Thanks for viewing. Comments are always welcome and zoom in for a closer look. M 🙂
Category: Astronomy
12:53 AM
For the second late night in a row, battery problems interrupted a chance to photograph the waning moon’s rise over quiet, and peaceful Barnegat Bay, on New Jersey’s Atlantic Coast. So, it was my I-phone put to the test, …to the capture, without having to manage a myriad of options with the comparativily heavy and awkward SLR camera and attached lenses. Instead, it was a few rare moments, out there in the silent night, simply taking in and savoring the tranquility.
Thanks for Viewing. Click on the image for a closer look. M 🙂
In Search of Pluto
A tale from over fifty years ago!
A second observation from a considerably darker location was planned as Pluto would have slightly changed position amongst the same stars. But it didn’t happen as unfavorable weather conditions persisted for several weeks.
Did I see Pluto? Maybe, or maybe not. I recently concluded there was not sufficient evidence for me to comfortably confirm a sighting. But re-visiting this event from an “armchair viewpoint” so many years later, was …an interesting way to pass the time during this pandemic year.
Special thanks to “Cosmic Focus,” an advanced amateur astronomer/imager from Australia, for providing the incentive to re-visit this quest, …and guiding me to to the current charting resources available today. His wonderful captures of Pluto and a keyway to a remarkable WordPress site can be found here or https://cosmicfocus.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/pluto-the-previous-planet.
Thanks also for viewing. Comments are always welcome, and you can zoom in for a closer look. M 🙂
Perspectives – From Earth to the Moon and Beyond
About 6 weeks ago, , the near full moon was hiding behind clouds as Jupiter and Saturn were at about their closest positions to earth this year (opposition) …as seen below. (Saturn was the fainter of the two, centered just above a cloud to the left of Jupiter.)
Apologies ahead of time for difficulty in seeing this in a bright setting. 🙁
Thanks for viewing. Comments are always welcome, and zoom in for a closer look. M 🙂
Comet Neowise, 4:45 AM, 7/14/20
Finally! a clear morning, …and there it was! Thank You to my neighbor for providing the roof feature, although they don’t know about it yet. And Thank You to my patient wife for letting me back in the little upstairs deck door after I locked myself out!
As usual, thanks also for viewing. Zoom in for a closer look and comments are always welcome. M 🙂
Venus and the Wooden Gulls – Early Morning
7:13 AM, Early November, 2018
ZOOM IN for the best view
As always, thanks for viewing.
Comments are always welcome. M 🙂
6:45 AM: Griffith Park, LA., The Observatory and the Moon
Continuing a theme from my last post, once again we have the last quarter moon hanging above a fairly well known landmark – the Griffith Observatory and Science Center overlooking Los Angeles. It was day two of a family vacation with a somewhat newer SLR film camera, early in the morning of November 11th, 1987.
As usual, click on the image for a closer look, and thanks for viewing. Comments are always welcome. M 🙂
A Total Eclipse Family Event – 8/21/17
My wife and I (and Sandy Paws, the dog,) journeyed about 750 miles (1200 km) from New Jersey to see and photograph the Total Solar Eclipse last week, meeting up with most of our immediate family for an unforgettable, awesome event which none of us, including the youngest, will ever forget.
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Through a very dense solar filter, these first two images show the moon in silhouette, moving slowly from upper right to lower left across the sun. Click on to see the sunspots near the center, and lower left limb.
Totality descended rapidly in the final seconds… exposing this unreal, and unforgetable sight, joined by gasps and “Oh my God, it’s beautiful (s)..” Fontana Village is a resort in western North Carolina, today within the “path of totality,” a ~70 mile (113 km) shadow area – this time moving west to east across the United States. Above, the sun’s outer corona is captured.
Above: Totally eclipsed over two minutes, the sun just ….reappears. This shorter exposure shows the inner corona and solar flares (reddish bursts to the right and lower right of the sun,) often referred to as the ‘Diamond Ring effect.” 
As the moon continues along, gradually exposing more of the sun… the strong filters and solar glasses are again required, as the landscape moves from deep twilight to full daylight in a little over an hour.Besides finding it hard to concentrate on the quickly changing demands of eclipse photography, the totality is unlike anything you could ever experience. Spontaneous applause and cheers welled up from the field in a unified expression of being witness to something extraordinary.
Accompanied in the field by our children, their children; my brother and sister-in-law, and Sandy Paws, we appreiciated such a beautiful day for an exceptional event just south of the Great Smoky Mountains. As usual, click on the images for a closer look, and thanks for viewing. Comments are always welcome. M 🙂
Wildflower – 7/20/17
Late afternoon on the 48th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing, peace and tranquility abound along the local Rail Trail in Forked River, N.J.
“Tranquility Base here… the Eagle has landed!”
As usual, click on the image for a closer look, find some spider webs, and ponder that this was taken with an i-phone! Thanks for viewing. Comments are always welcome. M 🙂
Shooting Venus – March 11, 2017
Venus is currently a crescent phase, as it swings quickly along its orbit between Earth and the sun.
Venus has been shinning brightly for the last few months after sunset, but is quickly approaching what is called Inferior Conjunction, as it passes roughly between the Earth and the Sun in 11 days, 3/22/17. The planet will re-emerge as the “morning star” visible a week or two later, rising before sunrise.
As usual, click on the image for a closer look, and thanks for viewing. Comments are always welcome. M 🙂