Monthly Archives: April 2009

Andrew Kirk of Bishop, California, sent along this stunning photograph of lenticular clouds and iridescence (colored rings) taken on Tuesday the 28th. The clouds were very short-lived, evaporating in less than a minute. Now that the snow’s gone, we don’t … Continue reading →

Here’s how Earthshine works. Sunlight reflects off the blue and white Earth into space at the moon. The moon absorbs some and sends the rest back to us. We see this twice-reflected light as a dim illumination of the portion of the moon not lit … Continue reading →

GRB 090423 as seen by NASA’s Swift satellite. Credit: NASA/Swift/Stefan Immler I thought some of you might be interested in this bit of space news that just arrived in my e-mail: NASA’s Swift satellite and an international team of astronomers … Continue reading →

Chorus frogs, wood frogs and peepers. These are the company of a rural night. What a contrast to winter’s silence. A month ago I’d take off my hat to listen to the quiet at night’s end. The thump of my heart … Continue reading →

V is for Virgo! Or should I say vertigo. Sometimes you can look so long at the sky, you think you might fall in. And if you’re going to fall, Virgo’s the place to do it because the sky’s deeper there than just … Continue reading →

I hope you saw the youthful moon last night. One observer left a nice report in the Comments section of yesterday’s blog. Because of another commitment I wasn’t able to see the moon but did catch Mercury just after 9 … Continue reading →

The moon never fails to delight. Three mornings ago, it passed in front of Venus; tonight it offers skywatchers a perfect opportunity to see one of the thinnest crescents ever. The moon’s age is determined by how many hours or … Continue reading →

Cloud to cloud lightning, the most common form, sparks in this storm cloud over Carlton County last night. Details: 70mm lens at f/5.6, 30 second time exposure at ISO 400. Photo: Bob King Lightning flashing near the horizon last night evoking … Continue reading →

For early risers, here’s a listing of times and directions for viewing the International Space Station beginning tomorrow morning the 24th. Watch for a very bright moving "star" rising up from the west and traveling eastward (in most cases). If you live outside … Continue reading →

The Milky Way spans the eastern sky yesterday morning before dawn. Details: 16mm lens at f/2.8, 30-second time exposure at ISO 1600. Photos: Bob King Yesterday morning before the moon-Venus excitement, I stood for a while looking up at the … Continue reading →