get higher in the evening sky, so you’re going to want to look northwest right under the Big Dipper.”

There are a few more comet-observing tips to keep in mind, according to Masiero. 

First, you’re going to want to try and get away from city lights and set up in a location with a clear, unobstructed view of the northwest horizon. 

Then, find out what time your local sunset is. You’ll want to wait until 45 minutes after sunset before hunting the comet.  

“What you want to do is go out right around the time that the first stars start to show up. You’re not going to be able to see it before that,” Masiero said. “It’s probably about as bright as some of the stars in the Big Dipper.” 

To the unaided eye, Comet NEOWISE will look like a fuzzy star with a bit of a tail, according to a NASA guide. But binoculars or a small telescope offer a much better view.

 

And finally, NASA’s “Astronomy Picture of the Day” is posting some remarkable photos of Comet NEOWISE from around the world right now on their Facebook site, “Sky.” Check it out.  Below are just a few.  

Get out there and look for it tonight.  Happy viewing.

 

Comet NEOWISE Poland

 

Comet NEOWISE Canada

 

Comet NEOWISE California

 

 

Comet NEOWISE Madrid

 

 

Super Pink Moon Tonight

Catch the “Super Pink Moon” tonight, April 7, 2020. It’s the first full moon of Spring, and the biggest full moon of 2020. The “Pink” in its name comes from native North American wildflowers that bloom in early springtime: Phlox subulata, known as “moss pink.”

Try not to think of it as an emblem of the coronavirus pandemic that’s sweeping the world right now.

Read more at CNN:  April’s ‘pink moon’ is the biggest supermoon of 2020

Get Some Action at the 2020 Tennessee Williams and New Orleans Literary Festival

If you’re like me, your life is probably pretty boring.

Find out how to get some action in your life, or at least in your writing, at our panel on “Creating a Novel of Action” at the 2020 Tennessee Williams Festival. With authors Taylor Brown, Adeline Dieudonné, Alex Myers, and Rita Woods.

Friday, March 27, in the Queen Anne Ballroom at the Hotel Monteleone in beautiful New Orleans, La.

Lots more information here: Tennessee Williams and New Orleans Literary Festival.

Wolf Moon!

Watch for the “Wolf Moon” this Friday, January 10. And if you’re in Asia, Africa, Europe, or Australia, you’ll get see the “Wolf Moon Eclipse”–a rare penumbral eclipse of the moon.  See below or here for more info.

Feel free to howl all you want.

How, When And Where You Can See The ‘Wolf Moon Eclipse’, 2020’s First Of Thirteen Full Moons

Jamie Carter
FORBES
January 6, 2020 

Some of the world saw a “ring of fire” eclipse of the Sun on December 26, and exactly two weeks after some of it will see a “Wolf Moon Eclipse” as the moon drifts into Earth’s shadow. 

That doesn’t include North America, but it will be visible from Europe, Africa, Asia and parts of Australia, where observers under clear skies will witness a rather odd-looking full moon on Friday, January 10, 2020. 

In North and South America, however, the spectacle on offer a few hours later is the appearance of January’s full “Wolf Moon,” a beautiful full moon that will be best seen at moonrise and moonset.

Here’s everything you need to know about the “Wolf Moon Eclipse,” the first of full moon of the decade, and the deepest lunar eclipse of 2020.

When is January’s full Moon? 

The moon will be 100% illuminated at precisely 7:21 p.m. Universal Time on January 10, which is 2:21 p.m. EST and 11:21 a.m. PST. That’s the daylight hours in North and South America, so it will be impossible for anyone there to see the “Wolf Moon Eclipse,” though dusk on Friday will be an excellent time to watch the full moon rise in the west close to sunset. 

What those in Asia, Australia, Europe and Africa will see is a rare a penumbral eclipse of the moon. 

What is a penumbral lunar eclipse?

It’s actually not that rare, at least, not in 2020, when there are four penumbral lunar eclipses, two of which North Americans will be able to see. More on that below. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the moon drifts into Earth’s penumbra (outer shadow).

It’s different to a total lunar eclipse. During a total lunar eclipse—often called a “blood moon”—the moon enters the Earth’s central shadow, its umbra. It then turns reddish because th only light moving to the lunar surface is being filtered by Earth’s atmosphere, which is very good at scattering blue, but not red, light. Instead, during a penumbral lunar eclipse, the moon simply loses a lot of brightness, in this case in its southern region. It’s a really odd sight to be able to look at a full moon when it’s high in the sky, though it’s best appreciated by taking photos of the full moon at the peak of the eclipse, then post-eclipse, to really appreciate the effect of Earth’s shadow.

