I don't know how a fly sees the world, but it might be like this...
While waiting for the moon to set, I decided to take a 360x180° panoramic photo from the top of a tripod stuck just outside the roof of my observatory. When turned "inside-out", the panoramic photo is popularly called a "tiny planet" photo.
Most of the central part of the photo is the inside of my (cluttered) observatory. The outside of the photo shows the horizon and sky.
Go to: http://astrocamera.net/2014/0531/index.htm to see a larger view and the original panoramic photo in an interactive panoramic viewer.
Dave's Astrophotography Blog
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Cameleopardalids Meteor Drizzle
Well, sadly I have to report that the much anticipated (and over-hyped, apparently) meteor "storm" of 2014 was a giant fizzle, or more accurately a little drizzle! After driving first to my observatory, and then out to Joshua Tree National Park in an effort to dodge clouds (mostly successful), we saw just a handful of meteors. A few seen were decently bright, but nothing that was blinding or casting shadows, unfortunately. Here are the results, posted on my web page:
http://www.astrocamera.net/2014/0523/index.htm
http://www.astrocamera.net/2014/0523/index.htm
Monday, May 19, 2014
Friday, May 23rd Space Weather Forecast - Moderate to Heavy (Meteor) Showers…
If you have some time Friday night before this (U.S.) holiday weekend, go out to a dark site, away from city lights. The dust trail from periodic comet 209P/Linear may give us a nice show of meteors flashing across the sky.
Unlike well-known annual meteor showers such as the Leonid or Perseid showers, this meteor shower doesn’t happen regularly because this time the earth will be passing through “puffs” of dust emitted by comet 209P/Linear in previous orbits over a century ago and recently steered toward Earth’s orbit by Jupiter’s gravity. The coincidence of Earth’s position and the position of these streams of dust in their own orbit make for a potentially good show. Predictions range from 100-400 meteors per hour, which makes for a good to intense shower.
Settle into a reclining lawn chair with a blanket and hot drink and enjoy the show. As with terrestrial weather predictions, the shower could be a weak drizzle or turn into a storm. There are no guarantees except one -- if you don’t try to look, you’ll be guaranteed to see nothing!
P.S. In the tradition of naming meteor showers after the constellation containing the radiant, the name of this one would be the Camelopardalids -- a mouthful which I hope does NOT stick!
Unlike well-known annual meteor showers such as the Leonid or Perseid showers, this meteor shower doesn’t happen regularly because this time the earth will be passing through “puffs” of dust emitted by comet 209P/Linear in previous orbits over a century ago and recently steered toward Earth’s orbit by Jupiter’s gravity. The coincidence of Earth’s position and the position of these streams of dust in their own orbit make for a potentially good show. Predictions range from 100-400 meteors per hour, which makes for a good to intense shower.
If you’re serious about making an effort to see this meteor shower, get away from city lights and don’t look at any bright lights for at least 15 minutes to allow your eyes can become sensitive to the smaller, dimmer meteors. The meteors will appear to originate in the north (the radiant point), but should be visible all over the sky. The peak time is predicted to be at 07:00-08:00 UTC -- starting around midnight on Friday evening (May 23-24) for the Pacific coast of the U.S. On this evening, the waning crescent moon rises around 2:20 AM, so those of us on the West Coast of the U.S. should have a dark sky for the peak of the show.
Click on image for larger view.
Settle into a reclining lawn chair with a blanket and hot drink and enjoy the show. As with terrestrial weather predictions, the shower could be a weak drizzle or turn into a storm. There are no guarantees except one -- if you don’t try to look, you’ll be guaranteed to see nothing!
P.S. In the tradition of naming meteor showers after the constellation containing the radiant, the name of this one would be the Camelopardalids -- a mouthful which I hope does NOT stick!
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Sun Pillar
On May 10th, I saw something that I've never seen before in Los Angeles -- a sun pillar...
This shot was taken after sunset. The vertical column of light in the center of the photo is apparently caused by high altitude ice crystals. It may be nearly summer on the ground, but high up in the atmosphere, it's always cold enough for ice if the water vapor is present.
Others tell me they have seen it occasionally from southern California, but the only other place I've personally seen it is in Mongolia! It may be that I need to get out more often at sunset or sunrise.
This shot was taken after sunset. The vertical column of light in the center of the photo is apparently caused by high altitude ice crystals. It may be nearly summer on the ground, but high up in the atmosphere, it's always cold enough for ice if the water vapor is present.
Others tell me they have seen it occasionally from southern California, but the only other place I've personally seen it is in Mongolia! It may be that I need to get out more often at sunset or sunrise.
Friday, April 18, 2014
To follow up on my previous post... for Monday night's eclipse, I was out at my observatory where I had some thin clouds going by, but overall, it was a nice eclipse with the moon going dark enough to see a lot of stars come out. During the maximum of the eclipse, the moon had gone so dark that I was having a hard time seeing the marker at the center of my camera which I was using to insure the moon was centered for the shots. At the very end of totality, I was thnking about how quiet the night was. The usual barking dogs, howling coyotes, and crowing roosters (yes, even at 2:30AM) were all silent, but just as the moon brightened up, an owl's screech cut through the silence. Oh, well...
More photos and time-lapse videos at: http://astrocamera.net/2014/0414/
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Lunar Eclipse Reminder
Although the eclipse will be visible from virtually anywhere, it might be worthwhile to take a look from a dark place (away from all artificial lights) because the moon will probably darken enough for the stars to come out if your eyes are given enough time to adapt to the dark (15-30 minutes). Nearby will be a bright orange-red Mars, which is near to its closest approach to Earth for this go-around.
Detailed timing information and charts:
- http://earthsky.org/tonight/total-lunar-eclipse-for-the-americas-on-night-of-april-14-15#total
- http://www.mreclipse.com/LEdata/TLE2014Apr15/TLE2014Apr15.html
If you want to try photographing it, here's some good info:
- http://www.mreclipse.com/LEphoto/LEphoto.html
Monday, March 24, 2014
Into the Night - Sunset from 39,000 feet
I was lucky enough to have a nice sunset view on a recent flight. Note Earth's shadow rising into the sky at left.
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