May 26, 2007
Finding Mercury the easiest way
I do like the little Celestron NexStar 5. It led me quickly to Mercury this evening well before it was detectable to the naked eye and when there were no stars visible to do a normal two-star alignment. I...Mercury -speedy - but easy to see if . . .
The next couple of weeks are our best opportunity to see the fleeting planet, Mercury, low in the western sky right after Sunset. This last week in May might be the best time to see it. While I hope folks...May 22, 2007
Venus and a fallen star of 1865
Observing last night between rapidly drifting clouds I was once again stunned by the incredible brightness of Venus in the west. This morning, just at sunrise, as I walked around the yard I paused to admire and smell the lilacs...May 08, 2007
The BIGGEST bang
I love the way the NYT reports this: Kaboom indeed. In a cascade of superlatives that belies the traditional cerebral reserve of their profession, astronomers reported yesterday that they had seen the brightest and most powerful stellar explosion ever recorded....When bad is good - a productive cloudy night of observing
Clouds! Throughout my observing life I’ve written off cloudy nights as next to useless for the observer. I guess this is due in part to my lack of serious interest in observing planets, because last night was certainly cloudy here,...May 03, 2007
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