Winter Solstice

This is a very beautiful video of the recent winter solstice lunar eclipse.

Umbra, penumbra. Not exactly abracadabra, but if you've taken an astronomy class, you know exactly what the umbra and penumbra are. And any Earthling would agree that the umbra is the best place to be during a solar or lunar eclipse. When the Sun, Earth and Moon are precisel ...more

This week's AON is brief, but there's plenty to see. Without adieu, here's the news: Through March 2012—The Garradd comet shines in the sky! Here's how to observe it! December 21, 2011—The moon is at its perigee (364,800 km from Earth). December 22, 2011—Winter solstice. Dec ...more

Remember—winter is the perfect time to observe! There are a lot of events going on this week, so pull out that observing chair. Here they are: The Garradd comet is still in the sky and is approaching its peak. Here's how to observe it! January 17: The moon is at its perigee o ...more

This week's AON is pretty short, but there are also lots of clouds because it is winter. However, that just makes the few days of open sky way more valuable! Remember, the Geminid Meteor shower is going on until the 16th. Here is my article on the shower! Also, you can obser ...more