Current Solar X-rays: Current Geomagnetic Field: |
Current Moon Phase |
October 29, 2011 (top) and October 29, 2012 (below): The number of leaves on trees a year ago during the very early October 29, 2011 wet snowfall on the East Coast was much greater than compared to the skeletal state of my trees just about the time that Hurricane Sandy made landfall. The difference in the loss of electricity, however was much greater for Sandy, 36 hours (2011) compared to nearly 90 hours (2012). Gary A. Becker images... |
Corpuscular rays and Venus help to add character to the dawn sky on November 2. Anthony Hespeth of my Moravian College astronomy class photographed this scene with his iPhone from his home in the Lehigh Valley. |
Leonid meteors will be radiating from the area marked with an "X." on Saturday morning, November 17. Don't go out before 2 a.m. because the radiant will not be high enough in the sky for many Leonids to be seen at all, and don't expect a storm like a decade ago. Rates should max around dawn with 10-15 meteors visible each hour. Map by Gary A. Becker using Software Bisque's The Sky... |
Perigee-Apogee Moons are Compared: The difference in the angular size of the full moon at the time when the moon is closest to Earth (perigee) and farthest from Earth (apogee) is very apparent. The exact same photographic setup was used to record both moons. A Canon 60D camera was mounted at prime focus to a 3.5-inch Questar telescope which was being equatorially driven. The exposures were 1/250 second at F/14.4, ASA 400. Gary A. Becker images... |