Overhead orbital oblectation...

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Tonight there will be a partial lunar eclipse "of a Lifetime!" ...in fact of many lifetimes! It will be the "longest partial eclipse of the Moon since the 15th century, and there won't be one this long until February 8, 2669"...only once in more than a millennium. This is an eclipse of the Micro Full Beaver Moon* and "will look like an 'almost' total lunar eclipse": unfortunately only "for those in North and South America, Australia, and parts of Asia." although judging by the eclipse map we may just get a peek in the UK if the skies are clear. 

You can watch it LIVE with timeanddate.com HERE. 

* that isn't a porno film, it's what the full moon in November is called.

Overhead orbital oblectation...

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Tonight there will be a partial lunar eclipse "of a Lifetime!" ...in fact of many lifetimes! It will be the "longest partial eclipse of the Moon since the 15th century, and there won't be one this long until February 8, 2669"...only once in more than a millennium. This is an eclipse of the Micro Full Beaver Moon* and "will look like an 'almost' total lunar eclipse": unfortunately only "for those in North and South America, Australia, and parts of Asia." although judging by the eclipse map we may just get a peek in the UK if the skies are clear. 

You can watch it LIVE with timeanddate.com HERE. 

* that isn't a porno film, it's what the full moon in November is called.

Otoño o Ostara...

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Google has this doodle today which I though was a bit odd...'Primer dia de otoño' (First day of Autumn) until I remembered I was in the southern hemisphere...d'oh. Ostara back home and if you're a bit of a pagan: "The spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere falls on Friday March 20 this year, marking the time when the sun passes over the celestial equator. Wiccans and other neopagans observe the day as Ostara, a festival that celebrates the season's change from dark winter to brightening spring." [HuffPo] Of course yesterday for many also saw a supermoon and a solar eclipse! [EarthSky] ooooo.

Otoño o Ostara...

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Google has this doodle today which I though was a bit odd...'Primer dia de otoño' (First day of Autumn) until I remembered I was in the southern hemisphere...d'oh. Ostara back home and if you're a bit of a pagan: "The spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere falls on Friday March 20 this year, marking the time when the sun passes over the celestial equator. Wiccans and other neopagans observe the day as Ostara, a festival that celebrates the season's change from dark winter to brightening spring." [HuffPo] Of course yesterday for many also saw a supermoon and a solar eclipse! [EarthSky] ooooo.

Ows obambulation: orrery, odometers and origami...

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You may have noticed but this month is "is about as good as it gets for planet watching!" [EarthSky]. You've probably noticed the two most obvious: Venus and Jupiter that are bright - in the west - for nearly four hours after sunset. A very slight "alignment" but nothing like the planetary alignment that people say (they're totally wrong) will accompany the 2012 Doomsday Scare later this year when the Mayan calendar 'runs out' (on December 21st 2012 it will display the equivalent of a string of zeros, like an odometer clicking over from 999,999). Anyway, obambulation - a word I love and have used many time here - means 'wandering' and I'm all over the place here: a model of planetary alignment is called an orrery and I made one as a child from paper, it was a mess; today the Google Doodle was celebrating what would have been the 101st birthday of Akira Yoshizawa, probably the most famous origami master: an "Origami artist of stunning originality who became an ambassador for Japanese culture and his art", follow this link for the story of when he got his biggest break: Link: pdf.

Ows obambulation: orrery, odometers and origami...

---

You may have noticed but this month is "is about as good as it gets for planet watching!" [EarthSky]. You've probably noticed the two most obvious: Venus and Jupiter that are bright - in the west - for nearly four hours after sunset. A very slight "alignment" but nothing like the planetary alignment that people say (they're totally wrong) will accompany the 2012 Doomsday Scare later this year when the Mayan calendar 'runs out' (on December 21st 2012 it will display the equivalent of a string of zeros, like an odometer clicking over from 999,999). Anyway, obambulation - a word I love and have used many time here - means 'wandering' and I'm all over the place here: a model of planetary alignment is called an orrery and I made one as a child from paper, it was a mess; today the Google Doodle was celebrating what would have been the 101st birthday of Akira Yoshizawa, probably the most famous origami master: an "Origami artist of stunning originality who became an ambassador for Japanese culture and his art", follow this link for the story of when he got his biggest break: Link: pdf.