At 14:21 UTC (10:21 EDT) yesterday, the Autumnal Equinox occured, the Astronomical beginning of Autumn. This is the second time this year, and every year, that marks the date and time when there are equal hours of daylight and darkness, the first being the Vernal Equinox, the Astronomical beginning of Spring. Yesterday the sun transited[…]
By Anton Vankovich Throughout all our history people have been gazing at the night sky wondering what’s there, what secrets it hides. These thoughts have taken their imaginations and minds. Some have started to dream up a fairy tales, but some could look beyond and see regularities up there. . It took centuries for real[…]
The sky is actually black, but have you ever wondered why it is blue? A lot of other smart people think the sky is blue, when in reality is black but due to white light have see it blue. The light from the[…]
Two notable events occur this month, the Harvest (Full) Moon tomorrow, Friday, 16 September and the Autumnal Equinox on Thursday, 22 September. In fact, they’re both linked. The full moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox is known as the “Harvest Moon”, a designation indicting that the light of the full moon gave aid to the[…]
Remember the European Space Agency’s Rosetta Mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko and the intrepid little lander, Philae that went missing, was subsequently found and then went quiet again? Well, the mystery has been solved. High-resolution cameras aboard ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft have found Philae, wedged into a crack and in the shadow of a cliff on the[…]
In what could only be described as a visual metaphor of a bright, hopeful, limitless future, this image, iconic as it is inspirational, epitomizes what is the best in us, the potential we have to soar to new heights, a young child chasing Juno along a Florida beach as the intrepid explorer slips the surly[…]
Jupiter’s North Pole Unlike Anything Encountered in Solar System Having completed a brilliant orbital insertion on 4 July, Juno has successfully completed the first of 36 orbits of Jupiter. As it passed within 4,200 Km (2,600 mi) of the giant planet’s upper cloud decks at 6:44 a.m. PDT (9:44 a.m. EDT, 13:44 UTC), it was[…]
Garvey Nights The Garvey Ranch Observatory is open to the public every Wednesday evening from 7:30 PM to 10 PM. Go into the dome to use the 8 Inch Refractor or observe through one of our telescopes on the lawn. Visit our workshop to learn how you can build your own telescope, grind your own[…]
