February 26, 2007
What did you see?! A little lunar detective story
I'm a great believer in preparing well before you go out to observe – but I don’t always do it and even when I do, I leave myself open for surprises because trying to figure out exactly what it is...February 25, 2007
Nova 2 - too - telescope needed!
OK, I just looked again - 5 am - for the two Nova in Scorpius and the first one remains easy i binoculars - perhaps 5.2 or 5.3 - but the second? Not in my 15X45 IS binoculars and only...So long scar! Hello graben!
The Alpine Valley has been one lunar feature that has always fascinated me, even when I had little interest in the moon - which was most of the past 50 years ;-) It looks so dramatic - and at the...February 24, 2007
Saw one nova for sure, but the second . . .
Checked on Nova Scorpii 2007 about 5:15 am this morning from the road in front of my house - I would put it at about 5.1 - just a shade dimmer than the 5.0 comparison star. I was using the...KISS my eyepieces!
Which means, Keep It Simple Stupid - and that seems like a good rule for eyepieces - at least for me. Hey, I know eyepieces are a sensitive topic among amateur astronomers and people all have their favorites, but after...February 22, 2007
Observer's Handbook 2007 - five thumbs up!
What a sap I am! I mean, I have to admit that something called "The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada," really turns me on. I guess I like it because it carries with it that aura I associate with the...Two nova in Scorpius? Whoa!
Update 2/23/07 : AAVSO says the second one is a nova!. Astronomy magazine has a chart showing both nova. The appropriate AAVSO chart of comparison stars is here. Think of it - two nova in one binocular field of view!...Lunacy in Crisis . . .
. . .or in Crisum, the Mare, I should say. Not only have I not observed the moon much, but I haven't observed one of the easiest parts of it at the best and most convenmient time at all....LX-90 update -frustration and success
Hey Meade - if you're going to help this little old lady across the universe, tell her first! Ok, got that out of my system! See, as mentioned earlier, when my LX90 came back from Meade with its mechanical guts...February 20, 2007
Two surprises
Arrived home at dusk last night after a less-than-successful puppy expedition that had left us both a bit tense. As I got out of the car, the first thing that caught my eye was a beautiful line up of the...February 19, 2007
Observing Nova Scorpii 2007 -so what?
Cool! well, cold - very cold. At least here on Earth it was cold - 15-degrees, to be exact, with winds gusting hard enough to shake the car. I drove down to East Beach in Westport, parked so I had...February 18, 2007
Naked eye nova in Scorpius!
Picture a small, incredibly massive - and incredibly dense - star, a white dwarf, revolving around a larger star so closely that it's continuously sucking gas away from the companion star. In such a situation the white dwarf eventually becomes...February 17, 2007
Turning to totality - March 3
AT 5:30 pm on March 3 ( a Saturday)- as the earth spins - an almost totally eclipsed moon will appear in the east, seven minutes before the sun vanishes below the western horizon. Will we be able to see...February 16, 2007
Orion, Iran, and the stars of peace
I wrote the following article a week or so ago and it appeared on the editorial page of the New Bedford Standard-Times today. I don't usually mix astronomy and politics, so my apologies if this offens someones political sensitivities. but when it comes to war, or rumors of war . . . well, I just have to give my honest reaction . . . besides, it was kind of nice to have a positive interaction with an Iranian astronomer and find we were thinking along the same lines. (The article make sno sense without the picture, so please go to the Web site to see it. )
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