| Aurora ~ Though our understanding of these phenomena is still evolving, the aurora borealis of higher northern latitudes and aurora australis in the Southern Hemisphere, are spectacular natural light shows resulting from disturbances in the Earth’s magnetosphere, being created by the solar wind. Most commonly green: they can also appear red, yellow, blue, pink and purple… |
| Aurora Capital Of The World ~ Yellowknife is the capital and only city of Canada’s Northwest Territories (NWT). It has a population of 19,569 and tourism is the largest renewable industry. An attraction is the aurora borealis, with 240 nights of potential viewing every year. Plus, the semi-arid subarctic climate means clearer weather. There is little light pollution and vistas are vast… |
| Aurora Galleries ~ I have never seen an aurora, but keep telling myself
that along with the midnight sun, it is something of my duty to
witness one of these for myself. The pictures in the
Spaceweather.com aurora gallery are simply stunning, and while many now
enter the serious aurora season, new pictures are being submitted thick
and fast. |
| Auroras In The UK ~ The aurora borealis or Northern Lights, primarily occur between the latitudes of 66-69°N; or roughly from the Arctic Circle to 169 miles due north. So consider the Shetland Islands that reach almost 61°N or even mainland Scotland, that comes close to 59°N. You may rarely strike lucky in southern England: but stand a far better chance, the further north you go. |
| AuroraMAX ~ Astrologers wax interminably, about planets they couldn’t point out to you. Meanwhile, auroras: a spectacular celestial phenomenon, entirely escape their attention. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) keeps an eye on the sky, every night from mid-August to May. Watch live or pick a random date, condensed into five minutes. Obviously insignificant; surely you agree? |
| AuroraWatch UK ~ For the academically inclined, eager to witness the Northern Lights from the UK, this offering courtesy of Lancaster University remains a first port of call. Alerts range over green to red: meaning no obvious activity, through to the entire UK on high alert. Fans can sign up for the Twitter feed; get a sense of this mission on Flickr or grab an app for their mobile device. |
| BAA Comet Section ~ No, nothing to do with stargazing sheep, but this will be my last recommendation on the subject of comet watching for a short while at least, I promise you. The British Astronomical Association maintains details of currently observable comets from the UK in particular, but is still a useful source of reference from those based elsewhere. |
| Bayer Designation ~ Once your fascination for astrology goes beyond the written word, it won’t be long before you have to face the stellar fiduciary in person. The Bayer designation is one way of pinpointing each star in its own constellation directly. This assigns the brightest, to letters of the Greek alphabet. Latin variants ensue, though obviously you’d never have imagined otherwise. |
| Black Hole Encyclopedia ~ A great contribution from StarDate Online, the educational outreach arm of the University of Texas McDonald Observatory. The directory of known black holes is especially fascinating, with a catalogue of those ranging from roughly the size of a city, through to supermassive offerings that are larger than our entire solar system… |
| Blood Moon Eclipse On April 15 ~ How come eclipses visible from the USA, seem to attract that much more media attention? Is it because the US owns the Internet or because subjectively, there seem to have been fewer eclipses of the lunar or solar variety you could see from North America during recent years? This event hits the sign of Libra and counts in lots of ways… |
| Brightest Stars ~ Here is a list of the brightest stars, out of the 5000 or so visible to the naked eye, depending on your location and eyesight. Click on the link under Proper Name, to find out everything conceivable about each star, from an astronomical perspective anyway. Remember too the stars that look brightest, are probably really planets… |
| British Astronomical Association ~ Since 1890, the BAA has been a champion of amateur astronomers in the UK. It encourages a practical and hands-on approach to celestial observation, that can be accessed by anyone interested in the universe at large. The regularly updated notes on what to look for in the night sky, are a comprehensive and valuable source of reference. |
| C/2012 S1 ~ C/2012 S1, also known as Comet ISON after the organisation whose telescope spotted it, will soon become visible if the astronomers are correct. There is much speculation across the Web about this comet’s arrival, plus a bunch of highly technical data that has now been superseded. This Wikipedia entry presents the known facts in an easily digestible manner… |
| Callisto ~ Callisto is Jupiter’s second largest moon. It is one of just four in the Solar System with a diameter greater than our own satellite: three of these are Jovian, while another belongs to Saturn. A discovery of Galileo in 1610 and bypassed by astrologers, Callisto is of scientific interest. There may even be life, in a subsurface ocean reflecting the icy seas of Antarctica. |
| Cassini Solstice Mission ~ Beginning life as Cassini–Huygens, Huygens was a Titan probe that detached from the planetary orbiter Cassini in 2004. This mission was originally launched in 1997, but has been further extended through 2017, to continue studying the structure and dynamics of Saturn, its ring system and 62 moons that have so far been discovered. |
| Celestial Observer ~ Otherwise known as CalSky, when it comes to astronomical observing this site is hard to parallel. To get some idea of its scope try following the Calendar link, then enter your location, level of experience, the stars, planets, lunar phenomena and other criteria that you’re after, choose a time frame and hit calculate. Stunning… |
