Brian Ventrudo

Tele Vue DeLite Eyepiece Review

August 7, 2015 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Astronomy Equipment

The Tele Vue DeLite line of eyepieces (credit: Bill Paolini)

Looking for an eyepiece that makes stargazing a little easier? The new Tele Vue DeLite series of eyepieces might fit the bill. These new eyepieces feature a modest 62º field of view, a far cry from the super-wide Nagler and Ethos line of eyepieces from Tele Vue, but the DeLites excel in one important feature: they’re easy to look through. Read this full review of the DeLite eyepiece line by William Paolini, author of the book Choosing and Using Astronomical Eyepieces. It’s available at the new astronomical community website called Astronomy Connect.

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Astonishing View of Moon Transiting Earth

August 6, 2015 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

NASA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite captured an astonishing series of images of the Moon transiting Earth. In the above animation made from the still images, we see the far side of the Moon, illuminated by the Sun, as the Moon passes across the face of the rotating Earth from a distance of about one million miles [Read more…] about Astonishing View of Moon Transiting Earth

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A Good Year for the Perseid Meteor Shower

August 5, 2015 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Celestial Events

2012 Perseids Meteor Shower over the Snowy Range in Wyoming (credit: David Kingham)

The Perseid meteor shower, the most reliably active meteor shower of the year, peaks on the night of August 11-12, 2015. The Perseids are a favorite of many stargazers. They happen in the northern summer, which makes for comfortable viewing. They display more bright meteors than most showers, usually about 50-60 per hour. And this year, the nearly-new Moon will not get in this way of the Perseids, so 2015 will be an excellent year to see this meteor shower [Read more…] about A Good Year for the Perseid Meteor Shower

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Short Video of Comet C/2015 F4 (Jacques)

July 30, 2015 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

At the end of July 2015, the little comet C/2015 F4 (Jacques) passes the splendid double star Albireo, the star that marks the nose of Cygnus, the Swan. The comet was discovered on March 27, 2014 by C. Jacques at an observatory in Brazil. The comet is a dim 11th magnitude which makes it a very challenging object for visual observers. It may not get much brighter, but the video below gives you a view of this visitor from the outer solar system.

The video was captured by Tom Wildoner, aka the Leisurely Scientist. He assembled the video from 66 individual 30-second exposures using a Canon 6D and Celestron C6-A SCT on an equatorial mount.

Comet C/2015 F4 makes its closest approach to the Sun on August 10, 2015 at a distance of 1.64 astronomical units.

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Once in a Blue Moon

July 28, 2015 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

An artificially colored "Blue Moon" of November 2010 imaged from Brooklyn, New York. — An artificially colored “Blue Moon” of November 2010 imaged from Brooklyn, New York.

The second Full Moon of July 2015 arrives on July 31 at 10:43 Universal Time. No doubt the headline writers of the interwebs will be all over this bit of non-news, but as most readers of Cosmic Pursuits understand, a Blue Moon is simply the second Full Moon of a calendar month. Or in another definition, which does not apply here, a Blue Moon is the third full Moon of a season in which there are four Full Moons. In either case, there’s no astronomical significance to the event, and the Moon will not have a blue tinge. Though any Full Moon in summer makes for a pleasant evening walk when you can smell the thick air and scent of summer flowers in this all-too-brief season [Read more…] about Once in a Blue Moon

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