All meteorite hunters, be on the lookout for a stolen space artifact. Sometime over the weekend a 30 lb. meteorite was stolen from the Dinosaur Place, a popular nature center and retail store in southern Connecticut. The meteorite found in Argentina and valued at $2,000 dollars is the size of a cantelope, and is black with a metallic shine. If you have any information you … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2009
Google features Galileo’s Telescope
Google, famous for it's picturesque and unique ways in spelling out it's name, got Galileo's telescope out in front today in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the first public demonstration of Galileo's revolutionary telescope. Alan … [Read more...]
Connecticut Star Party 19 is less than a month away
Just a few weeks to go until CSP 19 arrives! If you have not registered already, mark your calendars and go to http://asnh.org/slideshow/CSPpicIndex.php and register! The deadline for registration is September 15th. … [Read more...]
“Lost” image of Brooksvale Park
The crowds were gone, the moon was coming up, and the clouds were moving in. Brooksvale public outreach was coming to an end. Well, almost. The clouds were giving a wonderful perspective of the moon through the atmosphere. I needed a foreground to give the picture a little perspective. I grabbed fellow astronomer Ray and told him to cup his hands so I could shoot through … [Read more...]
Connecticut’s Dragon Boats to Novelty Floats
This was the perfect weekend to be on the water, and thousands of people through Connecticut took advantage of the hot weather to be in or near the water. I took in two events this weekend that can only be called Nautical Novelties. The first was the Riverfront Dragon Boat and Asian Festival in Hartford at the Riverfront Plaza. Hundreds of particiapants, and thousands of … [Read more...]
Exceptional rare observing night in August
It was clear. It was August 16th. It was a welcome exception in the parade of bad weather that has marched through Connecticut in the past several months. Taking advantage of this small window of opportunity in the middle of the dog days of summer I geared up and headed for a dark sky site in Colchester, Ct. The Miky Way was an outstanding naked eye sight right after … [Read more...]
The stars, moon, planets, and clouds all come out in Brooksvale
On Friday August 7th the Astronomical Society of New Haven had a public outreach event at Brooksvale Park in Hamden, Connecticut. About 9 club members were in attendence, while about 40 participants showed up on a nice summer evening. Sponsored by the Friends of Brooksvale Park, Inc., remembered ASNH from provious years and invited us back to this event. Friday night the … [Read more...]
Another tornado confirmed in Connecticut, this time in Madison
For the third time this year a tornado has been confirmed in Connecticut. This time it happened on the same day that the Shelton tornado touched down on July 31st just 32 minutes later at 4:28pm. Winds were estimated at around 100 MPH! Here is the information from NOAA! PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY 344 PM EDT THU AUG 6 … [Read more...]
Connecticut library to host a Perseid Meteor “Star Party”
From a Windsor Locks Public Library press release. View the annual Perseids Meteor Shower from the library lawn on August 8th! JPL/NASA Solar System Ambassador Bill Fournier will provide a hands-on demonstration of telescope use and guided viewing of the meteor shower beginning at 7:00 PM. Bring your telescope or binoculars, a lawn chair, bug repellent, and sunscreen. Some … [Read more...]
Second tornado of the year forms in Connecticut
You would think that tornados are rare in Connecticut. They are not as rare as you think, especially after the second twister of the year formed over Shelton, Connecticut. Confirmed by NOAA, the F1 tornado with winds between 95 and 105 miles per hour touched down at 3:56 p.m. It cut a 100-yard wide swath about a half-mile long through Pine Rock. This tornado established itself … [Read more...]