Tag Archives: Astronomy

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Wonders on Wednesday: Hunger Games, Twilight and Paper Whites

 

Kingfisher and the Colonel
Hungry Cleo and Romeo
Who me eat your sunflower
Let’s Go out for donuts in style

Folks are beginning posting their favorite holiday food ideas,which I haven’t gotten around to, but I was inspired to put together this collection of “hunger game” snapshots when came upon this Edsel in a parking lot yesterday. By the way I was going to the Dollar Store next door. They have great decorations and containers for Paper whites.

If you start now they could be blooming by Christmas if you put them in a dark room. And if you want to know when it is dark here is what Wikipedia has to say about the setting of the sun. They call it twilight.

Paperwhites

Paper whites just putting down roots

The Three calcification of Sunset or Twilight are: Civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight. The Sun is shown to scale.[2]

Twilight is defined according to the solar elevation angle θs, which is the position of the geometric center of the sun relative to the horizon. There are three established and widely accepted subcategories of twilight: civil twilight (brightest), nautical twilight, and astronomical twilight (darkest).[1]    

Why? Sailors, who navigated by the stars, needed to know when it would be dark enough to see the first star. Usually Venus or Mercury. If you’re still reading you deserve a star. Happy Wednesday!

Thanks for stopping by.

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All About The Setting Sun

sunset at low tide

sunset at low tide at Point Isabel

December 2nd at Point Isabel

We only went to see the low tide -1.8, however

the moon and the sun were in cahoots

with the sea, all leaving in concert,

abandoning the land and us to

shiver on the shore

with nothing but a scarf of tangerine sherbet sky.

We stretched out our arms and threw back our heads and

 waltzed with the flavor of the day.

Carol Carlisle  © 12/3/13

Early sunset makes December a colorful time of year. The Christmas lights  and decorations seem to be joint the sky party.  Because of the difference between the clock noon and “solar noon” the earliest sunset of the year is two weeks before winter solstice. It is still the shortest day and the time when the sun stands still and changes directions. I hope you get a chance to get out and enjoy the light show sometimes this month.

Who knows the three different sunset?

Rising and setting times for the Sun In the san FRANCISCO Area

Length of day Solar noon
Date Sunrise Sunset This day Difference Time Altitude Distance
(million mi)
Dec 3, 2013 7:09 AM 4:51 PM 9h 42m 14s − 1m 02s 12:00 Noon 30.1° 91.631
Dec 4, 2013 7:09 AM 4:51 PM 9h 41m 15s − 59s 12:00 Noon 29.9° 91.617
Dec 5, 2013 7:10 AM 4:51 PM 9h 40m 18s − 56s 12:01 PM 29.8° 91.603
Dec 6, 2013 7:11 AM 4:51 PM 9h 39m 25s − 53s 12:01 PM 29.7° 91.590
Dec 7, 2013 7:12 AM 4:51 PM 9h 38m 35s − 49s 12:01 PM 29.6° 91.577
Dec 8, 2013 7:13 AM 4:51 PM 9h 37m 48s − 46s 12:02 PM 29.5° 91.564
Dec 9, 2013 7:14 AM 4:51 PM 9h 37m 05s − 43s 12:02 PM 29.4° 91.552

I have abandoned myself to the mysteries of sunset at the suggestion of Margo Rody whose word for the day is ABANDON.

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362nd Light Words: Final Moon Glow 2012

Moon caught in grapevine one last time in 2012

Full Moon caught in grapevine one last time in 2012.  Makes me wonder what connection have we made this year? Have I brought a little light into your world?

Interesting View from Last Night’s Sky Map:

Gemini twins playing soccer with the moon, Well that's what I see!

Gemini twins playing soccer with the moon, Well that’s what I see! Yes I know it is upside down. This is our view here on Planet Earth. You can tilt your computer like you did for the clouds yesterday 😉

One more interesting thing about 2012!

