What’s Up in the Sky June, 2008 By Peter Burkey We live in a more or less placid, stable world. Changes occur, but slowly. Although recent events may indicate otherwise, most of us live full lives never encountering a natural disaster more violent than a storm and so we are fairly complacent. The geological record, …
Category Archive: What’s Up In The Sky
Peter Burkey's monthly news articles from the Holland Sentinel
May 01
May 2008
What’s Up in the Sky May, 2008 By Peter Burkey It was Saturday, September 15, 2007, at 11:45 a.m., when 74-year-old Justina Limache, a farmer in Carancas, Peru, not far from Lake Titicaca, heard a “thunderous roar from the sky.” Scared, she ran into her house clutching her 8-year-old granddaughter. For the next few minutes, …
Apr 01
April 2008
What’s Up in the Sky April, 2008 By Peter Burkey This month marks the anniversary of an event not well known outside the astronomical community. On April 20, 1920, the Shapley-Curtis debate was held at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. The topic was the nature of “spiral nebulae” which astronomers had observed …
Mar 01
March 2008
What’s Up in the Sky March, 2008 By Peter Burkey A parade of planets dominates the sky this month and my two favorite constellations are both easily visible. If you face south, Mars is nearly overhead. Saturn follows close behind below the constellation Leo, the Lion, just east of the star Regulus. For the other …
Feb 01
February 2008
What’s Up in the Sky February, 2008 By Peter Burkey February offers three opportunities for viewing rare and exciting close encounters and a well timed eclipse. The “star” of this month’s show is the total lunar eclipse on the night of February 20-21. During a lunar eclipse, the Moon’s motion around Earth carries it through …
Clear Sky Clock
Hemlock Crossing Public Observatory
