Why does the Sun seem red near the horizon? Why does the Moon do the same? We know the Moon isn’t actually changing colour, and the Sun isn’t either. So what is happening to the light? The first thing to note about the image above is that the size of the Moon doesn’t change, showing that the well-known ‘Moon Illusion,’ where the Moon appears larger near the horizon, is just that – an illusion. The second is of course the gradual change in hue as the Moon rises. The reason for the colour shift really has nothing to do with the Moon...
Since diving into astrophotography last year, I’ve discovered that I love the concept of time-lapse, and not just with respect to astronomy. It’s amazing to see the changes that can occur over long periods of time, and time-lapse photography is a way to record the changes and see how they unfold. In astronomy the best time-lapses give you a sense of the Earth’s motion through space, show satellites zipping overhead, and show aurora dance along with weather patterns. Large amounts of time with slow incremental changes produce incredible results when it comes to time lapses. Science communication is about how to...
I love false-colour images. They reveal detail that you can’t see in real life, but they also highlight things in an artistic way. For me it’s an excellent marriage of art and science, and as a communicator it helps me get concepts across in an accessible way. So when I saw the APOD image of Saturn from earlier this week, I had to discuss it. Saturn never has looked this way, and it never will. The colours are vivid and unrealistic, but they show the differences in three distinct but close wavelengths of light on the electromagnetic spectrum. All of...
Welcome to a new series of posts that will characterize 1000 amazing facts about the Universe. There is so much out there that we have yet to learn, and every day, astronomers across the globe are using their research to reveal the deepest secrets of the cosmos. This series will look at the strangest, coolest, most exciting facts that we have discovered in hundreds of years of modern science. Fact #4: Most of the stars in the universe are red dwarfs smaller than our Sun. There is a leap of understanding that happens when a child learns that our Sun...
When were the planets discovered? Uranus and Neptune were definitely not found until modern science began, since a telescope was required to see them. The other five planets were not actually discovered per se. Since they are visible to human eyes, they have been observed since prehistoric times, and we see examples of cultures across the ancient world who observed them. The five visible planets are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Starting this weekend, you can see them all across one part of the sky, a visual alignment that hasn’t occurred since 2005. Planets are so-named because of the Greek...
In the midst of cooked turkey and a plethora of sides, I have been reaping the benefits of clear skies and doing my best to learn the skills of astrophotography. I spent a good 6 hours from sunset to just past midnight this past Sunday to see what kinds of shots I could get, and document the latest photos and tricks I’ve learned. I’ll start with my latest time lapse video, since that is what I took first. I started as the sun was about to set, and kept the exposure time very low, along with the ISO. I also...
This weekend will be a great chance for me to enjoy the change in season. I’ll be up north in Ontario’s Algonquin Park, to do some photography of the autumn leaves. If weather permits, I’ll definitely be aiming to do astrophotography as well. I grew up an hour north of Toronto, in the farm country outside of Barrie, Ontario. Every time I go home for thanksgiving in early October I am amazed at the changes that can happen only an hour north. Algonquin park is a good 3.5 hour drive, and will provide a stunning look at the seasonal change...
The Milky Way Galaxy has about 26 associated satellite galaxies, which is strange to imagine, since we think of a galaxy as a massive collection of Billions of stars. The dwarf galaxies are not easily visible since they are small, so they tend to blend in with the background of Milky Way stars that are much closer. You might also notice from the above image that the dwarf galaxies are distant, lying beyond the 100,000 light year scope of our large spiral home. Most of them likely originated in the turmoil of protogalaxy collisions that occurred billions of years...
