Transit of Mercury May 9 2016 May 6, 2016
Posted by aquillam in Astronomy, MichiganAstro, Urban Observing.Tags: Mercury, solar, Sun, urban observing
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Phil Plait posted a very nice guide to the transit. It includes a long list of available webcasts, in case it’s cloudy or night where you are.
The highlights:
You’ll need magnification. DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN WITHOUT APPROPRIATE FILTERS.
The transit runs 11:12 – 18:39 UT, or about 7:12 AM to 2:39 PM Ann Arbor time.
If you’re in SE Michigan, here’s a list of places you can go to observe the transit.
Sun day 2014 April 26, 2014
Posted by aquillam in Astronomy, MichiganAstro, Urban Observing.Tags: Sun
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April is Global astronomy month. Although we don’t often think of it, the Sun is also an astronomical object. It is, in fact, our closest star.
Celebrate Sun-day with Astronomers Without Borders on April 27. Start with a live virtual tour of the Snow Solar Telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory in California, USA at 3 PM EDT, via google+. This is one of the oldest solar observatories in existence, and is still operational.
If it’s clear where you are, the Stanford solar center has a very nice document of resources on how to observe the sun safely. Please NEVER look directly at the sun, especially not with an unfiltered telescope or binoculars.
If it isn’t clear where you are, here are some internet resources:
- NASA’s Sun-Earth Viewer http://ds9.ssl.berkeley.edu/viewer/flash/flash.html
- NASA’s Sun-Earth mission pages http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/index.html (current Sun pictures are near the middle of the page.
- The Solar and Heliospheric observatory http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/
- Spaceweather.com (solar activity, aurora, and more)
And don’t forget about the eclipse Tuesday! More on that tomorrow.
Solar Eclipse today! view it online November 13, 2012
Posted by aquillam in Astronomy.Tags: observing, Solar eclipse, Sun, webcast
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NASA – Sun-Earth Day 2012 Total Solar Eclipse: Australia.
The eclipse starts at 2:39 PM local time in Ann Arbor, though it’s really roughly 3:30 – 6:30 you want to see. Surf on over to this website for live coverage from Queensland.
Eclipse 2012 – Cairns Great Barrier Reef Official Tourism Website October 19, 2012
Posted by aquillam in Astronomy, MichiganAstro.Tags: eclipse, Sun
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Eclipse 2012 – Cairns Great Barrier Reef Official Tourism Website.
There’s a solar eclipse next month. If you’re reading my blog, chances are you aren’t in a good position to see it though – it’ll be visible mostly across the Pacific, though a swath of northern Australia gets a great view.
It might be too late (or too expensive) for you to pack you bags and head down under, but it’s not too late to see the eclipse. Tropical North Queensland Tourism is sponsoring a webcast of the eclipse. Visit the website above for information on the webcast.
If you want more information about this eclipse, visit the Sun-Earth Day eclipse 2012 website, http://venustransit.nasa.gov/2012eclipse/. There are lots of resources there, for educators, outreach specialists, and just for fun. (I’ll warn you though, “The Sun Song” is very sticky.)
Sideways Orion 