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This is the Classical Astronomy Update, an email newsletter especially
for Christian homeschool families (though everyone is welcome!)
Please feel free to share this with any interested friends.
IN THIS UPDATE:
I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins
also instruct me in the night seasons. - Psalm 16:7
Welcome to the Classical Astronomy Update!
Hello Friends,
Hope you all had a very blessed and enjoyable Christmas with your families. Things were pretty nice around here, and I was able to relax on Christmas, which has not happened for many years. We also hope that many of you were able to see last week's total eclipse of the Moon. Many people around the country were reporting clouds, even from warm locales in the south and the west. It's a shame since this is the last total lunar eclipse visible from North America until 2014.
However, coming this decade will bring a long awaited event -- the first total eclipse of the Sun over the USA since 1971. In April, 2017, the Moon's shadow will draw a path over the eastern US. This will be a HUGE event as the time approaches. The last total solar eclipse in '71 was memorialized in the Carly Simon song, "You're So Vain." Since that time, the Sun has not been obscured for Americans. We look forward to keeping you informed as the time approaches!
Thanks to everyone who joined the Classical Astronomy page on Facebook! In case you missed it last time, here's that link again. Please click the "like" button to stay informed of upcoming sky events, and be sure to tell all your friends!
Also, feel free to "friend" me on Facebook:
Dance of the Planets
Eclipse Photos
As mentioned in the last newsletter, we asked everyone to share with us any photos taken of the eclipse. We got a few replies, though the response was not as great as with eclipses of years past. Many thanks to everyone who sent in their pics.
Lynn Cook from Facebook shared a series of pictures showing the ingress of the Earth's shadow upon the Moon, when the Moon was in stages of partial eclipse. Don't let the color fool you, this past eclipse was NOT during a Blue Moon! Here's a link to Lynn's FB folder, Lunar Eclipse 2010.
Roni Satnic from Ohio sent some very nice pics of the eclipse. Roni uses a Nikon D40 with a 300mm zoom lens. Roni had a very nice view of the show, which is remarkable because her family lives only about 10 miles from ours and we were mostly clouded out. Since it was her first eclipse, I'm happy that Roni had a nice view and was able to capture such nice images to share with us.
Roni sent in a number of pics, and she composed them all into this very nice progression which shows the stages of the eclipse. This cramped little view in the newsletter doesn't do her photography any justice, so click here to see the full progression.
This very nice image was part of a series shared by Wescott Pusey from Facebook. This is a very nice shot of the eclipse during totality, when the rosy glow of the Sun's rays, filtered through the Earth's atmosphere, shines on the Moon's face during the eclipse. Looks like the Moon was behind a tree branch when this pic was snapped. Click here to see the rest of this family's eclipse shots on Facebook.
Here's a short progression that I snapped with my cheap-o little camera that we got on sale from Best Buy. Thin clouds were passing over the Moon, and I'm just grateful to have seen anything at all.
That's it, folks! Those are all the shots that the readers shared, so we hope that tides you over til 2014! Hope you all have a happy and blessed new year in 2011.
Coming in future Classical Astronomy Updates:
- Not sure right now what's coming up in 2011, but we'll look ahead and let everyone know!
Til next time, God bless and clear skies!
-jay
The Ryan Family
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and
the stars, which thou hast ordained, what is man that thou art
mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
- Psalm 8:3,4, a Psalm of David
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