Science Daily: Mars
- Surprising insights about debris flows on Mars March 14, 2024
- Giant volcano discovered on Mars March 13, 2024
Science Daily: Uranus
- New images reveal what Neptune and Uranus really look like January 5, 2024
- Ringing in the holidays with ringed planet Uranus December 19, 2023
Science Daily: Pluto
- How Pluto got its heart April 15, 2024
- Evidence of geothermal activity within icy dwarf planets February 15, 2024
Science Daily: Kuiper Belt
- How Pluto got its heart April 15, 2024
- Evidence of geothermal activity within icy dwarf planets February 15, 2024
Month: March 2008
Blackbody Physlet
I’m supposed to keep on top of these things, and I’ve certainly read about them enough, but usually in passing and I immediately rush off to the next thing on my "to-do" list. What am I mumbling about?
Is This What My Kids Think of Me?
"He was a real nuisance when I was taking high school physics. It was the classic thing…you ask for help and all you really want to know is the answer to problem 5B and he wants to explain it to you." Presis Drell, on being the daughter of a physicist San Jose Mercury News, December …
Summer Star Party
Rockland Astronomy Club‘s annual Summer Star Party held in Shady Pines Campground is a family event with a playground, swimming pool, ball fields and local attractions of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. Alas, Shady Pines closed around 2017 so we moved to Peppermint Park, but that became unavailable in 2020 with the pandemic and we’ve …
Daylight Savings Time Begins
Yes, it comes early this year, you can thank President Bush for that.
Moon 1.2 degress North of Mars
The moon will pass just to the north of Mars tonight with a closest approach of about 1.2 degrees around 11 pm EST. This is just over twice the diameter of the moon. This is best seen with your naked eyes, binoculars, or a low-power telescope. Unlike some part events, Mars will not be occulted …
Spring Equinox
Welcome to the first day of spring! We pass through the equinox point of Earth’s orbit at 1:49 AM EST.
PS102 TV Turnoff Week Stargazing
We’ll be "hosting" a stargazing evening again at Shore Road Park on the ballfields near the 78th Street park entrance. See the map below for the viewing location.
Sunset is not until nearly 7:15 pm, and it won’t be truly dark (well, as dark as it gets in NYC) until after 8:30 pm, but we’ll start shortly after 8:00 pm with views of the first quarter moon and, as it gets a bit darker, views of Saturn and it’s rings. As Saturn advances in its orbit, the rings are moving closer toward an edge-on view which will occur next year.
View Larger Map
The rain date is Friday April 12. As of Tuesday, April 8, it looks like we may be using the rain date….
Sun-Earth Day 2008
The Sun-Earth Day is a focus by NASA on what it means to be "living the the atmosphere of a star." The related NASA website has numerous activities for students and educators, podcasts and more.
Focus Testing
Robert Reeves suggests testing the focus of your lenses as the infinity mark cannot always be trusted. This isn’t necessarily because the manufacturer was sloppy; certain long focal-length lenses may significantly affected by temperature and at some temperatures they will focus beyond infinity (Buzz Lightyear, take note). I decided to do a quick test of …
DIY: Webcam modifications
Here are some links to webcam modifications that I found useful. Ashley Roeckelein Astronomy Pages has several webcam modifications and case designs well worth looking over.