solar eclipse

A Video Retrospective of an Extraordinary Solar Eclipse

August 17, 2018 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Celestial Events

It was the most watched event in astronomical history, and it called forth awe from hardened scientists, barstool astronomers, and small children alike. It was the Great American Eclipse of August 21, 2017. It was a much-hyped and all-to-fleeting event, and like you, I wish I could see it again. We can’t, of course, but we can enjoy the video and images of expert astrophotographers who spent much time and effort documenting this extraordinary eclipse. Here are a few of my favorite videos below… [Read more…] about A Video Retrospective of an Extraordinary Solar Eclipse

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Field Notes from a First-Time Eclipse Watcher

August 25, 2017 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

“Dad, you finally saw a total solar eclipse. Now you’re a real astronomer”, said my younger daughter in the minutes after the August 21 eclipse.

It was a joke, of course, but I still winced. This was a sore point with me. Forty-five years of stargazing, on and off, and I’d seen thousands of sights in the sky from earthbound satellites to the Moon, from icy flotsam from the outer solar system to the colorful cloud bands of Jupiter, and all manner of wonders of the deep sky including galaxies billions of years older than our solar system. But I’d never seen a total solar eclipse [Read more…] about Field Notes from a First-Time Eclipse Watcher

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Farewell to Jupiter, and Hello

July 8, 2016 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Science

Artist's concept of Juno at Jupiter (credit: NASA) — Artist’s concept of Juno at Jupiter (credit: NASA)

If you’ve been following the news this week, you know that Jupiter has a new moon, a man-made moon called Juno. The NASA spacecraft, bejeweled with solar cells and as big as a basketball court, entered an elongated orbit around the big planet on July 4 as it began a 20-month study of the structure of Jupiter. While Jupiter may be fading in the western sky after sunset, still visible but soon to be lost to our telescopes, it will continue to reveal many secrets to Juno during the coming months [Read more…] about Farewell to Jupiter, and Hello

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Video of Solar Eclipse from 35,000 Feet

March 9, 2016 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Astronomy Images and Video

Eclipse expert Mike Kentrianakis captured this video from a Alaska Airline flight 870 from Anchorage to Honolulu. The flight made a planned diversion to intercept the path of the eclipse in the Pacific just north of Hawaii. From this vantage point, with a clear view of the horizon and well above the clouds, it’s easy to see the Moon’s shadow approaching like a storm from a great distance and at a speed of more than 1,200 mph. During totality, the Sun’s chromosphere and corona become visible, with prominences, streamers, and the usual display of the diamond-ring effect and Baily’s Beads just as the eclipse begins and ends [Read more…] about Video of Solar Eclipse from 35,000 Feet

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Total Solar Eclipse on March 9, 2016

March 3, 2016 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Celestial Events, Solar System

SE2016Mar09T — Path of the solar eclipse of March 8-9, 2016.

The year’s only total solar eclipse occurs next week on March 8-9, 2016. The narrow path of totality runs from the eastern Indian Ocean, across the islands of Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, and on into the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii. Armadas of ships carrying astronomical tourists are on the way to the area, especially to the region of maximum totality well north of Papua New Guinea where the eclipse will last an impressive 4 minutes. For readers of this site on the way to see this magnificent event, I wish you clear skies and calm seas [Read more…] about Total Solar Eclipse on March 9, 2016

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