5 Weekends in December! No wonder we’re tired

So rare this event the calendar people didn’t know what to do with the 31st!
 
 This year, December has 5 Saturdays, 5 Sundays and 5 Mondays.
Dec-12
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
This only happens once every 824 years.
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Sunday Post: “The City” San Fransisco & Other Scenic Views

A  view of San Fransisco you can only get from a car on the upper deck of the Oakland Bay Bridge heading West. Dustin Hoffman  racing to Berkeley in The Graduate was really going the wrong direction on this bridge.  He should have been on the lower deck heading East to get to his lady love, but it isn’t a very scenic drive.  As long as we’re on the look out for scenic views here’s some  helpful notes about yesterday’s post.

The Star Facts

Just in case you were searching for the Orionids meteor shower last night, this is the star chart of where to look for shooting stars in the club of Orion.  Orion doesn’t rise in the East South East until after midnight. I could see Orion but nothing else. I still made wishes, perhaps tonight well all have better luck. Let me know what you see.

Sunday Post theme suggested by Jakesprinters.

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All Hail Halley’s Comet!

Do Me a Favor

if you are in the Northern Hemisphere and have a clear night  sky please go out after midnight and enjoy the Orionid  Meteor Shower.  I won’t be able to see any shooting stars because we are covered with a thick blanket of fog in the Bay Area.

Even when I can’t see them it is fun to know the sky is full of shooting stars.

Here is what our local E New Paper The Albany Patch has to say about what you might see tonight: Even when I can’t see them it is fun to know the sky is full of shooting stars.

“Earth will pass through a stream of debris from Halley’s Comet beginning on Monday. The show will give us the benefit of the annual Orionids meteor shower— though you probably won’t see much until a bit later.

The shower should be at its peak the night of Saturday, Oct. 20, until just before dawn on Oct. 21. This year, the moon will be setting at approximately midnight, which will keep the sky darkened enough that — barring cloud cover — you should be able to see up to 15 meteors per hour.

Some tips for meteor watching in general are on the EarthSky website. For this meteor shower, it’s recommended you view it from open area away from city lights.

What makes this shower so cool? First of all, c’mon — it’s a show of shooting stars.

Also, though, there’s no question about where to look for this one. Meteor showers get their names from the constellations in the sky where they can be spotted. And what’s easier to spot than Orion the Hunter?

The stars tend to shoot from Orion’s club, pierce Taurus the Bull, the Gemini twins, Leo the Lion and finally, Canis Major, home of Sirius, the brightest star we can see — well, aside from the sun.

There’s also something else that’s special about this show: With the second-fastest entry velocity of all the annual meteor showers, meteors from the Orionids produce yellow and green colors and occasionally produce an odd fireball.

To make sure you get the best view possible, remember to check the weather forecast and conditions before you head outside to watch.”

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Venus Did Indeed Transit The Sun! Report from the Planetarium

What this Traveler Saw the day much of the world turned away from their earthly concerns and considered the sky.

Early live feed in Hawaii at Chabot Planetarium in Oakland Ca. Venus is the small black dot at 1 o’clock. The Scientist were so excited by a light dot at the bottom that was a Sun spot. I was thrilled to see it on the big screen. Don’t worry I went out and looked, too.

Outside we were offered low-tec viewing devices while we waited for the big telescope.

Some folks created there own unique photo devises.

This is about what we were seeing through our glasses but without the captions and very small.

My crowd used the standard issue glasses to watch Venus do her Grand March across the Sun.

Viewing the 2012 Transit of Venus with this beautiful 100 year old telescope seemed the fitting way to experience an event that will not happen again for over 100 years.

Saying cheese and viewing…but really it gave me great joy to commune with the planet so closely associated with the Feminine!

Mind blowing view of the Live feed from Hawaii superimposed on the planetarium show. I was in awe! They even stopped talking and put on music which was my hearts desire.  I wonder what Galileo would think of this technology? Would he want music or talking?