Last night an almost total lunar eclipse turned the full moon blood-red due to the refracted light from the sun through the earth’s atmosphere. Lunar eclipses are more common than solar eclipses but due to the much larger size of the earth, are visible over much wider areas and take hours to complete. I had […]
Photographing the solar eclipse from the Atlas World Traveler proved to be more challenging than I expected. The captain did a great job of keeping the ship slow and steady but with a long lens I had to keep making adjustment to keep the sun centered. There was also a steady headwind and a few
More solar eclipse photos Read More »
I tired to capture videos as Venus passed behind the moon (ingress) and came out the other side an hour later (egress) but gremlins got in the way. First, the big telescope’s PC got trapped in drive update hell. I grabbed the Dwarf Mini (see previous blog post on this remarkable tiny ‘scope) and aligned
A somewhat rare occultation of Venus by the moon will occur at 3:53 this afternoon. It should be visible to the naked eye if you can find a wall to block out the sun. Binoculars or a small telescope would be best. Be careful not to look near or directly at the Sun. See Spaceweather
See the moon eat Venus Read More »
May 10th, 2024 was a night I will never forget. A X-class solar flare made a direct hit on our planet and sparked aurora as far south as Cuba. Fortunately skies were mostly clear and there were early warnings from observers in southern Europe that a major event was in process. Millions of photos were
Two years ago the sky went wild Read More »
The newest generation of “smart” imaging telescopes are a great way to introduce beginners and youngsters to astronomy. Multiple vendors including ZWO, Unistellar, Vaonis and Dwarf Labs make fully automated, miniature imaging scopes that have no eyepiece but provide a sophisticated astrophotography imaging setup operated by your smartphone. The Dwarf Mini from DwarfLab weighs less
Photographing the night sky with a tiny telescope Read More »
The storm on the 20th came a bit early for North America but was a big deal in most of Europe. After many attempts to capture something I got a few photos with a hint of aurora. Stay tuned for more events in the coming days as the Sun seems to be coughing up flares
A wee bit of aurora Read More »
A big solar flare is on the way and we might just be able to see the northern lights from a dark location. Forecasted peak of a G4 level storm is predicted around 1-4 AM EST. Brave the cold and check it out! Even if you can’t see anything with the naked eye, try short
Possible aurora tonight Read More »
I purchased a ZWO Seestar S50 a couple of years ago just to see what could be done with inexpensive, automated scopes. There is no eyepiece and it only takes images that you can see on a phone or tablet. It’s dead simple to use – just place it outdoors on a table or level
A fun, inexpensive telescope Read More »
