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This Week's Amazing Sky
June 26, 2019
View a total solar eclipse LIVE from South America this July 2, 2019. Bob Berman is traveling to observatories in Chile to report on the eclipse. But you don’t have to live on the path of totality to watch what Bob calls the greatest celestial spectacle! Tune in Tuesday afternoon for live coverage. Learn more!
The Greatest Spectacle
Ever since 1974, I…
June 24, 2019
You can seriously damage your eyes by watching a solar eclipse without proper protection (NOT sunglasses!). Here is information on how to watch an eclipse safely and what kind of eye protection you need—from eclipse glasses to welder’s googles.
First, if you are watching a “total solar eclipse,” do you realize that you can only see totality from a very limited area—the…
June 24, 2019
Both total solar eclipses AND partial solar eclipses require specialized eye protection. I’ve already written about eye safety, but it never hurts to provide more precaution.
More people will see a partial solar eclipse as it’s rare to be on the path of totality. However, it is never safe to look at a partial eclipse, or the partial phases of a total solar eclipse,…
May 14, 2019
The Full Flower Moon arrives this Saturday night, May 18. And while this one will be a very special full moon for a few reasons, which we’ll get to in a minute, it’s also an unusual Blue Moon. What does this all mean? Here’s everything you need to know.
A Seasonal Blue Moon
This year, May’s full moon—which the Almanac calls the “Full Flower Moon”—is also a “…
March 23, 2019
Few seem to realize that the Sun in April is as strong as it is in August, especially once we hit the middle of the month. Solar fear and confusion still abound. The marketing of ultrablocking sunscreens and special sun-protective clothing plays into these fears. I certainly got repeatedly surprised when I researched the Sun’s health effects.
Sunlight Lifts Your Mood…
March 21, 2019
The Big Dipper is an old friend to most of us. Poetically, it is spring itself, the season of renewal. Just go outside in early evening, and you’ll see stars shaped in a dipper pattern high in the northeastern sky.
Looming large in the night sky, the Big Dipper’s shape is mutating and will appear different in just a few thousand years, but it hasn’t changed a bit since we…
January 17, 2019
On Sunday evening, January 20, we’ll see the finest total eclipse of 2019, visible from all of North America. How long will the eclipse last? When is the eclipse visible? Here are the times for watching the eclipse on Sunday—and how it will all unfold. This event is definitely worth observing. Kids particularly love lunar eclipses, and remember them vividly their whole…
December 16, 2018
Let’s do something different, and mix sky-stuff with weird science! Ready? Here are seven strange science facts—about everything under the Sun from rainbows to our reflection in mirrors!
Number 1. A rainbow has no independent reality. Sunlight and raindrops are not enough to create one. An observer is necessary for its existence, by standing exactly where the 42-degree refraction…
December 16, 2018
Twilight. The word evokes gorgeous colors. But what exactly is twilight? And did you know that there are three types? The Old Farmer’s Almanac now has a calculator that will tell you when twilight begins and ends for your location. Get ready for adventures in the Twilight Zone.
That famous TV show would not have been a hit on Pluto. In fact, creatures on any known planet…
November 30, 2018
Mars is brilliant at dinnertime. In mid-autumn, Mars is one of the sky’s brightest objects between 6:00 and 8:00 PM. Simply look left of where the sun sets for that brilliant orange “star.” You can’t miss it. We keep sending landers there, and interest in Martian colonies remains high—but why?
True, Mars’ super-close visit happened four months ago, in late July, and,…
October 31, 2018
As you may have heard, China announced that their artificial Moon will be launched in 2020. No more night! Yes, they’re abolishing full darkness. It’s a bad idea but not a new one.
The idea is an enormous 80 foot mirror placed into a geosynchronous orbit where it will remain glued to the same spot in the sky. From its altitude of 22,300 miles it will focus sunlight…
October 23, 2018
The Sun is setting earlier and earlier: It’s really dark. The leaves are dropping quickly now, so barren branches now tremble in the wind. And yes, even that wind is generally stronger during the cold months.
Gather round the campfire. It’s the perfect time to tell blood curdling tales of the sky’s sinister side. Ramping up the scare-factor is that backyard sky-…