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Sky Watch
Nov 8, 2023 14:47:01 GMT
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Post by Kimby on Nov 8, 2023 14:47:01 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 10, 2023 3:17:08 GMT
If all goes as planned, at that time I should be out there where the stars are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas.
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Post by fumobici on Nov 10, 2023 15:52:15 GMT
If all goes as planned, at that time I should be out there where the stars are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas. My condolences
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 10, 2023 17:24:31 GMT
The aurora borealis was visible in a lot of France for one night last week. Obviously this was exceedingly rare, especially the fact that it was mostly red rather than blue-green-yellow.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 10, 2023 21:39:27 GMT
If all goes as planned, at that time I should be out there where the stars are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas. My condolences But no ~ condolences are not in order! I wangled an invitation to be there at that time so I can see the big solar eclipse. The town I'll be visiting is also the home of Paulette Jiles, so it's nicely sprinkled with literary dust.
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Post by fumobici on Nov 11, 2023 14:53:51 GMT
The time I spent in TX obviously left me bitter Hope the clouds cooperate for you.
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Sky Watch
Nov 13, 2023 14:45:54 GMT
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Post by Kimby on Nov 13, 2023 14:45:54 GMT
Leonids peaking November 18. In the pre-dawn hours of November 12, 1833, the sky over North America seemed to explode with falling stars. Unlike anything anyone had ever seen before, and visible over the entire continent, an Illinois newspaper reported “the very heavens seemed ablaze.” An Alabama newspaper described “thousands of luminous bodies shooting across the firmament in every direction.” Observers in Boston estimated that there were over 72,000 “falling stars” visible per hour during the remarkable celestial storm. The Lakota people were so amazed by the event that they reset their calendar to commemorate it. Joseph Smith, traveling with Mormon refugees, noted in his diary that it was surely a sign of the Second Coming. Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglas, and Harriet Tubman, among many others, described seeing it. It became known as “The Night the Stars Fell.” So, what was this amazing occurrence? Many of those who witnessed it interpreted it as a sign of the Biblical end times, remembering words from the gospel of St. Mark: “And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.” But Yale astronomer Denison Olmsted sought a scientific explanation, and shortly afterwards he issued a call to the public—perhaps the first scientific crowd-sourced data gathering effort. At Olmsted’s request, newspapers across the country printed his call for data: “As the cause of ‘Falling Stars’ is not understood by meteorologists, it is desirable to collect all the facts attending this phenomenon, stated with as much precision as possible. The subscriber, therefore, requests to be informed of any particulars which were observed by others, respecting the time when it was first discovered, the position of the radiant point above mentioned, whether progressive or stationary, and of any other facts relative to the meteors.” Olmsted published his conclusions the following years, the information he had received from lay observers having helped him draw new scientific conclusions in the study of meteors and meteor showers. He noted that the shower radiated from a point in the constellation Leo and speculated that it was caused by the earth passing through a cloud of space dust. The event, and the public’s fascination with it, caused a surge of interest in “citizen science” and significantly increased public scientific awareness. Nowadays we know that every November the earth passes through the debris in the trail of a comet known as Tempel-Tuttle, causing the meteor showers we know as the Leonids. Impressive every year, every 33 year or so they are especially spectacular, although very rarely attaining the magnificence of the 1833 event. The Leonid meteor showers are ongoing now and are expected to peak on November 18. But don’t expect a show like the one in 1833. This year at its peak the Leonids are expected to generate 15 “shooting stars” per hour. November 12, 1833, one hundred ninety years ago today, was “The Night the Stars Fell.” The image is an 1889 depiction of the event.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 14, 2023 5:18:56 GMT
Great stuff, Kimby! I did not know the interesting scientific stuff. although I learned about the night of falling stars when I was quite young. If we could time travel, that would be a point I'd pick to visit.
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Sky Watch
Nov 28, 2023 3:58:56 GMT
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Post by Kimby on Nov 28, 2023 3:58:56 GMT
Full moon tonight. We took a walk on the beach. No need for flashlites!
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 28, 2023 5:58:55 GMT
Sounds, dare I say it ~ heavenly!
Today I learned this from a friend in Michoacán, who posted on facebook:
The November 2023 full moon, known as the Beaver Moon, is full on Monday, November 27, at 03:16 CST for viewers in the central time zone of the Americas. North American beavers are widespread across the continental United States, Canada, southern Alaska, and some parts of northern Mexico. The November full moon will be in the constellation Taurus, near the Pleiades, and is alternatively referred to as the Frost Moon or Freezing Moon because of the onset of colder temperatures during this time. The designation of the "Beaver" Moon originates from the behavior of beavers during this time of year.The Full Moon Names we use in the Almanac come from the Algonquin tribes who lived in regions from New England to Lake Superior. They are the names the Colonial Americans adapted most.
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Sky Watch
Nov 28, 2023 16:28:21 GMT
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Post by Kimby on Nov 28, 2023 16:28:21 GMT
Thanks Bixa! I wanted to name the full moon, but was too lazy to search for its name.
(Need another name for it here, though, as there is neither frost nor beavers on Sanibel.)
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Sky Watch
Nov 28, 2023 16:31:02 GMT
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Post by Kimby on Nov 28, 2023 16:31:02 GMT
Full moon tonight. We took a walk on the beach. No need for flashlites! Almost a haiku! Fixed it: Full moon glows tonight. Took a walk along the beach. No need for flashlights.
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Post by casimira on Dec 15, 2023 15:49:56 GMT
We spent some time visiting friends on the North shore and saw a brilliant showing of the Geminid Meteor show. With very scant light pollution it did not disappoint.
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Sky Watch
Dec 15, 2023 16:22:10 GMT
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Post by Kimby on Dec 15, 2023 16:22:10 GMT
Glad you were able to see this casi. Cloudy and windy here on Sanibel.
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 15, 2023 18:04:03 GMT
"Have You Seen the Stars Tonight" is one of my all time favourite songs but unfortunately it doesn't really console me from not being able to see stars.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 26, 2023 16:10:44 GMT
The same friend who obligingly named the Beaver Moon in November posted this today:
The last full moon of the year will be seen on Boxing Day -- December 26. This full moon is also referred to as the full Cold Moon. The moon will be at its brightest at 7.33 pm (ET) on December 26. This will also be the longest full moon of the year. The year 2023 had 13 full moons in total. Among these lunar events, one of the high points was the occurrence of a blue moon on August 30.
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Post by lugg on Mar 19, 2024 21:10:31 GMT
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