I took a wide angle shot as well of the event as the International Space Station was passing by, people the sky was so full of stuff, you had Orion, Taurus the Bull, the Pleiades, the Moon and to top it all off a guest appearance from the ISS all in the same field of view, awesome!
The next big event to watch out for will be the Lyrid meteor shower the night of April 21-22. This is usually one of the better meteor showers but because of the full Moon the impact won't be as great, but still worth a view. I will be out snapping images for you if you happen to miss it. the radiant or point to which the meteors seem to start from is in the Lyra constellation, look to the NE. around 10 pm the 21st for the start of the shower, expect 10-20 an hour.
Our company was involved in Earth Hour and after the event our President sent out an email to the companies employees with some cool results of the initiative which I would like to relay to you at this time. At least 50 million people participated worldwide; in Canada 250,000 people and 6,000 businesses signed up online in the lead up to the event. Electricity use dropped 8.7% in Toronto, a 4%drop was reported from Ottawa, and a 5% drop was reported across Ontario as a whole. By turning off the lights for one hour on Saturday March 29th. 2008 , participants in Ontario alone prevented 200 tonnes of greenhouse gases from polluting our atmosphere.
I'll leave you now with one of my Moonrises as an animated gif.
47 comments:
Thank you so much for the gorgeous pictures of the moon and the pleiades! I'd been looking forward to this occultation for awhile and we were seriously clouded out here. What a beautiful sight!
Hello Bob!
Aaah, the moon!!! And how lovely it looks! Love your shots of it: magical as always!
So, Spring time is already there...temps above zero? Did you know that that is Winter for us lol? I confess that Spring time here is a bit warmer than over there (25ºC, although today it is 19º - it is raining cats and dogs)...
I see that the sky decided to treat you, huh? I clicked the image to see it and I could see Taurus, but I wasn't able to discern the shape of Orion :(...maybe with time I will :)!
The shower...I have had so many disappointing Meteor shower events that I quit; however I am looking forward to seeing it here (I am curious about the images you'll bring us).
Congrats, Canada!!!!!!
Wow, what a gorgeous animatd Gif image!!! Beautiful moon! Aaah, your moons bring out the romantic in me (and believe me, I have to dig deep for it; even though I am in love lol)!
I had a great time, as always; here at your place, my friend :D! Thanks!!
Cheers
Bob:
I love those shots of the moon and the stars. I never saw things so clearly in my whole life. Looking at your pictures is just like looking at an astronomy book. And I really appreciate the way you always label everything. It' great. I enlarge the images on my big screen and I can see better than if I were outside in the cold. Plus, I don't have to worry about finding everything - you've already taken care of that for me.
Another great post.
Happy stargazing.
I'm looking forward to the meteor shower. I used to sit on my back deck in Colorado and watch the satellites spinning by - you can see them quite clearly between about 8 and 10 PM, when the sky is dark but the sun is still reflecting off of them.
I think Earth Hour would be much more effective via involuntary consumer participation using rotating blackouts. It would also teach people to keep their refrigerator doors closed.
Bob, we had torrential rain last night and I couldn't see a THING. I am ecstatic you had a great view of the Moon and the Seven Sisters. WOOT!!! Must pass this link on to my friends.
Beautiful photos and post!!!
Hugs, JJ
Bob Johnson does it AGAIN!!!! Nice work. Beautiful pictures. I was truely disappointed as the sky was clouded on the outskirts of Los Angeles, I coundn't even see the moon. But your pictures make up for it.
\m/
It is awesome. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Bob
Those stats are certainly something...truly interesting. I am remiss. During earth hour I had my computer on. :-( They say they will do the same thing next year.
And ...
Well...
WOW...what can I say about those shots. Truly wonderful. I am absolutely certain you could get lots of money for these.
There has to be something about those prairie skies.
