Want to know what’s up in June?  Check out this podcast!  Scripted by me….voiced by my good buddy Sandra.  Courtesy IMAGINOVA and AstroShorts

Picture Credit:  NASA

Are you an early riser?  Take a look at the moon as it sets in the west tomorrow morning.  Starting at about 4:51 AM, the Moon will enter Earth’s shadow, reaching total eclipse at 5:52 AM.  The red colour you see during an eclipse of the Moon is due to the light of sunrises and sunsets on the Earth which manage to refract around our atmosphere and continue to the moon.  Unlike an eclipse of the sun, an eclipse of the moon is safe to view with the naked eye.

Those of us on the eastern side of North America will not get the best view this time.  This event happens while our sun is rising.  For the best show, you need to be living in the pacific.

Want to know what’s up in July’s skies?  Casey and I produced this piece for IMAGINOVA.  It’s a freely available Podcast that IMAGINOVA has on their website SPACE.COM in their NIGHTSKY section and it’s also available on ASTROSHORTS.

Casey voiced this piece while I scripted it.  The podcast highlights the different things going on in the sky on various July evenings -and one early morning too.

VIDEO courtesy:  IMAGINOVA

Take a look at the constellation Leo. To me it’s one of the few that really suggests what you are looking at. You can see the head of the lion represented by that backward question mark formed in stars. The body is easy to imagine also. On June 19th, our moon passes very close to Regulus, the star that marks the leg of the mighty lion. Take a pair of binoculars and visit this close alignment. The two will be so close you would be hard pressed to fit another moon in between them!
Clear Skies!

Sky Charts produced by Starry Night Software copyright IMAGINOVA

Setting up in Whitby

Photo Credit: Steve Bevan

On May 19th, astronomers all over the world got their telescopes out and shared their views with the public. My friends Arnold and Pedro joined me in Whitby Ontario where we were visited by many curious people. Venus, the Moon and Saturn were easily visible and many people were blown away by what they saw.

This event happened again and again all over the globe. You can see the results in the photo gallery available on-line at www.astroshorts.com which collected and displayed the photos on behalf of the International Sidewalk Astronomers . Take a look. Some of these events were HUGE!

Last Saturday, amateur astronomers around the world brought out their telescopes and showed views of the Moon, Venus, Saturn and other celestial objects to the general public. The first video we received was from our astronomer friends in Byron Bay, Australia.  They submitted their video on-line to AstroShorts.com.

My good friend Casey and I made the journey to Suffern, New York to check out NEAF, the NorthEAst Astronomy Forum.

Here’s our report as posted on AstroShorts.com

 Image Credit: NASAJHUAPL

The New Horizons spacecraft took this incredible picture of Jupiter’s moon IO recently.  See the volcanic plume at the top of the moon?  Io is massaged by the planet Jupiter as the little moon’s orbit takes it closer and then further away.

The New Horizons spacecraft is on its way to Pluto and is scheduled to arrive in the summer of 2015.

I’ve been a little tardy with my posts lately.  A lot has been happening.  First there was International Astronomy Day and then the North East Astronomical Forum which takes place in Suffern, New York.  I went down with my friend Casey to interview participants and record the event for everyone.  Soon we’ll have some video ready to air on AstroShorts.com.