The January Sky

Enjoy a review of the January Sky. Prominent are Auriga, Taurus with it’s “eye” Aldebaran, and the Pleiades.

Saturn is visible all night. A telescope on the night of January 5, will show Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, three or four ring-widths to Saturn’s west and not on the same plane as the rings. See it in the lower right corner of the photo.

The Quadrantids Meteor Shower will take place on the 3rd of January. Best viewing times are midnight until 3 AM. Look to the Northeast.

An asteroid comes into view. Observers who brave winter’s chill also have the opportunity to see the asteroid Vesta without optical aid. Vesta reaches opposition (opposite the Sun in our sky) January 5. Around this date, Vesta lies in Gemini the Twins and glows at magnitude 6.2 — an easy target for binoculars from the suburbs and within range of the naked eye from a dark observing site.

To find Vesta, point your binoculars about one-third of the way from Delta (Wasat) to Epsilon Geminorum (Mebsuta). The second-brightest point you’ll see is Vesta. Once you’re sure of its position through binoculars, try locating it without optical aid. To verify that you’ve found Vesta, make a quick sketch of the area and check it again in a day or two. Just so you know, Delta is the fourth brightest star in any constellation and Epsilon would be the fifth. Alpha Geminorum would be? … you got it, Castor!

Here is a good map of the January Sky. Here are interactive maps of the Constellations.

Earth is at it’s Perihilion on January 4. That is when our eliptical orbit brings us closest to the Sun. It is also when we are moving fastest! Thank you Mr. Kepler for helping Mr. Copernicus figure that out!

The Nun Bun has been Stolen!

A Cinnamon Bun resembling the late Mother Teresa has been stolen from a coffee house in Nashville, Tennessee. The bun has been on display there since it was discovered in 1996.

I don’t know if the coffee house did any good with the bun, but Mother Teresa sure did a lot of good with her life. Follow this link to learn more about Mother Teresa, and this one, to see what Mother Teresa had to say about it all.

I hope I didn’t inspire the thief to seize this pastry!

Meteor

Here is my rendition of a Meteor I observed on the night of December 14, 2005. It was seen during the Geminid Meteor Shower near the northern horrizon at 8:22 PM MST. I thought it unusual as it was squat and green and moved quite slowly. Actually, considering the nearness to the northern horrizon, it was probably over Montana or Canada (I’m in Utah) and was actually high and moving fast. I’ve seen a few “slow moving” fireballs, but always they’ve been red and had a much longer tail. If anybody knows the cause of the unique color and shape of this one, I’d like to hear more about it.

Take A Spin Across Paris

This video is a must see for Paris lovers and adrenoline junkies as well.

c’était un rendez-vous

John Henry Faulk’s Christmas Story

John Henry Faulk recorded a Christmas Story that has become a classic. It is a must for every Christmas Season’s uplift. You can download it from NPR. He wrote and recorded it around 1955 but it is certianly one that has stood the test of time.

Merry Christmas!

Brand New Hubble Image of the Crab Nebula

Wow! Talk about spectacular. Chinese astronomers actually saw this explosion happen.
To learn more visit Astonomy.com.

Intuitive Eating

My dad always said that horses lacked something in their diet when the ate fence rails. He proved it too, by supplementing their diet with nutrients they lacked. Sure enough, they stopped eating the fence.

Recently, I heard an interesting interview on the radio about a concept called Intuitive Eating. Essentially, Intuitive Eaters, eat when they’re hungry, stop when they’re full, eat what they feel inclined to eat and don’t feel guilty about what they choose to eat. And, get this, they lose weight and feel better.

Last year at this time I was obsessed with eating my way to lower blood pressure. I watched my diet, frequently checked my blood pressure, did breathing exercises and while I had some success felt I was killing myself with the anxiety of it all. Earlier this year I decided it was all silly. If horses instinctively know what they need, why not humans? I began to be more attentive to what I felt my body was telling me. It has worked. I’ve found my body wants and needs less food volume. I’ve found that it’s okay to eat ice cream when I want it and that I don’t really want it all that much. The more I practice what I’ve intuitively been inclined to do the better I feel. This is all before I learned that there were people actually studying Intuitive Eating.

For more details check out How to Become an Intuitive Eater.

Aerogel - Cool Stuff

No pun intended. Check out the details on this magic material developed at NASA.

Isn’t science wonderful!

I like Crayons too!