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A Partial Solar Eclipse Down Under

11 Jul , 2018 by David Dickinson

Eclipse season in nigh… though most of us won’t notice. The second eclipse season for 2018 commences with the arrival of New Moon and Brown Lunation number 1182 at 3:01 Universal Time on Friday, July 13th, 2018. This eclipse is a shallow partial, just skimming the southern hemisphere of the Earth between the Australian and Antarctic continents.

Venus Returns to the Dusk Sky

26 Feb , 2018 by David Dickinson

Where have all the planets gone? The end of February 2018 sees the three naked eye outer planets – Mars, Jupiter and Saturn– hiding in the dawn. It takes an extra effort to brave the chill of a February morning, for sure. The good news is, the two inner planets – Mercury and Venus – begin favorable dusk apparitions this week, putting on a fine sunset showing in March.

Get Set For a “Super Blue Blood Moon Total Lunar Eclipse”

26 Jan , 2018 by David Dickinson

Can you feel the tremor in the Force? Early next Wednesday morning internet astro-memes collide, in one of the big ticket sky events of the year, with a total lunar eclipse dubbed as – get ready — a Super Blue Blood Moon eclipse.

Here Comes Comet Heinze for the Holidays

1 Dec , 2017 by David Dickinson

Yeah, we’re still all waiting for that next great “Comet of the Century” to make its presence known. In the meantime, we’ve had a steady stream of good binocular comets over the past year both expected and new, including Comet C/2017 O1 ASASSN1 (name and link), 45/P Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková and Comet 41P Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresák (links). Now, another newcomer Comet Heinze is set to bring 2017 in over the finish line.

Summer Astronomy, Minimoon & Saturn Opposition 2017

7 Jun , 2017 by David Dickinson

There’s one reason to stay up late this summer, as the planet Saturn reaches opposition this week on June 15th and crosses into the evening sky.

Movie Review – Alien: Covenant

11 May , 2017 by David Dickinson

So, are you excited for the 2017 movie season? U.S. Memorial Day weekend is almost upon us, and that means big ticket, explosion-laden sci-fi flicks and reboots/sequels. Lots of sequels. We recently got a chance to check out Alien: Covenant opening Thursday, May 18th as the second prequel and the seventh (if you count 2004’s Alien vs. Predator) in the Alien franchise.

See Comet C/2015 ER61 PanSTARRS at its Best

9 May , 2017 by David Dickinson

Have you been following the Springtime parade of bright comets? Thus far, the Oort cloud has offered up several fine binocular comets, including Comet 2/P Encke, 41/P Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak, 45/P Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova, C/2016 U1 NEOWISE and C/2017 E4 Lovejoy. Now, another comet joins the dawn ranks, as it brightens up ahead of expectations: 2015 ER61 PanSTARRS.

An Impalpable Penumbral Eclipse

6 Sep , 2016 by David Dickinson

Great ready for the final eclipse of 2016, with a penumbral lunar eclipse on September 16th visible from Europe to Australia.

Tales of Two Asteroid Occultations: Io, Nemausa Cast Shadows Over North America

24 Aug , 2016 by David Dickinson

Up for a challenge? Over the next two weekends, two asteroid occultations pass over North America. These are both occulting (passing in front of) +7th magnitude stars, easy targets for even binoculars or a small telescope. These events both have a probability score of 99-100%, meaning the paths are known to a high degree of accuracy. These are also two of the more high profile asteroid occultations for 2016.

An Old Glass Plate Hints at a Potential New Exoplanet Discovery

28 Apr , 2016 by David Dickinson

How astronomers found an potentially new and exciting exoplanetary system lurking on a glass plate stored away for nearly a century.

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