February 24, 2006 • 1:55 pm
The best time to see Mercury this year is right now. Mercury will brighten as an evening “star” in the western sky until it reaches greatest eastern elongation – when the planet is as far east of the Sun as it can get. The evening of February 23 should provide the best view of Mercury as it shines at -0.5 magnitude, which makes it the second brightest object in the evening sky after the star Sirius.
Not only does Mercury appear bright in the sky at greatest elongation, but the closest planet to the Sun also rises to its highest point in the sky. At greatest elongation, Mercury reaches a maximum of 18° above the horizon February 23 and 24. [For comparison, your closed fist held at arm's length spans 10°.] After February 24, the planet dims nightly. On March 1, it glows at magnitude 0.3.
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Mercury’s orbit
Mercury orbits the Sun at an average distance of only 36 million miles (58 million kilometers). Earth is nearly 3 times as far, so, from our perspective, Mercury always stays near the Sun.
When Mercury is west of the Sun, we view it as a morning star in the east before sunrise. Some elongations are better than others because of Earth’s tilt and the stretched-out nature of Mercury’s orbit. Even at its farthest from the Sun, Mercury appears no more than 288 away from the star.
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Through a telescope
Through a telescope, observers will watch Mercury go through phases similar to the Moon’s. On February 8, the planet’s disk was more than 90-percent illuminated. At greatest elongation, Mercury’s disk will appear half-lit, and it will shrink to a 23-percent-illuminated crescent by March 1.
Most observers detect no surface markings on Mercury. It takes a seasoned observer and excellent atmospheric conditions to see anything at all on the planet, even through the largest amateur telescopes. Experienced amateurs, however, have recorded dusky markings and occasional bright areas on the planet.
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Copied from Astonomy Magazine – kind of messy because I didn’t have time to clean it up for you.
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February 23, 2006 • 2:55 am
This is a classic. A website devoted to odd inventions.
Here is a favorite:
Bumper Dumper
US Patent Issued In 2000
Camping can lack certain niceties we have all come to appreciate, such as a place to sit and ponder yonder while our daily duties grow fonder (were not exactly sure what this means but we really wanted it to rhyme). If you’re tired of using the bush or smelly outhouses, here’s your dream come true, the Bumper Dumper. Just plug it into the trailer hitch of your vehicle (we’d like to think it’s a pick’emup truck) and have at it.
We’re not sure how intimate you want to be with your friends and neighbors but we would suggest a Bumper Dumper portable privacy screen as a nice accessory.
Totally Absurd Inventions
America’s Goofiest Patents!
I like the Motorized Ice Cream Cone.
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February 14, 2006 • 3:46 am
I’d sure like to see more! You can do this too! Just visit My World 66.
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February 9, 2006 • 4:01 am
Check out even more wonderful photos of China.
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February 2, 2006 • 11:44 am
This year’s Great Backyad Bird Count takes place February 17 -20. Everyone is invited to participate!
It’s easy too. All you have to do is count all the birds you see in your backyard or at a local park, pond or recreation area. Then you report your findings on the web. It’s fun to watch the online maps develop and to see your own report appear on the map. It’s also fun to see the results accumulate for your area and across the country, both for number of species and numbers and locations of birds for individual species.
I’ve participated in several bird counts over the years and for me this is by far the most fun. I like seeing the results develop over the weekend. In 2004 Vernal topped the State of Utah for number of species reported (47). This, despite the much larger number of participants in many other locations.
The data collected has become extremely valuable in helping us understand the numbers and movements of the birds in America.
Sure hope you’ll join us in the fun. Visit The Great Backyard Bird Count for more details!
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Copying the Copy Cat, I decided it would be fun to share my list of visited states. I only have six left to get. Sorry to be boastful Cassie, but then, when I was your age I’d been to no where near the number you have. So let my list be an encouragement to you. You’ll get there. A friend and I both realized we not been to North Dakota yet. We couldn’t really think of a reason to go either, except to check it off the list. We think we’ll just run up there some weekend, grab a soda and head home. Just kidding. I figure I’ll plan a trip to see the Autumn Leaves some year and go for that whole northern tier of states I’m missing. Then an Alaska Cruise will finish me off. Actually, I’d prefer to drive the Al-Can Hiway and then take a ferry home. We’ll have to see. Cassie’s Blog is Lines of Communication: Open – check it out!
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February 1, 2006 • 2:02 pm
Tomorrow is Groundhog Day! I love to celebrate Groundhog Day, by watching one of my favorite movies. Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day is a classic. I often watch Albert Finney’s Scrooge at Christmas time and get into the spirit of things. Groundhog Day has a profound message as well. The inspiration I derive from it makes the annual ritual a worthy one.
When it all boils down to it, I could care less whether the Groundhog sees his shaddow or not. This fun little movie always reminds me that happiness is found not in the weather or in anything external, but deep within our own hearts.
The movie’s clever way of presenting its message makes it about as delightful as any I’ve seen. My favorite quote?
“What if there was no tomorrow! There wasn’t one today!”
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It is February and Venus has made it’s little switch from Evening to Morning Star. Here is a view of our brightest neighbor from the Hubble Space Telescope.
Jupiter is also up in the morning. Mars and Saturn are visible in the evening. Saturn is near opposition and is as close to us at it gets. You can see it’s rings with a pair of binoculars.
Learn more about the February Sky.
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