Astro Event of the Week: December 29th, 2008-January 4th, 2009: The Leap Second Strikes!

An improbable view…(Credit: Astroguyz.com).

Revelers this New Years’ Eve can party a bit longer, thanks to the timely (bad pun) addition of a leap second on Dec 31st. The addition of a leap second is due to anomalies in the rotation of the Earth, such as the gravitational drag of the Sun and Moon, [...]

2008: The Year in Science Fiction.

The site of a thousand bad scifi planets…Vasquez Rocks outside of L.A. (Credit: Paramount).
This year, the theme seemed to be zombies, zombies, (and more zombies), messiahs, and dirty, gritty, anti-futures. Add in a tight leather space suit or two, (which never seems to go out of style) and you’ve got a space opera flick. Warning; [...]

Astro Event of the Week: December 22nd-28th, 2008: A Christmas Meteor Storm?

Ursid Radiant. (Credit: Meteor showers online). 
   The Ursids are the meteor shower that you’re not watching, but should be. A lesser shower, it typically produces around less than 10 meteors per hour right around Christmas time. This year, however, there may be two reasons to give the Ursids notice; one is that the Moon is a waning [...]

2009: The Year of Astronomy.

Star trails over the former Very Small Optical Observatory in Vail, Arizona. (Photo by Author).
This is a shout out to the world; 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy. Check with your local astronomy club, observatory or planetarium to find out what events are near you; if they aren’t planning anything, ask them why not!

Astro Event of the Week: December 15th-21st: The Winter Solstice.

An Ice Pillar, a fairly common sight in December! (Photo by Author).
Take heart, those based in chilly northern climes; the Winter Solstice  is on the way. This is the point at which the Sun reaches its most southerly declination as seen from the tilted Earth and begins its long migration northward.

2008: The Year in Science.

Dude…that’s my Tool bag! (Credit: NASA-TV).
It’s been a wild and wacky year in the realm of science and astronomy. Phoenix hailed a return to Mars surface science, the Hubble hobbled along, and CERN started up and humanity survived. All in the backdrop of a heated election year!

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