How, when and where to see the ‘Wolf Moon Eclipse’ 

This depends on where you are. For anyone wanting to see the full moon at its best, just be sure to look at moonset (around sunrise) and moonset (around sunset) on January 10. However, if you’re in Asia, Australia, Europe or Africa, know that the penumbral lunar eclipse begins at 5:07 p.m. Universal Time and will be at “maximum eclipse” at 7:10 p.m. Universal Time. You can convert for your own location/time zone here, or consult this page, but here are a few times for “maximum eclipse” of the “Wolf Moon” from a select few cities in the eclipse-zone, when a dark shadow will move across the bottom half of the Moon:

  • London: 7:10 p.m. on January 10 
  • Mainland Europe: 8:10 p.m. on January 10 
  • Cairo: 9:10 p.m. on January 10 
  • Moscow: 10:10 p.m. on January 10 
  • Dubai: 11:10:02 p.m. on January 10 
  • New Delhi: 12:40 a.m. on January 11
  • Shanghai: 3:10 a.m. on January 11
  • Perth: 3:10 a.m. on January 11

Note that these are the times for maximum eclipse; the event as a whole takes place over about four hours. It’s Western Europe that’s best-placed for those wanting to watch the “Wolf Moon” rise in the east followed quickly by the beginning of the penumbral lunar eclipse. 

When to observe the full moonrise from North America

Although the penumbral lunar eclipse will have ceased before moonrise in North and South Americans, the sight of the “Wolf Moon” rising in the east will nevertheless be a beautiful sight. That will happen at 4:45 p.m. EST in New York and at 5:10 p.m. PST in Los Angeles very close to sunset. 

Why are there thirteen full moons in 2020? 

Lunar months are 29 days long. Most months have longer than 29 days, so the date of the full moon drifts to be sooner in successive months. Inevitably there comes a time when there’s a full moon on the first and last day of the month, something that in 2020 happens in October. The second full moon of that month, on October 31, 2020, will therefore be a “blue moon”, so 2020 will have 13 full moons in total.  

When are the next lunar eclipses in Europe and the North America? 

There are three more penumbral lunar eclipses in 2020, though none are as deep as the “Wolf Moon Eclipse:” 

  • June 5, 2020: Asia, Africa and Australia
  • July 5, 2020: South America, North America and Africa
  • November 29, 2020: North and South America, Australia and East Asia

The Longest Night of the Year: Celebrating the Winter Solstice

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.

“Lucifer and Little Devils,” Austria

 

Slovenia

 

Portugal

 

Switzerland

 

Finland

More Meteor Showers!

The Geminid Meteor Shower peaks this weekend, Dec. 13-14. The near-full moon will hamper viewing, so the shower may not be as spectacular as some predict.  

However, according to Space.com, you’ll still have a chance to catch some shooting stars between 6 and 7 p.m. on Saturday night–just before the moon comes up:

“Early Saturday evening, there is a fair chance of catching sight of some “Earth-grazing” meteors: long, bright shooting stars that streak overhead from a point near or just below the horizon.

“Such meteors are so distinctive because they follow very long paths nearly parallel to our atmosphere. In this year’s Geminids, look for meteors racing almost straight up from the northeast horizon to a point ending overhead.”

Happy viewing.

 

Comet Borisov Comes this Weekend!

Comet 2I/Borisov, the first-ever interstellar space comet, will sweep around the Sun this weekend.  On Dec. 28 it’ll have its closest approach to the Earth.

Borisov is remarkable because all other known comets have come from within our own solar system.  Borisov, in contrast, has travelled 100 million miles or so from some other solar system (scientists don’t know which one) to visit us. This Sunday it’ll slingshot around the Sun before beginning its return journey to . . . wherever.  

Comet Borisov, of course, reminds us of another famous Christmas comet–Comet Kohoutek, which caused such a stir when it swept around the Sun in December of 1973. Astronomers then wondered if Kohoutek might be an interstellar comet, too.  (It wasn’t.) An excellent and entertaining fictional account of Comet Kohoutek, I’m told, can be found in the novel THE NIGHT OF THE COMET, by Mr. George Bishop, Jr.

It’ll be too faint to see with the naked eye, but you can read more about it here at CNN.com, and track its path here at https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4758

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beaver Moon + Taurid Meteor Shower!

November’s full moon is called the “Beaver Moon.” This year’s moon, on Nov. 12, will coincide with the peak of the Taurid meteor shower. If you’re lucky, you might catch some falling stars.

More here at Space.com.

 

November Full Moon 2019: How to See the ‘Beaver Moon’ (and Meteors!)

By Jesse Emspak, Space.com

The November full moon is often called the Full Beaver Moon, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, because that was when the eponymous animals become active to prepare for winter.  

The Ojibwe peoples called November’s full moon the Mnidoons Giizisoonhg, according to the Ontario Native Literacy Coalition. The name means the Little Spirit Moon, reflecting that it was the 12th month for the Ojibwe, a time for spiritual reflection ahead of a new year. 

In the Pacific Northwest, the Tlingit called the November full moon the Scraping Moon, or Kukahaa Dís, because bears would start to prepare their dens, while the Haida called the month the Cha’aaw Kungaay (“bears hibernate”), according to the Tlingit Moon and Tide Teaching Resource published by the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. 

In the Southern Hemisphere, November is the late spring; the Māori of New Zealand called the lunar months of November to December (measured from new moon to new moon, with the full moon falling right in the middle) Hakihea,meaning “Birds are now sitting in their nests,” according to the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.