Tag: Skywatching
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Total lunar eclipse will turn the full moon red — but will the skies be clear enough to see it?
A photo sequence shows the total lunar eclipse of March 14, 2025. (Sky & Telescope Photo / Edwin L. Aguirre and Imelda B. Joson). Tonight’s full moon will turn into a red moon during the last total lunar eclipse we’ll be able to see for the next two years — but whether we’ll truly be…
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A tale of three eclipse chasers: Despite technological gains, nature calls the shots
A diamond-ring effect is visible just moments before the beginning of a total solar eclipse, as seen from Cossatot River State Park in Arkansas. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota) NASHVILLE, Ind. — There’s nothing like a total solar eclipse to remind you of the unstoppability of nature — and the tenuousness of technology. Not that…
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Your (nearly) last-minute guide to getting the maximum out of the total solar eclipse
Eclipse watchers at Kerry Park in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood in 2017. (GeekWire File Photo / Kurt Schlosser) It’s prime time for eclipse-chasers: A total solar eclipse will trace a line from coast to coast on Monday, and the anticipation is at its peak. So are the travel costs. Hard-core eclipse fans made their travel…
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Fireball lights up the skies over Seattle
Corey Clarke’s webcam captured the flash of a meteor. (Courtesy of Corey Clarke via Twitter) It’s cool to see a fireball — but even cooler to capture it on video. At least that’s the way Seattle engineer/photographer Corey Clarke sees it. Clarke’s webcam happened to be pointing in the right direction to record the fireball’s…
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From Artemis to Webb, take a look back — and a look ahead — at the year’s top trends in aerospace
An image of the galaxy NGC 7469 in the midst of star formation serves as this season’s “holiday card” from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. (ESA / Webb, NASA & CSA / L. Armus, A.S. Evans) A few years from now, we just might look back at 2022 as Year One for a new age…
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Total lunar eclipse could be tricky to watch in the sky — but it’s sure to shine online
This graphic shows the phases of the Nov. 8 total lunar eclipse in Pacific Time. (NASA / GSFC SVS) If you’re on the West Coast, watching tonight’s total lunar eclipse will require a willingness to stay awake in the middle of the night — plus a lucky break on the weather. But maybe it’s worth…
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How to maximize your chances of seeing the Supermoon total lunar eclipse
Surrounded by stars, the eclipsed moon turns red over Mount Baker in 2019. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota) The only total lunar eclipse of 2021 will also be one of the shortest total lunar eclipses in recent years, lasting just less than 15 minutes. And it’s not exactly the easiest one to see in the…
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Expert skywatchers quickly solve Pacific Northwest’s meteor mystery
The breakup of a SpaceX rocket stage sparks a light show over Seattle. (Cedric Padilla Photo) Was it a meteor? A broken-up satellite? Maybe a UFO? Leave it to an astronomer to identify what caused the light show that was visible over a wide stretch of the Pacific Northwest around 9 p.m. PT tonight. Jonathan…
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NASA says much-anticipated meteor outburst could be a bust for the West Coast
This NASA chart gauges how many meteors are likely to be seen emanating from the Alpha Monocerotid radiant on Thursday night. Blue is good, red is not so good, and white means the radiant won’t be above the horizon during the expected peak of the meteor shower. (NASA Graphic) Skywatchers say parts of the world…
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Watch Mercury move across the sun online — or in the sky, if you’re lucky and careful
A multiple-exposure image from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory shows Mercury’s track across the sun’s disk in 2016. (NASA / GSFC / SDO Image / Genna Duberstein) The planets will be aligned on Monday for a rare astronomical event known as the transit of Mercury, and skywatching fans are sure to see it even if the…