|
Sky Watch
Dec 9, 2016 14:16:54 GMT
via mobile
Post by Kimby on Dec 9, 2016 14:16:54 GMT
A true American hero. The Boy Scout of the Mercury Seven astronauts. A dedicated husband. A civic-minded Senator. And a brave volunteer for the experiment of sending an "old man" into space.
Mr. Kimby and I were in the crowds along the Florida roadsides when the Shuttle Discovery lifted off in 1998. A skywriting plane wrote the send off message, also appropriate today: God Speed John Glenn.
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on Dec 9, 2016 14:56:44 GMT
The background required of potential astronauts (and cosmonauts) back then will be of interest to Mossie. Yes, Glenn always struck me as a very decent man, and not only in space.
An aside: it is always ironic when intrepid adventurers and athletes are sidelined by a fall in the bath. The bath and the kitchen are both potentially hazardous places to be...
|
|
|
Post by mossie on Dec 9, 2016 16:59:18 GMT
Ah Lagatta, astronauts had to be of "the right stuff". Me, as a registered coward, would just want to do one orbit to see what it was like.
John Glenn really had the right stuff
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2016 18:31:32 GMT
Right now the person who is the youngest French spationaut ever (every country has its name -- astronaut, taikonaut, cosmonaut...) went up to the space station the other day. While John Glenn was the oldest person, the youngest cosmonaut ever was just 25 years old (and Gherman Titov was at the same time the first person to suffer from space sickness).
So far there have been seven "space tourists" (the officially accepted term is "spaceflight participant") who have paid to go up there.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2016 19:31:31 GMT
I would so love to be a "space tourist". Talk about heaven...
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2016 19:49:15 GMT
I have always totally adored that song.
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on Dec 9, 2016 23:55:16 GMT
If Mossie is a registered coward, what in heaven's name are the rest of us?
And there are many worthwhile Jefferson Airplane/Starship songs. They weren't just a doper hippie group. Lots of artistry went into their lyrics and compositions.
|
|
|
Sky Watch
Dec 11, 2016 13:52:13 GMT
via mobile
Post by Kimby on Dec 11, 2016 13:52:13 GMT
Shooting start alert! "THE GEMINID METEOR SHOWER IS UNDERWAY: Earth is entering a stream of gravelly debris from "rock comet" 3200 Phaethon, source of the annual Geminid meteor shower. Although the shower's peak is not expected until Dec. 13-14, observers are already seeing fireballs fly out of the constellation Gemini as early-arriving meteoroids hit Earth's atmosphere traveling ~35 km/s (78,000 mph). More information and observing tips may be found on today's edition of Spaceweather.com."
|
|
|
Sky Watch
Dec 11, 2016 16:02:00 GMT
via mobile
Post by Kimby on Dec 11, 2016 16:02:00 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Feb 9, 2017 2:46:03 GMT
LUNAR ECLIPSE THIS FRIDAY NIGHT: The full Moon will lose some of its usual luster on Friday night as a dusky shadow creeps across the lunar disk. It's a penumbral lunar eclipse, visible from parts of every continent except Australia. The uneven dimming of the Moon will be easy to see if you know when to look. Visit today's edition of Spaceweather.com for observing tips and more information.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2017 13:48:05 GMT
Thanks Kimby. You are so good. I so appreciate all your efforts to keep this thread so informative from the time of it's inception 7 years ago!
|
|
|
Sky Watch
Feb 9, 2017 17:43:28 GMT
via mobile
Post by Kimby on Feb 9, 2017 17:43:28 GMT
My pleasure, Casi. Thanks for starting it!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2017 15:01:56 GMT
The near full moon last night was spectacular, crystal clear. I'm looking forward to tonight's showing.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2017 19:24:36 GMT
Totally cloudy tonight in northern France, so we will not see what the media have told us to watch for...
|
|
|
Sky Watch
Feb 25, 2017 22:32:05 GMT
via mobile
Post by Kimby on Feb 25, 2017 22:32:05 GMT
Lucky folks in Africa and South America:
"RING OF FIRE" SOLAR ECLIPSE: Something strange is about to happen to sunbeams in the southern hemisphere. On Sunday, Feb. 26th, the Moon will pass directly in front of the sun, covering as much as 99% of the solar disk. This will turn the sun into a "ring of fire" over parts of South America and Africa. Crescent-shaped sunbeams and thin rings of light will dance across the ground of more than a dozen countries. Visit Spaceweather.com for more information and photos.
|
|
|
Post by onlyMark on Feb 26, 2017 7:40:35 GMT
We are supposed to get that full eclipse here today but there is heavy cloud cover this morning. We'll see how it goes.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on May 2, 2017 1:41:39 GMT
Meteor alert!
