Tag Archives: Eclipse

Specola Guestbook | July 4, 1914: William Wallace Campbell

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This entry is part 48 of 60 in the series Specola Guestbook

Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory.  A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from July 4, 1914, when William Campbell made a visit. Next to his name, William Wallace Campbell (1862-1938) wrote, “Lick Observatory, Calif.”  He was director of the Lick Observatory from 1901 to 1930. Why did he pass through the doors of the Vatican Observatory in the summer of 1914?  He was on his way to Russia, where he and a collaborator from the Berlin Observatory planned to photograph an eclipse to test Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity.  Alas, politics intervened. World War I broke out, with Germany and Russia on opposite sides. Campbell’s collaborator Erwin Freundlich was detained and his equipment confiscated. Campbell (an American) was permitted to continue his work, but with makeshift equipment.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and … Continue reading →

Stupid Astronomer Tricks #10: The dark side of the moon

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This entry is part 10 of 18 in the series Stupid astronomer

Down to our last 10 days! We’re running a membership drive this month – our goal is 150 new members – and as a part of it we’re including this blatant clickbait series… Besides, it’s a chance to tell some of the funny stories that come up during cloudy nights at the VATT! The old astronomer tells the tale… There is an effect called the Opposition Effect where solid bodies such as the Moon and Mars get significantly brighter when they are opposite the Sun. Part of the reason is the fact that the whole disk looks brighter when there are no shadows; the Full Moon is 40% brighter than the Moon even only one day before or after. (Check this out for yourself!) But when the the light is virtually exactly behind you (“zero phase angle”, or at least an angle much less than one degree) there is a second effect that kicks in, called coherent backscatter, which is due … Continue reading →

The Photoheliograph pt. 2

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This entry is part 2 of 4 in the series Photoheliograph

The eclipse of 1860 In 1858, Warren De la Rue was visiting Russia on a business trip and was introduced to the idea of photographing the 1860 Solar eclipse that was to occur in Spain by Dr. Medler. He also was shown a Daguerreotype of the 1851 eclipse taken by Dr. Busch with the Konigsberg Heliometer. At first, he was unimpressed with the detail of the Daguerreotype (that is to say the lack of detail of the “protuberances”, not the image itself) and was a little concerned with the practicality of photographing such an event. He was quick to observe that the state of the photographic art and that of celestial photography itself had advanced considerably in the intervening 7 years. He had determined to make the trip himself, but was limited in instruments to photograph with. He had in his own collection several telescopes with which to photograph, however they were limited in image size, the largest of which … Continue reading →

In the Sky this Week – February 6, 2018

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This entry is part 34 of 164 in the series In the Sky This Week

Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, and the bright stars Antares and Spica all adorn the southern predawn sky. The Moon will be joining the party for the next several days – appearing near Jupiter on the 7th, between Jupiter and Mars on the 8th, and close to Mars on the 9th. This same region of the sky looks very different when viewed from the southern hemisphere; the image below is seen from the perspective of the Perth Observatory in Australia. The Moon The Moon put on a great show during the total lunar eclipse last week; Jason Major took this beautiful moonrise eclipse image: The Moon is a waning gibbous and will be at third quarter on the 7th. The Moon rises around midnight, and sets around noon. This weekend the Moon will be a waning crescent, rising a few hours before dawn, and setting in the afternoon. The Sun The Sun has a spot! A rather large and enthusiastic spot – … Continue reading →

In the Sky this Week – January 30, 2018

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This entry is part 33 of 164 in the series In the Sky This Week

Mars, Saturn and Jupiter are all visible in the southern predawn sky; the gap between Mars and Jupiter growing as Mars gets closer to Saturn each morning. Southern sky before dawn, Jan. 30, 2018. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley. The Moon The Moon will be full on the 31st, and with it will come a total lunar eclipse. The total phase of this lunar eclipse will be visible in large parts of US, Russia, Asia, northeastern Europe, the Indian Ocean, Australia, and the Pacific. Hawaii will get an almost perfect view of totality. I couldn’t agree more with this Wired article about the over-use of media-hyped terms for astronomical events like this eclipse. Lunar eclipses are sometimes called “Blood Moons.” Sunlight gets filtered and refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere; when the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow, it takes on a red-orangeish hue. A Supermoon is when the full Moon is at perigee (its closest approach to Earth). The Moon … Continue reading →

