Venus & Moon in the Morning!

Venus And Moon Perform Weekend Sky Show | Space.com
Look in the eastern sky, before sunrise on Saturday. Venus and a waning crescent moon will be less than a hand-width apart.

January Solar Eclipse and Meteor Shower

SPACE.com -- Solar Eclipse and Meteor Shower to Launch 2011 Skywatching Season

We couldn't see today's solar eclipse from Austin, but if the skies are clear we might get a glimpse of some meteors tonight. It could be a really spectacular show in the sky if you can get out of town.

Milwaukee Public Museum - Online

Virtual Exhibit - Featured Collections - Exhibitions - Milwaukee Public Museum

The Milwaukee Public Museum is one of the oldest in the U.S., and is a great place to visit. Here you can browse some of the artifacts in their collections online!

Lunar Eclipse Slide Show

FoxNews.com - Stunning Pictures of Total Lunar Eclipse

Did you miss the lunar eclipse in the early hours of December 21? Me, too! Here's a great slide show of what we missed.

The Electronics Revolution: Today, 1947

Dec. 23, 1947: Transistor Opens Door to Digital Future | This Day In Tech | Wired.com

Our modern electronic age, with cell phones, mp3 players, computers, digital watches, and all the rest began with the invention of the transistor 64 years ago today. What will we see 64 years from now??

 

Winter Solstice & Lunar Eclipse!

SkyandTelescope.com - Homepage Observing - Solstice Eclipse

We missed the eclipse because of a snowstorm in Wisconsin, and it looks like it was cloudy in Austin, too.

But today, December 21, is also the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.

 

Coal-Powered Power Plant is in the News

Is power plant to blame for poor pecan crop?
Austin gets much of its electricity from the Fayette Power Plant, southeast of Austin. It burns coal, so it produces sulfur dioxide, a polluting gas. The amount of pollution it produces is under legal limits, but some people think it still is enough to harm crops in the area. Experts disagree, and this shows how it takes a lot of scientific study to come to find out the truth. There aren't any easy answers.

See Venus at dusk; Jupiter at night; Can you find a comet?

SkyandTelescope.com - This Week's Sky at a Glance

Venus sets just after the sun and just ahead of the moon on Saturday night. You'll need to find a place with a clear western horizon: Bedichek might be a good spot. Let's see!

The really bright "star" in the sky once it gets dark is the planet Jupiter, not a star at all.

There's a comet up in the sky, but you'll need a dark sky and binoculars. It will probably be too bright in south Austin, but it's worth a try. Follow the directions in "This Week's Sky" from Sky and Telescope.

Watch for the planets at sunset!

SkyandTelescope.com - This Week's Sky at a Glance - This Week's Sky at a Glance
Now that the skies have cleared, we get a beautiful waxing crescent moon accompanied by bright Venus, and fainter Mars and Saturn. You'll have to look low in the west, just above the housetops and just at sundown, to spot Saturn!

Cloudy Weather...

Looks like clouds and rain are going to get in the way of watching the Perseids tonight (Wednesday), but the forecast is for clear skies tomorrow night. Still, the clouds may break in the early morning hours, so set the alarm and coffee pot for three, just in case...

Watch for Shooting Stars on Wednesday & Thursday Nights!

SPACE.com -- Excellent Perseid Meteor Shower Expected Aug. 11-13
"Shooting Stars" aren't really stars at all, of course. They're chunks of rock out in space that hit Earth, falling through our atmosphere so fast they burn up. The burning rocks are called meteors. Every August, Earth travels in its orbit through a swarm of these rocks. The result is a meteor shower, called the Perseid Meteor Shower because they seem to fly out of the constellation Perseus.

Watch on Wednesday and Thursday nights. The BEST time is actually from about 2:00 am to dawn. Your best view will be out of town. City lights really get in the way. But if you're stuck in town, go out anyway and see what you can see. Be patient, and enjoy the other stars you can see.

Especially, watch for the three planets, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars in the western sky after sunset,

Watch the planets and the moon!

SkyandTelescope.com - This Week's Sky at a Glance

In the middle of July, watch as the moon parades past a different planet each night: On Wednesday, Venus is above and to the right; Thursday, Mars; Friday, Saturn.
Want to see Jupiter? Get up before sunrise and look to the south. It's the brightest "star" in the sky.

Oil Leak Stopped...

BP caps well; oil stops gushing into Gulf
It's been a while since my last blog entry. Summer's been busy!
Oil has been spilling into the Gulf for about three months now, and the well has finally been capped. We'll be watching over the next two days to see if the cap will hold.

The Night Sky, June 4-12

SkyandTelescope.com - This Week's Sky at a Glance - This Week's Sky at a Glance
Look for Mars near Regulus on June 5 & 6, Jupiter right under the moon on June 6
Venus is the "evening star" in the west just after sunset.

NY Times Multimedia Oil Spill Coverage

Multimedia - Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Multimedia - Multimedia Feature - NYTimes.com
There's lots to look at here about the current oil spill: How it's spreading, How it happened, Efforts to stop and contain it, and more.

Oil Spill Is Growing in the Gulf

See how the oil spill grows in the Gulf of Mexico - USATODAY.com
The Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20 and has been spilling at least 210,000 gallons a day since then. Efforts to stop it haven't worked so far. This page from USA shows where the oil is and how it's spreading

For more information, try:
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Atlantis Is On Its Final Mission

FOXNews.com - Space Shuttle Atlantis Blasts Off on Final Mission
Only two missions are left before NASA retires the shuttle fleet. This 12-day mission is the last flight for Atlantis.

Spring Begins March 20 at 12:32 pm CDT!

The March Equinox Explained
Spring will officially begin at 12:32 pm, Saturday March 20. This website explains it all, and a lot more about calendars, dates, and time. Check it out!

Astronauts Return from Space Station

SPACE.com -- Space Station Astronauts Make Frigid Landing in Soyuz Spacecraft
Two astronauts, an American and a Russian, returned to Earth in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. They landed in deep snow in Russia in high winds. There are three astronauts left in the space station now. Three more will join them in April.

The Night Sky, March 12-20

SkyandTelescope.com - This Week's Sky at a Glance

Watch for Venus, the bright "star" in the west, just after sunset.
March 20, the moon will be right next to the Pleiades.
March 20: Spring begins at the Spring Equinox, 12:32 Central Daylight Time.