It appears that we might just have a bright comet for the end of 2018 and into the start of 2019: Comet 46P/Wirtanen. With a short period of just about 5.4 years, this time around the Sun, it will be very close to Earth (a mere 0.07AU or 11.6 million km) and enjoying its perihelion,... Continue Reading →
A good meteor shower to watch is the annual Orionids. This one originates from the famous comet: 1P/Halley - yep, that one! As the comet orbits the Sun, little particles are left behind all over the place along the path. When our planet orbits through this debris, we see a meteor shower. This year, the... Continue Reading →
Each August, the Earth passes through a stream of comet debris from Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. The comet will not be back our way until 2126... so... I wouldn't wait up for that one. Along the orbital path, the comet has left behind small bits and pieces, most no bigger than a grain of sand. These run... Continue Reading →
The eclipse was a perfect success! Clear skies prevailed throughout totality, with forest fire smoke and clouds coming in after it was all done. The temperature dropped from 88 to 68F, stunning! The corona was larger than those I had seen before. We had prominences and more. MANY images to deal with and not fast... Continue Reading →
All, I am safely here at Casper, Wyoming, right on the line for the eclipse. We DID have rooms in the local motel (YAY!) and have been rambling through town a little to get oriented. The town is divided in a couple of neat ways: the Platt River runs through as does a major train... Continue Reading →
