Sunday, December 30, 2007

Christmas Moon




The above Lunar image is the December 100% of Full Moon, or as the Colonial Americans used to call it, "Christmas Moon". Actually went looking for a Sunset just on the outskirts of town, no luck again clouds, but when I turned around and glanced at the East, a got a light red Moonrise low on the horizon, took my anamorphic widescreen camera and got the pic. Just before Mars came close I got the shot below of the Christmas Moon through my Telescope, complete with a light cloud cover.



Various Cultures have different names for the monthly Full Moon. The Celtic call the December Full Moon "Cold Moon", the Chinese call it "Bitter Moon", Neo Pagan "Long Night Moon" but my fav is what the Colonial Americans called it "Christmas Moon", although "Twelfth Moon" is kind of catchy, that was the name given to the December Full Moon by the Dakotah Sioux.



If you don't mind getting up at 2 in the morning, boy have I got a meteor shower for you. The Quadrantid Meteor Shower peaks Jan 3rd. evening through to the morning hours of January 4th. It's radiant, that is where all the meteors seem to start from, is in the constellation "Quadrans Muralis" which by the way no longer exists. In 1920 the International Astronomical Union dropped the constellation when it decided on the final 88 official constellations we know and love today. So come next Friday at 2 am look towards the N.E. that's when and where the show begins, don't forget to dress warmly, it is January. Expect around 1-2 meteors a minute. I'll be up and out there, the weather network says it will only be -1c, and the weather network is always right!


UPDATE: NASA/JPL Near -Earth Object Program announced Friday that the chances of Mars getting hit from asteroid 2007 WD 5 has increased from a 1 in 75 chance to 1 in 25 chance . They made the adjustments based on the asteroid's appearance on 3 images taken November 8th, nearly 2 weeks before the actual discovery, the observations were then added to the existing observations and the prediction was refined.

Below is an animation of Spirit arriving at it's winter resting place, broke wheel and all, apparently little Spirit's been travelling around with a broke right front wheel since March 2006, the cause is a broken circuit on the wheel motor drive. Opportunity being closer to the equator is still doing science over at Victoria Crater at Cape St.Mary.

Coming up January 3rd. is Spirit's 4 year anniversary, Opportunity's 4 year anniversary is January 25th., not bad for a mission that was only supposed to last 90 days.


38 comments:

Nature Nut /JJ Loch said...

The looove the Christmas moon, Bob!!! It was brighter than some our days outside when it was full.

Thanks for the meteor shower tip. I haven't heard of the Quadrantid before.

Super post and photos!!!

Hugs, JJ

Bob Johnson said...

Hi and Thanks JJ! good luck with the meteor shower, hope you have warm weather, or at least not too cold,lol.

Anonymous said...

Once again, I am linking this site to some homeschool boards who will love all these beautiful pictures and great tips, Bob. I love coming here to see you.

Bob Johnson said...

Hi hope, glad you like the site and my pics, I love it when you drop by as well, does a lot for my ego,lol!

Peter said...

Hi! The red moon reminds me of the times when were experiencing bushfires. Same sort of thing for a red sun. Usually means it's going to be a extremely hot day. Anyway, all the best for 2008!

Regards
Peter

Bob Johnson said...

Hi Peter, all the best in 2008 for you and yours as well!

Anonymous said...

I loved the picture of the Christmas Moon. Beautiful .... just beautiful.

Love and blessings,
AngelBaby

Bob Johnson said...

Hi and thanks angelbaby!!

Marica said...

Love the Christmas moon. I like the animation effect, very cool bob!

Bob Johnson said...

Hi and thanks Aura, a case of being at the right place at the right time.

Anonymous said...

Your shots are great as usual Bob. That animation effect is just way too cool. Looks like you've got it down pat. I'll be sure to check out the Quadrantid Meteor Showers next week. Hopefully it'll stop storming long enough to get clear skies.
And Bob ... Happy New Year to you and your family my friend! Enjoy the bubbly if you can!
~JD

Bob Johnson said...

Hi JD and thanks!, I'm so hopin that the weather network is right and we get -1c and clear skies for the meteor shower.

Happy New Year to you and your family as well!

myonlyphoto said...

Bob you are really getting good with the animation - it is really cool effect to watch everytime. My favorite is from your previous post, however, all of them are great. I like what you did keeping distance from the bottom which makes the photo very realistic. As always thanks for all useful info, and not sure if with my weather luck this winter so the Quadrantid Meteor may not be watched - oh well. The weather is crazy here, one day we get snow, and next day we get rain. Glad is not that cold though. So do you think you can see anything from your telescope asteroid hitting Mars? I wish I could, and the chances are getting better, 1 to 25. Anna :)

Bob Johnson said...

Hi and thanks Anna, won't be able to see the impact from my telescope if the asteroid decides to hit Mars, good luck with the weather for the meteor shower, I'll be out if it is clear.

Happy New Year to you and your family!

The Fool said...

Hey thanks for the info about the shower, I will be up at two with you despite the temp, I was just wondering what brand of camera you have, it takes some really good pics

Keep it up,
The Fool

Bob Johnson said...

Hi the fool, for sure, I don't care how cold it is, as long as it is partly clear I'm out there, need my photon fix, I may be getting a Canon 40D, I have been getting advice from Anna at http://myonlyphoto.blogspot.com/
and Andrew at http://bongo69.wordpress.com/ about exposure times and such, now all I need is some meteors and clear skies and we are good to go.

Oswegan said...

Happy New Year!

~Oswegan

Bob Johnson said...

Happy New Year to you and your family as well oswegan!

gt281 said...

