Associate professor of astronomy at Palomar College, user of smart telescopes. 🔭 Blog: http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/
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Can we bring back chonker-level sunspots like we had in October 2003, please (maybe without the extreme geomagnetic storming)? Look how big these groups are... makes anything we've seen recently look like little peppercorns. Big sunspots like these are so beautiful in a unique way.
It’s a good book!
😂
Looks good!
It’s great to see you here!
It looks great!
FREE STAR PARTY! Sat Sep 27 Sunset–1AM at Mount Wilson Observatory with LAAS telescopes - see Saturn, Neptune, Uranus + galaxies, nebulae & star clusters. Free (donations welcome). ℹ️ mtwilson.edu/star-parties
Yes to both.
🌔 Every day, Earth is bombarded by tiny asteroids, most too small to even be detected. But what if we could study those impacting the Moon? ESA's NELIOTA-III #HorizonEurope project closely monitors Moon impact flashes and just released its first observations. www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
It is an amazing book!
Yeah, I am going to enjoy reading this!
Look at this beauty that came in the mail today. Big thanks to @trekcore.com and @titanbooks.bsky.social for running the giveaway for this wonderful looking book! I can’t believe I won. 🖖 #booksky
The Fall/Autumnal Equinox is TODAY at 2:19 PM EDT. That's the time at which our Sun is directly over the Earth's equator, signaling the start of Northern Hemisphere astronomical fall. The Earth’s northern hemisphere will continue to tilt further from the sun through the Winter Solstice on Dec 21.
I agree!
Looks good!
A landscape orientation view of the redwoods - although you don't get the sense of height, I think I prefer this. Trees are so lovely :) #Berko #LocalPhotography #CanonR6II
Excellent!
It is. 🪐
Not the best of images but last night I did manage to catch the shadow of Titan on Saturn’s cloud tops. 🔭
I love it when they are so close that you can see them move.
Wow, that was flying!!
That is cool!
Wonderful shot!
That’s wonderful.
Wonderful.
🤣
Sweet. I saw STS-2 land at Edwards that fall. We drove from Flagstaff to see it.
When the new exhibit of Endeavour opens in LA it will be vertical with the external tank and the SRBs stacked for launch. It will be well worth your visit.
Super!! I have also been to KSC to see Atlantis. The display there is so moving.
Touching history.
Thanks! 🖖
Indeed! I was so happy to commune with it when I got to visit it in person.
13 years ago today I got to see Space Shuttle Endeavour flying over Tucson, AZ on its way to its new home in L.A. A few years later I got to visit it in person at the California Science Center.
🚨 Possible brightening in comet 3I/ATLAS! Observers report an uptick since Sept 17 (UTC). Our @Unistellar data shows 2 points brighter than predicted—promising but sparse. As 3I nears the Sun it’s getting tougher to spot, so more observations in the next few nights are key! #exocomet
Happy anniversary!
Napping in the car??
I just got my COVID booster and my flu shot. 💪
[Huey Long voice]
You can do it!
The next day we were on a boat to watch lava go into the ocean (a month later a similar tour had a problem with lava exploding in the water!). It was equally spectacular and I got amazingly seasick. 🤮
In 2018 my wife and I flew from California to view the Fissure 8 eruption. We did a helicopter ride where I took these pics. It was the most amazing experience. I can't imagine the spectacle of seeing these lava fountains from the ground. It would be totally worth it.
The colors of sunrise nicely complement the volcanic action right now at Kīlauea. 🌋
Excellent!
or even here: www.youtube.com/live/fiyttmA...
or here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqmp...
Fountaining at Kīlauea is happening now. Watch it here: www.youtube.com/live/tk0tfYD...
This is the kind of news I need these days. www.npr.org/2025/09/19/n...
From NASA: Check out the view from up here! As the Curiosity rover continues to climb the flanks of Mt. Sharp, it has captured an extraordinarily clear panorama of Gale Crater's rim...and even the lands beyond. Details: photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA2...
Can Japan's #Hayabusa2 touchdown on asteroid 1998 KY26? A new study that includes VLT observations reveals the mission’s target asteroid to be three times smaller and much faster than previously thought. Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2515/ 🔭 🧪
It's off the charts!
Nice lava action at Kīlauea right now. Lava fountaining my start later today. www.youtube.com/live/tk0tfYD...
New books in the post by @scalzi.com and @rweingarten.bsky.social One is for fun and one for the times we live in. #booksky
‘got’ = ‘got’
Over night gor the 1st time in months we had measurable rain which means that this morning the snails are out. 🐌
It's a great song!
