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Friends gathered on the balcony of an apartment two levels above ours, on August 12, and looking safely at the Sun through my pieces of welder’s glass. They are seeing the Moon begin to make itself known as a bite out of the lower right part of the Sun’s outline. Between the people are glimpses … Continue reading "Welder glass in London and India" The post Welder glass in London and India appeared…
The climax of the brightest planet’s performance in the evening sky this year, as described in the Venus pages of Astronomical Calendar 2026, and in our book about Venus, planet and goddess. This is the scene for an American location after the Sun has gone down and Venus and the slender crescent Moon are still … Continue reading "Venus at easternmost elongation" The post Venus at easternmost…
The Perseid meteor shower should be at its peak this year close to the time of new Moon – and therefore of the solar eclipse. This shower was traditionally the most reliably abundant of the year, though in recent times rivalled by the Geminids of December. You may see Perseids in the skies of the … Continue reading "Persids at the eclipse new Moon" The post Persids at the eclipse new Moon appeared…
You – if you are in Canada, the northeastern US, Europe – will be in the partial eclipse. The vast area that partial shadow covers is shown in the space view of Earth on page 103 of Astronomical Calendar 2026. Though you may not be among those lucky to be in the narrow path of … Continue reading "Beware of the Sun on Wednesday" The post Beware of the Sun on Wednesday appeared first on Universal…
A space view of the paths in 2026 of nine of the million-plus asteroids in the Main Belt, farther from us than Mars but nearer in than Jupiter. The dashed line is the vernal equinox direction (longitude 0). Stalks to the ecliptic plane are at monthly intervals. 1877 Marsden was named in extremely well deserved … Continue reading "Our asteroids, Part Two" The post Our asteroids, Part Two appeared…
“Our” means me and some friends. Minor planets, when discovered,get temporary designations. Later, when there is enough information about their orbits, they get permanent numbers. Later, they may get names. The first four were the large asteroids (1) Ceres, (2) Pallas, (3) Juno, and (4) Vesta. I usually make it easier by omitting the parenthesis … Continue reading "Our asteroids, Part One" The…
This was the sky at Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, when the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Independence. There is another large cluster of related or overlapping topics: Folk poetry and folk songs. Some are genuinely “folk,” anonymous products of a population; others are “folk” in style. Traditional narratives in prose or verse passed … Continue reading "Independence…
Pluto reaches opposition only 11 hours after, and one constellation east from Juno, whose path we showed yesterday. Being 19 times farther from us (34.6 and 1.8 astronomical units or Sun-Earth distances), it is far dimmer (magnitudes 14.4 and 9.2). Pluto was denoted from major planet to dwarf planet in 2006; asteroid 3 Juno has … Continue reading "Pluto follows Juno" The post Pluto follows Juno…
Asteroid 3 Juno will be at opposition on July 26. Here is the finger chart on page 126 of Astronomical Calendar 2026. At magnitude 9, Juno is at least 3 magnitudes too dim for the naked eye. It would be interesting to know whether it can be just discerned with powerful binoculars. Stars in the … Continue reading "Juno in Aquarius" The post Juno in Aquarius appeared first on Universal Workshop .
This evening’s sky. The Moon at first quarter crossed our orbit outward behind us. The point marked “antapex of Earth’s way” is the direction back along our orbit. Making a loony idea even worse The US House of Representatives on July 14 passed, by 308 to 117, a bill, called the “Sunshine Protection Act,” to … Continue reading "Lunar passage" The post Lunar passage appeared first on Universal…
