Category: Curiosities

Early April Morning …and the Moon

On By mvschulzeIn Ambiance, Art, Astronomy, Color, Curiosities, Happiness, Jersey Shore, Morning Twilight, New Jersey, Observation, Perspectives, Photography, Pondering, Science, serenity, silhouette, Spring, Sunrise, Twilight2 Comments

                                                         Yesterday, April 8th

Thanks for viewing. Comments are always welcome and zoom in for a closer look. M 🙂

Last Vestiges of Winter

On By mvschulzeIn 2000's, Adventure, Curiosities, Daytrip, Dogs, Exploring, Hiking, New Jersey, Photography, snow, Spring, Winter4 Comments

It is late March in Northern New Jersey, and dirty piles of leftover snow have just about melted away.  Along back trails of the Ramapo Mountains, streams are flowing again creating interesting shapes and patterns in their melting ice. Sandy, our faithful hiking companion back then, was exhausted after this particular late March day ….in 2006.

Thanks for Viewing. Comments are always welcome, and zooooooom in for a closer look!  M 🙂

Walking in Annapolis, Maryland

On By mvschulzeIn Art, Buildings, Curiosities, Exploring, History, Photography, Pondering, Travel5 Comments

 

While in town for a wedding some time ago, we walked past the impressive Maryland State House, still in use, and dating back to 1772.Above is the upper portion of the building including its lightning rod, designed by Benjamin Franklin.

Thanks for viewing, …zoom in for a closer look, and comments are always welcomed.  M 🙂

Bird On A Wire

On By mvschulzeIn Birds, Curiosities, Electricity, Home, Jersey Shore, Mystery, New Jersey, Observation, Perspectives, Photography, Pondering, Science6 Comments

A while ago, I had taken this picture, not thinking much about it until coming across it later and thinking that this gull was really good at balancing on the wire. Calm, cool and …just casually sitting on the wire! Here’s an example of how a one dimensional photo lacks the extra information gained by depth perception. Do you see it?

Thanks for viewing, zoom in for a closer look, and comments are always welcome. M 🙂

In Search of Pluto

On By mvschulzeIn 1960's, Astronomy, Back Yard, Corvid-19, Curiosities, Exploring, Home, New Jersey, Observation, Pandemic, Perspectives, Pondering, Remembering, Science, telescope, Uncategorized, Weather5 Comments

A tale from over fifty years ago!

Using this 10″ (255mm) reflector telescope, and a simplistic chart published in Sky and Telescope magazine, I would try to confirm seeing Pluto, …a difficult star-like pinpoint at the edge of visibility. Observing from my suburban town only twenty miles (32 km) N.W. from the brightness of New York City, proved challenging.

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.

ABOVE: As seen in the eyepiece, …a rough drawing of visible stars in the area of where I believed Pluto was located. The arrows, particularly “G,” indicated possible candidates. I estimated magnitude 14, (the published approximate magnitude, or brightness of Pluto,) was about the faintest I could see at the time.
ABOVE: Compare the sketch to this same very small area in the constellation Leo, as shown from “Google Sky,” a searchable photographic atlas available free on-line, and certainly not available back then!

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 🙂

Transcontinental Smoke

On By mvschulzeIn Curiosities, Observation, Photography, Science9 Comments

Instead of clear blue mid-September skies, the jet stream has picked up the massive pollution from California and environs, stretching it down toward Texas and up again to the Northeast in a 4000 to 5000 mile track spreading over the continent. Here in New Jersey, starting yesterday, the daytime sky has been distinguished by a slivery white opacity while the ground horizon remains sharp and clear. Meteorologists predict this will vary day by day based on the course of the Jet Strem.

Smoky air pollution from the unprecedented forest fires on the United States West Coast are now affecting our skies in the East. 

This image was taken about 90 minutes before sunset in Boonton, New Jersey, …and the plane is actually a model being flown over a nearby soccer field.

Thanks for viewing. Comments are always welcome and zoom in for a closer look M 🙂