PowerPoint's AI Text is whacked. Here's how it captioned a graph I added: "A graph showing the number of the number of the number of the number of the number of the number of the number of the number of the number of the number of the number of the number of AI-generated content may be incorrect."
Jupiter with a 2x tele-extender (left) and 4x extender on the right. I thought 2X would be a clear winner for detail, but I'm torn. I'm also happy because I lucked out and caught the great red spot. #Astronomy #Astrophotography
I agree. It was wonderful.
Ever wonder what happened to that $100 million interstellar spaceship program? Me too. www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
Lately, photographer Ragnar Visage started sharing video footage of past Iceland eruptions and I feel like no one sees it. Check out this video and his channel. So mesmerizing! ⚒️🧪 #Geology 🌋 youtu.be/aSOdrS2R3jA?...
Thanks!
Yeah, unfortunately all of you-know-who's advisors have read that playbook and are following it quite closely.
From last night here's Barnard’s Galaxy (NGC 6822), a dwarf irregular galaxy in the Local Group located 1.6 million light years away. 🔭
Tomorrow, newly-discovered #asteroid 2025 RJ2 will miss the Moon by 13,000 km. Shortly before close approach, it will pass through the Moon's shadow.
It’s almost like it’s floating in space.
Another gorgeous view of the @eso.org's Extremely Large Telescope under construction in Chile. It's expected to begin scientific operations in 2030. 🧪🔭 www.eso.org/public/image...
Know what creates empathy? Books. Reading about people unlike ourselves and experiences we'll never have. Which is why some people want to remove those books and discourage reading. Kids and adults should read widely. Most spend their spare time online, which is where indoctrination often begins.
I saw somebody that caught it in Colorado but I think that I am too far south.
Thanks!
Nice!
Very sad.
Current status: imaging Barnard’s Galaxy (NGC 6822), a dwarf galaxy in the Local Group located 1.6 million light years away.
Cassini's final full view of Saturn 🪐 a mosaic comprising 11 color-composites captured by the spacecraft in visible light filters on September 13, 2017. The following day it dove into Saturn's atmosphere, ending its mission after 13 years in orbit.
You are most welcome & I am happy to see you here on Bluesky!
Available now!
👏
I just finished reading John Williams: A Composer’s Life by Tim Greiving and it was an absolutely wonderful biography of the greatest composer of film music. #booksky
A few selected images of Mars processed from a new batch of data from the EXI camera aboard the Hope probe. The dates and times of the images and some details are in the ALT text.
#Emirates #Mars Mission 🌈 مسبار الأمل 2025-02-05 #Mars #Phobos Spacecraft altitude: 21526km #EXI 635 546 437 filter Mode xos1 sdc.emiratesmarsmission.ae UAESA/Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre/j.Roger
The relationship between the people of Hawaiʻi and astronomy on Maunakea has been complex. I have witnessed both missteps and sincere efforts to be respectful and find common ground. Hopefully this is a welcome development. 🧪🔭
Zowie!! 👀 ⚡
Waning gibbous 77.5% on Friday morning at 5.24 AM (UTC+7).
One third of Americas energy needs! Thats how much demand could be met by waves along America’s coasts. 🌊⚡ LA just launched the nation’s first wave-energy pilot. The floating Eco Wave system, still in pilot stage, offers a renewable source that is constant, unlike wind or solar. @apnews.com
They will all be maybes until we have samples in labs.
No, they are planting them on Palomar Mountain, just north of San Diego. The first ones were planted there nearly a century ago.
Congrats. ☕️
The Sequoia is native to California. We even have Sequoia National Park.
The coming months promise to be a treat for skywatchers. Whether you’re in the northern or southern hemisphere, the night sky will feature a parade of comets—each with its own story and best window of visibility. www.seti.org/news/an-autu...
A.
This is wonderful. youtu.be/V7U6gAnVrMg?...
This is awesome. 🐾
#Makemake A Southwest Research Institute-led team has reported the first detection of gas on the distant dwarf planet Makemake, using JWST. This discovery makes Makemake only the 2nd trans-Neptunian object, after Pluto, where the presence of gas is confirmed. The gas was identified as methane. 🧪🔭
That's certainly true. I may have to make the trip sometime.
I miss fall, the best season. It's not much of a thing here in Southern California.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Here's the story and image from JPL last year about the "leopard spot" rocks found by the Perseverance rover: www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-p...
www.npr.org/sections/goa...
Exactly!