The first event I remember was an annular solar eclipse in 1984. It was May 30, and Josh, Jon and I went out to the old airport in Greensboro to see it. Of course we cautioned the older children like Josh, age 7 not to look at the sun except through special lenses on the telescopes. Jon was a baby and I just positioned his stroller facing away from the eclipse. Since it was an annular eclipse we didn't see the 'diamond ring' or Bailey's beads, but it was spectacular anyway.
Solar eclipse May 30, 1984
Solar Eclipse Greensboro NC
Next was the Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997. This comet was unique because it was visible for quite a long time and was easily visible with naked eye observing. It wasn't just a fuzzy ball in the sky, you could actually see the tail. It really did look like this picture.
Comet Hale-Bopp
Even more rare than a solar eclipse is the transit of Venus. In 2004 I went to Atlanta to the Fernbank Museum to see the transit of Venus. It was actually an image that was transmitted from Europe and projected on the dome of the planetarium of the museum. The image was enormous and we didn't even have to wear protective lenses! Astronomers use the event to calculate the distance to the sun by taking 5 readings as the planet Venus moves across the face of the sun. We had to get up way before dawn to drive into Atlanta to see it. Afterwards they did give us a pair of the special dark glasses that were labeled 'Safe for Solar Viewing'. In 2004, no one alive had seen a transit of Venus. The next one after this was in 2012 and the next one will be December 12, 2017. Mark your calendar and don't miss this event!
Transit of Venus
Last summer Don and I traveled to the south west visiting Arizona and New Mexico as well as Colorado. While at the eastern end of the Grand Canyon on the South Rim we found a park service volunteer who had a telescope set up to observe the sun. We saw some amazing images of the sun, solar prominences, and sun spots. I couldn't take any pictures of this with my camera but here is a picture from Google that shows sunspots like those we saw.
Lunar eclipses are more frequent and we have had several on clear nights. The next one is in soon, April 14-15, 2014. You'll have to set your clock to get up at 3:30 am, get that cup of coffee and be ready for the 3:46 am event on the morning of April 15th!
For Lunar Eclipses, no special lenses are needed, not even a telescope. Just go outside, hope for a clear night, and wait for the action. The links below have more information.
Total Lunar Eclipse in April 2014
Solar and Lunar Eclipses
Seeing the sky in a location with really dark skies is really spectacular. Last summer we visited the Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado. For the first time on our trip, on August 29, 2013, we had clear skies. At midnight I went outside and was treated to an incredible view of the Milky Way, unlike I had ever seen it in North Carolina. At about 4:30am I went back outside and saw all of the winter constellations, Orion, Canis Major, Auriga, Taurus and the Pleiades, rising in the east.
When it is really dark, you can see lots more stars and the Milky Way is much more spectacular.
Right now there is lots to see in the night sky. Orion is one of my favorites.
Orion
The chart below shows the relative sizes of planets, our sun and other stars. Follow the pictures beginning from 1 - 6 to see the relative sizes of these bodies.
Below is a diagram with Orion's stars named.
Obviously I get a little carried away with all of this. If you have a desire to learn more, go to the Three College Observatory for a public viewing night. There is no cost, but you do need to contact the astronomy department at UNC-G for a reservation. There is a calendar of public observing nights on their webpage.
Keep looking up...you never know what you might see!
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