Astronomy – texasflashdude

Lunar Eclipse

This Lunar Eclipse, also known as “Blood Moon,” is also known as a “Supermoon,” and this year it occurs during a “Flower Moon,” because it occurs in May, during the peak of the flowers’ bloom in the northern hemisphere. Whatever you call it, it was spectacular here in the Big Bend due to amazingly clearContinue reading “Lunar Eclipse”

Strawberry Moon

The first full moon after the Summer Solstice is known as the Strawberry Moon. In ancient times, each full moon of every month had a name, usually associated with astronomical events, harvests, or other seasonal connections, and not relating to the actual color of the moon. The first full moon following the Summer Solstice, andContinue reading “Strawberry Moon”

Last Full Moon of 2020

Hallelujah!!!

The Christmas Star

Last night was the “grand conjunction” of planets Jupiter and Saturn. The two planets were just .1 degree apart in the sky just after twilight. This is the closest conjunction of these planets since March 5, 1226. The most significant grand conjunction occurred in 7 B.C., and another in 3 B.C. , thus scientificContinue reading “The Christmas Star”

Gemenids

This year’s Gemenid Meteor Shower did not disappoint. Featuring a projected 103 meteors per hour, there were a few really spectacularly long, bright streaks across the Milky Way. Unfortunately, I was not able to capture those because of timing or camera orientation, but here are a few that did come across my lens on aContinue reading “Gemenids”

The Perseid Meteor Shower

The Perseid meteor shower peaks in the early-morning hours. This is the finest meteor shower of the year for northern stargazers, with 40-60 meteors per hour visible at the peak in the hours before dawn on August 13. Once called the Tears of St. Lawrence, this meteor shower occurs as the Earth moves through aContinue reading “The Perseid Meteor Shower”

August in the Desert

At summer’s midpoint, it seems appropriate to post a couple of images representative of the environment of the Big Bend region of Texas at this time of year. First, an iconic critter with a badly maligned nickname of “horny toad.” Another name for his animal, taken from the 1887 yearbook of Texas Christian University andContinue reading “August in the Desert”

Comet Neowise Has Returned

After making its debut in the morning sky, as noted in my previous post, Comet Neowise disappeared for a couple of days, only to reappear in the evening sky, now in the northwest, if you’re in the northern hemisphere. Here are a few images taken Saturday night around 10:30, looking northwest from Marathon, TX, overContinue reading “Comet Neowise Has Returned”

Comet Neowise

Comet Neowise is paying us a visit. If you’re up before sunrise (about 6-6:30 a.m.) and look to the northeast, just above the horizon, you just might be able to see a real rare treat…a comet. Information about comet Neowise can be found at this link: https://earthsky.org/space/how-to-see-comet-c2020-f3-neowise. Here are a few pics I took thisContinue reading “Comet Neowise”