A massive meteor which lit up the night sky above Johannesburg and Pretoria on Saturday 21st November has been captured on CCTV camera and the footage is spectacular. There was an earlier video, but its not nearly as good as this one.

Reminds me of the day i was born. (true story)

The clip was posted on Youtube two days ago and has already racked up 100 000 views.

Its only 13 seconds long so watch it.

Its worth it.

Im surprised it didn’t happen in Cape Town ( just kidding Joburg..you know i love you guys, but lets be honest… if this happened over Table Mountain it woulda been insane hey).

Good times

Ah yes, Cebu.

I know our affair has been very short, but it was wonderful. I will come back to you and explore you more.

Two nights ago at five o’clock at night, I was standing outside looking up into the nearly dark sky. A faint line of light trailed along the horizon. Hazy lavender touched the earth and a line of pink topped it off. That mix of colors and mist slipped upward into the dark night sky.

As I faced the west, the waxing crescent moon was to my right with planet Jupiter sitting brightly on its left.

The air was cooler, close to freezing cold. My hands and nose were cold. I could see my breath as I stood in the deepening darkness. I looked up into the trees; the branches took on a silvery cast.

I called to Uriah. His hackles were raised and he was barking towards the path. I called him back, time to head into the house.

 Two hours later, I was back outside. I had to keep telling the dog to stay close. I could hear the coyotes they sounded like they were to the east and south of us. They were coming closer.

Why is it, when you want a dog to do his business instead he decides to sniff around and waste time.  I was getting nervous.   Different sounds were coming out of the darkness. Sticks snapping, a faint growl, the dried grass was rustling as if something were walking through.

I did not want an altercation between a younger animal and Uriah. He is eleven and a half, just because he thinks he’s big stuff, doesn’t make it true.  

Uriah watched me, and then turned to the trees. I had him walk with me towards the front of the house. I kept talking, he continued to growl, and mutter. He sounded a lot like my grandfather; complaining about noise, kids, and pigeons.

It was dark, and a foggy haze settled in around the trees. The air felt electrically charged. I’ve lived out here long enough to pay attention to my inner warning system. We headed to the house.  Uriah came inside,… reluctantly.

I had just enough time to wash my hands and sit down at the computer. When my old cat PJ, sat up from a sound sleep and hid in the hall closet.

When I first moved out here, fourteen years ago, PJ was chased by a coyote.  PJ outran the coyote. My closest neighbor at that time said, “They never saw a cat run so fast.”  I hadn’t realized that a coyote can reach speeds up to 43 mph. That had happened in the middle of a day with bright sunshine.

I cracked open the window and shut it right away. There was a pack of coyotes in my yard. No more than twenty feet from the window I opened. The high pitch ‘yapping’ and ‘yipping’ flowed into the room. One of the animals howled, his was a deeper sound. Not the high pitch ‘yip’ I normally heard.

I wasn’t afraid of them. I respect them enough to say out of their way. But I did open a window upstairs and tell them to leave. Of course they didn’t listen. My voice is too shrill, I had to deepen it, and then tell them to leave. Finally they stopped making noise and left.  That silence lasted until ten o’clock, after that they returned every hour – all- night- long.

Last night was quiet. The rain and fog moved in blocking the moon, Jupiter should be on the right side of the first quarter moon tonight.

So far nothing is moving out there tonight.

That not true!  I can hear that irritating rat, shuffling around the dog kennel…

Picture from Hubble site.org

http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/entire/pr2006019c/

Of all the wonderful things NYC can boast, a beautiful night sky is not one of them.  I’ve always liked astronomy.  I can’t explain why, I just do.  Every night when I closed at the theater and didn’t leave work until 1 or 2 am, I would take a few moments to gaze up at the stars; tracing familiar constellations and looking for elusive planets.  If I was lucky, I might even see a satellite.  The skies in Illinois definitely weren’t as clear as the picture above, but you could see a decent amount of stars from anywhere, and if you got the urge and drove out beyond city limits, you could even see the milky way.

In NYC, however, you’re lucky to see anything at all.  I was walking through the City this evening, and as I looked up at the sky–which had been completely clear that afternoon–all I could see was a purplish-black color and the distant light of the quarter moon.  When I got to Queens I was able to pick out a couple stars, but the rest were still blocked out by the light pollution that plagues this City.  It’s quite sad actually, that you can’t have the best of two worlds.  Either you have a huge entertaining City that’s completely lit up at night, blocking out nature’s little night lights, or you have a smallish city that embraces the wonders of nature instead of constantly trying to change and out do it.  Sigh.

 

Stellar Pirouette

Originally uploaded by stonewall072

A blank slate for a few days here is indicative of the late nights I’ve been having. I’ve been consistently finding myself out and about at 2 a.m. for the past four days or so, and when I finally settle in the last thing I’m able to to do is write up something witty or interesting for this project.

