Ok, this was a wild ride this morning. After taking a few shots with the Canon and telephoto (where I forgot to zoom out!), I ran up to the observatory and attempted to point the new scope at the balloon. Mind you I have not actually taking a photo with it yet and had not …
Based on the forecasted track last night it was headed for Asheville and then to the South Carolina coast. I had doubts we would be able to see it but when walking Lexi this morning I happened to look up and there it was! Its pretty small even in a telephoto but I managed to …
Finally! After all the bad weather this past week the skies opened up on Friday and I was able to capture a few hours of images of comet 2022 E3 (ZTF). Comets get cumbersome, long names but the media has called it the “green comet” which it is in long exposures. Astrophotography is an involved …
We visited my sister in Chattanooga last week and caught the annual Tennessee Sand Hill Crane Festival. Huge birds. The flock along the river was busy fishing and defending territories. They mate for life and interestingly, are not an endangered species – hunting in season is permitted. More info here.
Here we go again – another new comet that “might” brighten to just barely naked eye visibility – maybe. The brightness of comets is notoriously hard to predict since as they near the sun some of their mass will boil away from the intense solar heat. Comets are bundles of ice and rock left over …
Licklog Falls were partially frozen last week when the temperature dropped below zero. Water streaming under the ice looks like worms!
The Dogstar website has been updated and improved. I have added new About and Home pages but much of the rest is in the same for now. I will also be adding some new pages featuring new astro and wildlife photos. Also look for new pages with recommendations on telescopes for beginners. Please let me …
Get your coffee pot ready if you want to catch the annual Leonids meteor shower. Like most showers, it has a broad peak days before and after but the predicted maximum will be after midnight on Friday morning (November 18th). The waning crescent moon will be a minor factor when it rises around 1:30 but …
If you are an early riser you may be able to see the eclipse from Balsam in the morning. The moon will be low in the west at totality but if you have a clear view of the setting sun you might get a good luck. It will be setting shortly after totality. Check out …
This is a classic fireball from the Orionids shower. It was captured 1:34 AM on the morning of October 20th. Meteor showers are named for the constellation (in this case Orion) from which meteors seem to come from. They are actually coming from the direction of Earth’s orbit around the sun so they get named …
