Monday, February 19 – Today is the birthday of Nicolas Copernicus. Born in 1473, he was the creator of the modern solar system model which illustrated the retrograde motion of the outer planets. Considering this was well over 530 years ago, and in a rather “unenlightened” time, his revolutionary thinking about what we now consider natural is astounding.
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What’s Up this Week: February 12 – February 18, 2007
Monday, February 12 – Celestial scenery alert! As the Moon moves along the ecliptic, it has now neared Jupiter and you’ll find the pair less than half a fistwidth apart in the morning skies.
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What’s Up this Week: February 5 – February 11, 2007
Monday, February 5 – On this day in 1963, Maarten Schmidt measured the first quasar redshift and in 1974 the first close-up photography of Venus was made by Mariner 10. With a bit of time to spare before the Moon rises tonight, let’s begin our journey further south into Lepus as we take a look at Alpha. Its name is Arneb and it is a quality double star that resides around 900 light-years distant. Arneb’s 11th magnitude disparate companion will take a larger scope to resolve. Its wide separation of 35.5″ means it is probably not a true physical companion, but it is a challenge worthy of your time.
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What’s Up this Week: January 22 – January 28, 2007
Monday, January 22 – Be out early tonight to catch the slender crescent Moon as we begin our journey designed to acquaint you with specific craters. Around midway on the terminator, you will spot a conspicuous old crater called Langrenus. Named for Belgian engineer and mathematician Michel Florent van Langren, this handsome old crater stretches out over 132 kilometers in diameter. Look closely at its walls, they rise above the surface by 1981 meters and the deepest part of the floor drops down below 4937 meters – deeper than Mount Cotacachi in Ecuador is tall. Is the Sun rising over its brilliant east wall? If so, look closely and see if you can spot Langrenus’ central mountain peak rising up 1950 meters. Then get out your skis, because that’s as high as the base elevation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming!
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What’s Up this Week: January 15 – January 21, 2007
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! We start the week with a celestial scenery alert just before dawn… Look for the Moon, Antares, Jupiter and Mars! The days ahead are filled with alternative catalog studies and meteor showers. So be sure to look skyward, because…
Here’s what’s up!
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What’s Up this Week: January 8 – January 14, 2007
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! It’s time to take on the Hunter as we have a look at the Orion region for the unaided eye, binoculars and telescope. From Project Diana to the mightly Betelgeuse, it’s time to head for the stars because…
Here’s what’s up!
Monday, January 8 – On this day in 1942 – precisely 300 years after the death of Galileo, Stephen Hawking was born. The British theoretical astrophysicist, despite his physical limitations, became one of the world’s foremost leaders in cosmological theory and his book “A Brief History of Time” remains one of the best written on the subject.Also born on this day in 1587 was Johannes Fabricius, son of the discoverer of variable star Mira, David Fabricius. Like many father and son teams, the pair went on to study astronomy together, and some of their most frightening work dealt with viewing sunspots through an unfiltered telescope – a practice which eventually blinded Galileo!
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What’s Up this Week: January 1 – January 7, 2007
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers… Welcome to the new year and 365 more nights with you! Thanks to everyone for their kind words about the new edition and how great the softcover book turned out. The sky is at the limit as we begin 2007 exploring the Moon and keep on reaching for the stars. Now, let’s head out into the night because…
Here’s what’s up!
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What’s Up this Week: December 25 – December 31, 2006
It’s a holiday week and even the stars are celebrating! Are you ready to join me in the last week of the 2006 observing season? Then head out into the night, because…
Here’s what’s up!
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What’s Up 2007 is Now Available
It’s been nearly a year since we released Tammy Plotner’s What’s Up 2006. Over the course of the last year, the 400+ page book was downloaded more than 500,000 times. Well, it’s that time again.
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What’s Up this Week: December 18 – December 24, 2006
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! For most of us, the longest night of the year is fast approaching… Why not enjoy solstice with an in-depth look at an amazing galaxy? For those of you who enjoyed the great display the Geminids produced last week, there will also be two more meteor showers to add to the celestial show! So grab your binoculars, set up your scopes and let’s head out into the night because…
Here’s what’s up!
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