"METEORS FROM HALLEY'S COMET: A radar in Canada has detected radio echoes coming from the constellation Aquarius. This is a sign that the annual eta Aquarid meteor shower is underway. In the days ahead ahead our planet will cross a network of debris streams from Halley's Comet, producing a drizzle of eta Aquarids numbering 10 to 30 meteors per hour in the northern hemisphere and perhaps twice that number in the southern hemisphere. Usually, the eta Aquarid shower peaks around May 6th. This year, there might be an additional enhancement on May 4th or 5th. Check today's edition of Spaceweather.com for more information and observing tips."
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 2, 2017 15:01:34 GMT
COOL! Thanks for that Kimby!
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on May 5, 2017 16:10:20 GMT
I imagine all you Sky Watchers already know about the August 21 eclipse, which will cross over the entire continental United States, the first such event since 1918. But do you know about this touch-sensitive commemorative stamp? hyperallergic.com/376939/total-eclipse-of-the-stamp/
|
|
|
Sky Watch
Jul 30, 2017 16:13:48 GMT
via mobile
Post by Kimby on Jul 30, 2017 16:13:48 GMT
Something to look forward to in mid-August - the annual Perseids meteor shower! Not sure why they're saying it might be the brightest ever, but they are. The moon will be full on August 7, and waning as the meteor shower proceeds. Timing of viewing will be important, because the full moon rises and sets at 6:00 (7:00 DST), and moonrise is approximately an hour later each day. So as the peak of the shower approaches, on the 12th, the waning moon will be rising as the sky darkens. Maybe get up in the wee hours to check it out. www.sci-techuniverse.com/2017/07/get-ready-brightest-meteor-shower-in.html?m=1
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2017 16:20:17 GMT
YAY!!!! Thanks for that Kimby, our stellar stalwart stargazing reporter. Something else to look forward to while I'm in the mountains in North Carolina with no light pollution!!!
|
|
|
Sky Watch
Jul 30, 2017 20:57:28 GMT
via mobile
Post by Kimby on Jul 30, 2017 20:57:28 GMT
Will everybody be somewhere to view the total eclipse of the sun on August 21? It's the first total eclipse in the US since 1979, and the next one will be in 2040, so now's your chance.
The path of totality in the US runs diagonally from Oregon to South Carolina, I think. Only a tiny sliver of southernmost Montana is in the path, so Mr. Kimby and I are planning to travel to Idaho and do some backpacking that week. It's also going to be total in Wyoming, our old stomping grounds, but that's a longer drive from us than Idaho.
We just hope the skies will be clear that day. Even if they aren't, we will still experience a couple minutes of mid-day darkness, but won't get to use the eclipse-viewing glasses we'll get courtesy of our local library.
BTW, did you know that even if you don't have eclipse glasses, you can still follow the progress of the moon passing in front of the sun by making a "pinhole camera". (Punch a hole in a piece of heavy paper and hold it above a piece of white paper and watch the shape of the sunspot change from round to crescent and back.). Also, as I discovered for myself in 1979, ANY aperture can become a pinhole camera during a solar eclipse. A potted ficus tree on a sunny stair landing in a university classroom building had a wreath of crescent-shaped sunny spots dappling the tiles below it!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2017 21:35:35 GMT
A tad bit of cross/double threads posting here... There's a thread on this suboard re the SOLAR ECLIPSE that K2 posted a few days ago and some references made to visibility and the location of some of us in N.A.
|
|
|
Sky Watch
Jul 30, 2017 21:45:11 GMT
via mobile
Post by Kimby on Jul 30, 2017 21:45:11 GMT
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Aug 12, 2017 15:26:40 GMT
So, the height of the Perseids meteor shower is tonight, but nobody in northern France will be seeing it -- total cloud cover.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Aug 12, 2017 16:17:20 GMT
|
|
|
Sky Watch
Aug 13, 2017 20:44:23 GMT
via mobile
Post by Kimby on Aug 13, 2017 20:44:23 GMT
Dragged my sleeping bag outside last night to look for Perseid meteors. Between the smoke of forest fires and the passing clouds, shooting star watching was less than stellar, pun intended. But I DID see three better than average long, bright streakers across the sky before the clouds closed in and I went inside to bed.
Because the moon rises later each night (by an hour) and it was full on the 7th, it won't rise tonight till after midnight, and will be about a half moon. So I'll try again, if the smoke clears off and the clouds part. Can never see too many shooting stars....
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Aug 13, 2017 21:10:30 GMT
Can you imagine that in my life, I have never seen a shooting star? Since my vision used to be excellent, I suppose it was more a matter of patience.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Aug 13, 2017 21:48:55 GMT
Or lack of camping out. That's the most likely and most comfortable way of seeing them.
|
|
|
Sky Watch
Aug 14, 2017 4:37:26 GMT
via mobile
Post by Kimby on Aug 14, 2017 4:37:26 GMT
The Perseids often peak with 60 meteors an hour. You don't have to be real patient for that!
We sleep in a tent while camping out, but often see a couple during a middle of the night pee break.
|
|