The Great KENTUCKY Eclipse of August 21, 2017: Under Cerulean Skies

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Hopkinsville, Kentucky billed itself as Eclipseville—it was the closest town of any size to the “point of greatest eclipse”.  And on Monday, August 21 it was Eclipseville indeed. In the later afternoon of Sunday, August 20, I was putting together my last post prior to eclipse day, and wondering whether the weather would be OK, because the forecasts were mixed.  I got the post up on The Catholic Astronomer, and then my wife Tina and I went for a walk around central Hopkinsville to get some exercise in advance of Br. Guy’s talk at Sts. Peter & Paul church there.  (If you are visiting The Catholic Astronomer for the first time, Br. Guy Consolmagno is Director of the Vatican Observatory, and The Catholic Astronomer’s Blogger-in-Chief.) The program at Sts. Peter & Paul began with introductory remarks by Fr. Richard Meredith, who expounded upon the words of Psalm 19: The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the works of … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – August 22, 2017

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This entry is part 29 of 164 in the series In the Sky This Week

Sirius, the “Dog Star,” accompanies Venus low in the eastern predawn sky. Jupiter sets shortly after dusk and will vanish from view entirely in a early September. Saturn is high in the southern sky, and with the planet’s northern hemisphere tilted towards us at about 26°, Saturn is just a spectacular observing target. The Moon, fresh from the eclipse, will be in conjunction with Jupiter in the west at dusk on August 24th and 25th. The Moon will be a waxing crescent in the west at dusk, growing larger each evening until it is at first quarter on August 28th; the later part of this week will be excellent nights for star parties. Sirius, the brightest star in Earth’s sky, is a binary star system about 8.6 light years away. Sirius A is a bright and hot main sequence star, with a faint white dwarf companion: Sirius B. Sirius A is class A0 star about twice the mass of the … Continue reading →

The Great KENTUCKY Eclipse of August 21, 2017: Will the Weather Hold?

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For the past week you have been seeing lots of posts about tomorrow’s eclipse and about Hopkinsville, Kentucky, the town at the point of greatest eclipse (or, to be precise, near that point): Click here for Monday’s post on the eclipse. Click here for Wednesday’s. Click here for Friday’s. Click here for Saturday’s. Hopkinsville is also the place that Vatican Observatory Director Br. Guy Consolmagno is visiting for the eclipse. Of course, not everyone can make it to south-western Kentucky to see this eclipse. If you are unable to make it into the path of totality, you might be able to see totality “virtually”, because Hopkinsville has a live camera mounted up high to give a continuous view of the area. Check it out below: Of course, there will not be much to see of this eclipse if the weather is not good. As can be seen from the Monday-Saturday posts, the forecast for the eclipse has gone this way and … Continue reading →

The Great KENTUCKY Eclipse of August 21, 2017: Reading the Signs

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Two days from the eclipse and I am in Hopkinsville. Anyone passing through, even if they did not know that there was an eclipse here, would know that a Big Event is taking place. The signs are everywhere. Some of those signs are the busy-ness of landowners along Kentucky State Highway 91 into town. The path traced by the moon’s shadow will move toward the South-East into Hopkinsville, roughly following KY-91. While driving KY-91 into town earlier today, my wife and I saw lots of farms preparing for the influx of people—some setting up to welcome visitors (“Eclipse parking $50” near the point of greatest eclipse), some seeking to keep visitors from tromping all over their crops (“POSTED: No Trespassing. Private Property.”) Another clear sign of a Big Event are all the streets that are closed off, and the many tents and vendors set up, right in central Hopkinsville. There are also a lot of actual signs pertaining to the … Continue reading →

Rare Perigee Lunar Eclipse September 27th

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There will be a total lunar eclipse the evening of September 27, 2015. 8:11 PM EDT: Earth’s penumbra begins to dim the Moon. 9:07 PM: Earth’s umbra noticeably dims and reddens the Moon 10:11 PM: Start of totality. 11:23 PM: End of totality. 1:22 AM: End of eclipse. The Moon will be at perigee during the eclipse – the point in the Moon’s orbit when it is closest to the Earth; the Moon will appear slightly larger and brighter at this time. The Moon’s perigee is about 50,000 km (31,000 miles) closer to the Earth than its apogee – the point in the Moon’s orbit when it is farthest from the Earth. Here’s hoping for clear skies! More: http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasa-scientist-sheds-light-on-rare-sept-27-supermoon-eclipse P.S.: Notice how I didn’t mention “Supermoon” … Update: I created this rendering of the lunar eclipse using the software package Celestia:

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