From a galaxy far,, far away,, from beyond the dog star,, from beyond the rings of Saturn,, Jupiter and Mars,, from the dark side of the moon,, carried thru the misty mountains,, protected by the beasties of midnight,, who stode apon yon dusty road,, thru the mountains,, valleys and neverneverlands this message is being sent to you…

HAPPY NEW YEAR…………….

Bob Johnson said...

Cool, Happy New Year to you too gt281!

Rick said...

Nice moon pic! Look forward to reading this blog much more in 2008!

Bob Johnson said...

Right back at ya Rick, Happy New Year and all the best for 2008!!

Swubird said...

Hey Bob!

Great post. I'll definitely try to catch that meteor shower on Friday. Although, the temperature might be a little too cold for my old bones. The night time mercury has been dipping to the high 50's - burrr.

As to Spirit, a few years ago I read Steve Squyres' book, Roving Mars. It chronicles the conception, development and launch of Spirit and Opportunity to Mars. Check it out. It's a great read.

Anonymous said...

Another one to the North East, the only direction I have city lights to interfere. Oh well, maybe it will be high enough above the lights for us to see?

-Will

Bob Johnson said...

Hi swubird, wow that is cold! thanks for the info on the book, don't have that one, I will definitely look into getting it.

Bob Johnson said...

Hi Will, most of them start there, they will be rising as the night progresses, if you can take the cold should be okay.

MYM said...

Love that Christmas Moon photo...it's wonderful!

Thanks for the heads-up on the meteor shower...I'm going to try and watch...the last one I think we only saw 3 meteors! But it was a fun adventure.

Bob Johnson said...

Hi, thanks and your welcome drowseymonkey, meteor showers are indeed an adventure, especially at -20c,lol

Angry Lab Rat said...

Sadly, I missed the Christmas moon due to heavy cloudcover and rain. Very bummed.

By the way, I blogged on this, as well as some kooks who built a gigantic parabolic mirror to harness moonrays for bettering their health:

http://angrylabrat.blogspot.com/2007/12/get-mooned-to-get-healthy.html

You have a great blog!

Bob Johnson said...

Hi angry lab rat, thanks for dropping by.love your blog.

kml said...

Hi Bob - I really like the second picture. The light on the bottom of it reminds of a star sapphire stone the way it breaks up the light. You did a great job with it!

Hope you and your family have a great new year!

Kathy

Bob Johnson said...

Hi Kathy, thanks!, the best in 2008 to you and yours!!

Anonymous said...

Ours is an envionment where evil is perceived to be rewarded while good is punished. As with everything the Gods have a reason for creating this perception::::
People who fall on the good side of the good/evil scale have more favor, and when they do something wrong the Gods punish them BECAUSE THEY WANT THEM TO LEARN. The Gods want them to receive this feedback in hope they make corrections and begin to behave appropriately. The Gods DON'T like evil and refuse to grant this feedback.
EVERYBODY pays for what they do wrong, only evil people must wait until their next life before they will experience the wrath of the Gods, manifested in their reincarnation as a lower form of life into environments with increased/enhanced temptations.
Sadly, this allows the Gods to position this perception of evil rewarded as temptation, one which they use as an EXTREMELY effective corruptor.

Both Africa and the Medittereanean are regions which have sexual issues. This is a sign of morbid disfavor once you understand that females are the God's favored gender. Muhammad's (Mohammed's) polygamy halfway through his life as a prophet was preditory. Now a huge percentage of Muslims believes in male superiority and that the abuse of women is God's will. Female genital mutilation is still practiced in Africa. Black misogyny is the most eggregious example in the recent past.
Black member size is temptation to a predisposed population.
The patriarchal cancer spread throughout Europe because of Christianity, of which the majority of policy makers were Italian men. Expect the largest landowner in Europe and the continent's original superpower also played a major role in African slavery.

Militancy in Africa is consistant with the Iraqi example, as was slavery and the KKK here in America:::Fear enforces proper behavior. Without it we see what happens as a result of gross/morbid disfavor:::::AIDS, crack babies, dead young men in gangland retaliation killings. This is the purpose behind many black's historical tendancy towards resistance.
The same principle was true in Europe and throughout the world for centuries:::People whom lived under iron fists were conditioned to think the right way. As a result they experienced higher numbers of children accend into heaven because they were taught to think and behave appropriately. Our preditory envionment of "freedom" was the primary purpose the Gods had when implimenting this strategy that is the United States, one which they used to spred the cancer of democracy and westernization throughout the world. And the Gods use this tool that is America to prey on the disfavored both at home and abroad.

Even the Old Testiment is not to be taken literally, but the Gods do offer clues throughout to help the disfavored:::The apple is a tool of temptation used to corrupt Adam and Eve and cast them out of the Garden of Eden.
There is another lesson to be learned from this passage, and it is quite similar to the vailing issue and the discourse over women's attire which ultimately died in the 70s:::Women are responsible for and control the fate of mankind.

Think about what I say. Consider what I teach. Society is going to become disturbingly ugly as we approach the Apocalypse due to spiralling, runaway disfavor.
I do not know when this will occurr, but it is the God's way to grant some time before they end on Planet Earth.
Make the decision to always be good and never look back. Until you do this technology will employ tactics to test your resolve:::Ridicule, beligerance, doubt and refusal to abandon what people perceive to be their "investment".
Pray daily. Think appropriately. Too many are confident, unaware of the God's awesome powers or their status as antients. Others may fall prey to their positioning.
Be humbled, God-fearing and beware of the God's temptations, for everyone is tested to evaluate their worthiness.

Search for the remainder of this document. Blogster/spot only allows 4000 charecters.

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Anonymous said...

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