Tag Archives: stargazing

Yuk!

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I got home late from Houston tonight and I was taking my daily walk. I was searching the sky for Orion, to see if I could spot any meteors (the Orionid metor shower is still going on).

All the sudden- ICK! YUK! UGH!

I walked under a tree and it was like I got attacked by a giant spider! For a minute I felt like Frodo when he got tangled up in Shelobs lair in the Lord of the Rings. 😉

I’m still not sure if it was a real spider web I somehow ran into, or if it was a Halloween decoration gone wild, but it got me good!

At least I didn’t ever see the spider who might have made that giant web!!

Sad to say, I didn’t see any meteors tonight either, it was just too cloudy and the moon was still too bright to see many stars. I need to get to sleep soon, so won’t be staying up to try again when the moon sets. I’ll be up and out early in the morning, so maybe I’ll have better luck then. 🙂

4 Sky Events This Week: Seven Sisters and a Stellar Sandwich

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4 Sky Events This Week: Seven Sisters and a Stellar Sandwich – News Watch.

Another good week for stargazing. I hope it clears up around here soon!

I missed seeing Uranus. The weather was too cloudy while it was at a good altitude for me here. I am hoping to be able to see the Pleiades and the Hyades this week.

I can usually spot Taurus and Aldebaran. This time of year, it should be to the West after sunset. If you can find Orion, look to the right of the hunters bow and you should see a ‘V’, those are the horns of the bull “Taurus”. Both the Hyades and the Pleiades are located in Taurus.

Betelguese is usually easy to spot, it’s in the constellation of Orion. That’s one of the easiest constellations to spot. It should be even easier to see when it’s lined up like they say with the moon and Jupiter.

I’ll be checking it out when the clouds clear up!

5 Sky Events This Week: Moon Poses with Winter Gems and Little Bear Runs With Meteors

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5 Sky Events This Week: Moon Poses with Winter Gems and Little Bear Runs With Meteors – News Watch.

Another interesting week in the sky. I tried really hard to watch the Geminid meteor shower last weekend, but it was too cloudy here in Texas. I tried to check it out online, but I couldn’t find anything other than clouds or a few photos. I was hoping for a video from somewhere with clear skies, but I never found one.

Jupiter should be shining bright and easy to spot next week. If you have a telescope, you should even be able to spot Callisto as she crosses Jupiter. Hopefully even I will be able to see Jupiter, if not her moon. The lights are so bright on the rigs I work on, its impossible to see all but the brightest stars most of the time. 🙁

Looks like we’ll have another chance to catch a meteor shower too. The Ursid shower probably won’t be anywhere near as good as the Geminid would have been, but it’s something to look forward to.

Next Saturday is the Winter Solstice too, so for all you Pagans out there, I hope you are able to throw some good parties!! 😉

Enjoy the show! Its FREE!! 🙂

6 Sky Events This Week: Taurids, Lagoon, and Neptune

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6 Sky Events This Week: Taurids, Lagoon, and Neptune – News Watch.

I love watching the stars at night. I miss being able to see them clearly. Its just SO amazing sky watching from a ship at sea without all the light pollution we get at home.

Looks like the Taurids (meteors) will be the main thing to look for tonight. Venus and Cassiopeia should be bright and easy enough to spot, even with the lights of the city around and no need of a telescope.

I’ll be back at sea by Thursday but I don’t expect to be able to do much star gazing, there’s not much chance of a dark ship on a drilling rig (and we would not want that to happen!!!).

I’ll have to try and go sailing again when I get in from work. 😉

Best Stargazing Events of September 2013

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Best Stargazing Events of September 2013 (Sky Map Gallery) | Space.com.

This is pretty neat. I just found this. It gives you a run down on all the interesting things you can see in the night sky throughout the month of September. Tonight is the Harvest Moon. The 22nd is the equinox. It tells you where to look for the  planets,etc.

Be sure to flip through the slide show. 🙂