Grumble grumble.

Anyways, I’m rather proud of the image featured today. It’s the culmination of a week plus of obsessing and practice shots after I purchased a tripod and rigged a universal remote to trigger my camera’s shutter.

The image was taken just prior to the peak hours of the Leonids meteor shower Monday evening on top of Buck Bald, a hill top located right at the Monroe-Polk-North Carolina corner in Tennessee. The bald provides a fantastic clear 360 degree view of the night sky away from light sources (though the light domes from Chattanooga and Knoxville shine brightly on the horizon, which is what gave the image the warm orange-brown glow).

Though a simple camera function, I still think it’s one of the neatest photos I’ve ever taken and I certainly plan to do more.

Keep watching my Flickr photostream for updates, I plan on adding more to the “Traces” project later today.

This Monday 16 of November at about 7pm I was outside stargazing with my laser in hand. I had not been out very long when I spotted an alleged satellite moving south to north. A moment later I realized that there was another satellite about a centimeter or two at arms length behind the first, following it at the same speed. These 2 objects traveled for some distance across the sky before fading out.

About 5 minutes later I had to rub my eyes as I thought I was seeing things, but as I looked carefully I noticed that now moving from north to south was 2 more objects, identical to the first 2, one following the other moving across the sky. I have been an amateur astronomer since I was 10 years old and as such I have an extensive knowledge of the night sky.  Given the nature of these objects I do not believe them to be satellites. The chances of seeing two satellites following one-another, in opposite directions within 5 minutes are very slim indeed.

Once I had spotted the objects the second time I decided to signal the leading object with a single quick flash from my laser. To my astonishment and joy the object flashed back a single time a bright orange colour and quickly faded back to it’s original brightness, the objects then faded from view.

I also utilize the Heavens Above website so that I know exactly when and where Iridium flares will occur so that I can rule them out.

I believe these objects to be Exoatmospheric Extraterrestrial Vehicles, sightings of which are becoming routine for me since I started this wonderful contact work.

Not long after this the sky filled with clouds and I was no longer able to watch for objects, the sky has remained that way since monday which is leaving me feeling impatient!

Sky fans: An exciting meteor shower is headed our way. Anyone who lives in the Northern Hemisphere may be in for a good old-fashioned sky show, just by looking up.

The Leonids are debris from a wandering comet that appear as shooting stars each November. They often provide one of the best shows of the year, if the skies are clear and the moon is not full.

This year promises a stellar show, if clear skies hold, because the moon is almost new.

Peak Leonid viewing should occur early Tuesday, November 17, around 1 a.m. PST. There are expected to be fine shows for hours, and even days before and after that.

Just before dawn is generally a good time to catch some shooting stars, especially because Leonids generate from the constellation Leo, which is visible in the east before dawn.

You won’t need any special equipment to see the Leonids. The naked eye is actually best. If possible, get to a high spot, away from city lights. A backyard or front porch can work just as well. Just be sure to give your eyes some time to adjust to the dark. So bundle up, get a comfortable chair, and hope for a good show!

For more info: Visit this NASA web site.

Photo: AP File Photo/ Leonids over Joshua Tree National Park.

Grab a bottle of wine, a blanket, a pre-roll and some friends(or perhaps just a lucky lady) head for an area with as little light pollution stare at the sky and observe the universe being really cool. It’s the Leonid meteor shower and tonight is going to be the peak viewing night. Hundreds of meteors will be burning up as they enter our atmosphere and it’ll look really really cool. Peak viewing is from 1:30 am EST until dawn. If you have a camera get that thing out point it at the sky, open up that iris and leave that shutter open to get some shots you’ll be proud of. Happy viewing.

Can you see the flames
the fireflies create in the
night sky? See, right there.

Can you see the waves
the moon pushes toward the stars?
See their lights go out.

Can you see the dark?
As the fireflies die and the
stars burn into black.

Posted by GeoT

“We’re predicting 20 to 30 meteors per hour over the U.S. and as many as 200 to 300 per hour over Asia”

Video courtesy:

Here’s another star trail for your enjoyment! A 25 minute exposure at f4 with a 18mm nikon lens captured these beauties. It sort of looks like something falling out of space. I’m excited about the encroaching winter, hopefully catching more star trails and long exposure landscapes, lets see what it brings….

No simple life. I refuse to live a life that I can understand. I would rather stare at my life as one does a sky full of stars. I want to engage in an obsessed inner monologue that jealously tries to match the richness of the open fan above me – the depth of its blackness, the keenness and countlessness of its lights – by turning its words away from the hungry, thirsty, busy, lazy, proud, injured, failing, succeeding, ugly, sexy demigod of the world, and turning instead to the infinitely huge meta-God inside my infinite smallness, whom I am at a loss to modify with an adjective. I want to intimidate myself like that.

