Orionid

Partial Solar Eclipse, October 23, 2014

Partial Solar Eclipse, October 23, 2014

On Thursday, October 23, 2014, there will be a partial solar eclipse of the sun, and the first visible partial solar eclipse that has occurred in North America since May 20, 2012. Even more spectacularly, the partial eclipse will occur during the sunset hours on the East Coast, which should provide a fantastic visual spectacle at or around sunset. However, skywatchers in the midwest and West Coast regions will also have excellent views of the eclipse as well during the mid-afternoon hours. 

2012 Orionid Meteor Shower, 10/17/12-10/25/12

As I always say with all these astral phenomena, unless you've been living on the moon​, you know that something is going on in the sky. This weekend, its the Orionid Meteor Shower, which according to all reports, is particularly strong and visible this year. It may have already caused a giant fireball that was visible in Northern California - or not. Perhaps that giant fireball was the work of batsquatch, lemurians, or just plain old 2012 apocalypse-time-hijinx. In any case, the best time to view the shower - wherever you are in North America, will be anytime after 11:00 p.m. PST, October 20, 2012 (Saturday) to dawn on October 21, 2012 (Sunday). You can rest assured that I'll be out watching, and you should be too - should be a lot of fun. And, if you're interested in science, help NASA out, and check out this app here. More info: here, here, and here.