Night falls and I can recall
with the clearest of mind the day
you changed me on the inside.
I can hear your voice in my head
whispering the words I wanted to hear.
Memories of reaching higher
intrude my thoughts.
The sun is darkened now,
the world takes a bow,
the same old stars different.
The lines in the sky are blurred
but they won’t stay that way. ©

Clouds move across the moon, Portmellon, Cornwall

Sunday night around 11 pm I was walking home from “77″ (the YWAM house with internet) and was completely taken back by the sky!!! It was sick!! Don’t you just love when God reveals Himself in creation?!?!  It is in those moments I am completely in awe. How can you not look up and believe there is a God (and a uber creative one at that).

I walked around (wishing I had a tripod) takin some pics. I was quite the creeper… resting my camera on random cars, street signs and fences. There are very few street lights, so the sky is so vivid (is that possible)… great view of the stars. I have never seen the moon so brights and the clouds so clearly at night though. It was truly AMAZING!!

A few days ago I used my photo, Misty Moon Over the Columbia River, to create some items on zazzle.

In this picture the moon lights up misty clouds with translucent white light in a stormy looking purplish sky above Longview, Washington. Surrounded by mountain ranges which disappearing into distant haze, the city lights blaze like dots of fire along the banks of the Columbia River. Seen through the forest on the hills of Rainier, Oregon the river flows thought the Columbia River Gorge towards the sea as the dusk begins to deepen into night…

Misty Moon Over the Columbia River by dlmtleArt
Browse more Moon Stationery

Misty Moon Over the Columbia River by dlmtleArt
fridge magnets online by zazzle

Misty Moon Over the Columbia River by dlmtleArt
Create customizable steins with zazzle

Misty Moon Over the Columbia River by dlmtleArt
Make ties online at zazzle.com

Misty Moon Over the Columbia River by dlmtleArt
Make a personalized notecard on Zazzle

Misty Moon Over the Columbia River by dlmtleArt
Make picture postcards at zazzle

Misty Moon Over the Columbia River by dlmtleArt
Create custom made mousepads at zazzle.com

Misty Moon Over the Columbia River by dlmtleArt
View other Moon Aprons

Misty Moon Over the Columbia River by dlmtleArt
Design a custom bag at zazzle

Dawna’s Gallery of greeting cards, Matted Prints. and T shirts

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Original Illustration, Picture, Art, Clip art, Design
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「Night sky ・ Starry sky ・ City ・ Dog」

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Book jacket design
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Paperback Size 「Fairy tale story – Angel Dog 「Night of city」」

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If meteor showers were really like that, I’d be in awe. This past Tuesday, October 20th, there was a meteor shower. I remember going to my Yahoo! homepage and seeing the announcement. I became excited; I’ve never seen a meteor shower before. The article stated that meteors were debris from Hailey’s Comet entering Earth’s atmosphere and that the spectacle wouls start at 1 am and last until 6 am. The most activity would be towards the end.

At first, I was going to watch the shower from my roof. My window opens out onto the roof of my dorm, and I thought it’d be pretty neat. But a few friends knew that the best view would be on the Bellarmine Lawn.

So we headed out around 1 am.  I was with three of my friends at time, but other soon joined us. We set up the blanket, laid down and waited.

Being squished between three of my friends and staring up at the night sky was an unusual experience. There was such beauty in the heavens that night. I’ve never seen so many stars in one location, even when I’ve been to upstate New York. They twinkle so gracefully. I was also able to point out the Little Dipper. A proud moment for me.

 I felt infinitesimal, organic, pure under the stars. I didn’t even care if I saw a ’shooting star’ because I was experiencing such a tranquil, beautiful moment. But then I did see one.  It shot across the sky in an extremely swift manner that I almost didn’t catch it. At that moment, I  felt connected to the universe. There I was, on a blanket with friends, watching space phenomena. And I could feel myself rise and land on a star. I looked down and thought, ‘How small you are from up here. Yet your dreams are so big. You cannot be confined or limited.’ Strangest out-of-body experience yet.

My mind was far from blank while I was stargazing. I kept thinking to myself, ‘I wish I could freeze this moment,’ ‘I wonder what other universes are like,’ ‘A starry night sky has to be one of the most humbling images in this world.’

Thoughts that made me realize just how much we need to cherish our human life. Our existence is so short lived if we really think about. Sometimes we cram so much into our life that we really miss out on the experiences that will define and shape us. We really are connected to everything. So I think sometimes as people we just need to stop and breath. Enjoy what’s around us. Stargaze.

My friends and I stayed on the lawn until 2:30. In that span of time, I saw six shooting stars. Most were small and speedy, but there was one that is burned into my memory. It glided across the sky, the bright white of the hottest flame cutting through the black expanse above me. Probably one of the most moving natural images I’ve ever seen.