~JD
This is a great post - again, Bob! I'm learning so much every time I'm here. it's big fun!
btw, thank you for commenting on my blog.:-)
What a great photo! I love the ISS streaking out of Orion. We were out during the power outage, but I know that the only thing on was the refrigerator!
Hey swe thanks for dropping by, glad you like the shots, too bad it was clouded over there. :-( :(
\m/
Thanks Max, I would love to have your weather.
I was very lucky to get another clear sky at a crucial time, look for Orion's belt the 3 bright stars just above the ISS streak.
Never give up on showers, the problem is showers peak usually in the middle of the next morning.
Thanks Max that gif is one of my fav Moonrises.
Lol, Hey swubird, thanks a bunch, glad you like the images, I love taking them even if it is cold, and it always usually is. \m/ \m/
Hi Marvin, hope you have some clear skies for the shower,between 8 and 10 is the peak time,for the exact reasons you state.
I love your Idea about the rotating blackouts, don't think it would fly, people love their energy. \m/
Thanks JJ, glad you like the pics, a lot of people I'm hearing didn't have clear skies for the event, too bad, doesn't happen that often.
Hey sherer, glad to be of service, love to take pics, too bad about the weather, was quite the sight. Again I was so happy to get the weather I needed at the right time, perfect. Lol thanks for adding the icon. \m/\m/
Thanks oswegan, glad you like the images.
Thanks JD,I'm very happy with the way they turned out. They are great stats, we were dark and the city was dark on some of the side streets, Canada did a great job.
Thanks Susanne, glad your liking and learning from the site and btw your images are beautiful.
Thanks Don, always love the ISS streak, and it is great that only the fridge was on, Thats about all we had on too. \m/
We did earth hour to Bob thanks for details and stats! And always awesome photography man!!
Thanks and way to go Roger for Earth Hour!!
...Indirect contact via friends, but the guy I mentioned is the president. Formerly Brit national space agency.
Don told me I had to come over and see this fantastic show. Wow! And how! Great work, Bob!
And congratulations to you and to Canada on the results of the hour with no power. I hadn't seen results yet, so that's very cool. I'm REALLY glad companies took part. That's where the difference matters the most.
It was fairly overcast here last night, so I doubt I would have seen it, but I wish I had. Your pictures are spectacular! Thank you for sharing them!
Julie, that is too cool!
Thanks Ruth, I'm Glad I got some results from our company, because your right not much has been released, these were very telling results, we can make a difference.
\m/\m/\m/\m/
Thanks Kristyn, seems to be the general theme, people had cloudy skies, I was very lucky to again at the right time have clear skies.
Bob - in passing - just came across these new 3D images of Phobos, and thought you might be interested if you haven't already seen 'em.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases
/2008/04/080409231029.htm
Thanks Julie, I am going to post about them on my next post, it will be a readers choice just for you.
The animation is stunning Bob. I am still amazed that you can read so many objects in the sky :)
The earth hour I spent in Toronto was amazing - about 200 people gathered at a place for a cultural show. My only worry was the number of candles that were lit - too many!
Bob:
I saw a very cool program on Nova last night. It was all about Black Holes. It seems there's more of them out there then we could have ever imagined. Astrophysicists reckon there's one at the center of every galaxy. Whoa baby! They also predict that sometime in the distant future there will be a catastrophic collision between the Milky Way galaxy and the huge Andromeda galaxy in which the Andromeda black hole will combine with the Milky Way black hole and completely eat the Milky Way. Yikes! What happens to mother earth? Unknown. But presumably it gets eaten too. So I suggest that we pack up our things and get the hell out of Dodge ASAP!
If you haven't seen it yet, keep your eyeballs peeled.
Happy stargazing.
Thanks priyank, Toronto did an excellent job overall for Earth Hour for sure, and better candles then lights,lol \m/\m/
Lol, get out of Dodge, I agree, Earth only has about 5 billion years if not less before the Sun envelopes us, we have to find another planet, to do that we have to break the speed of light barrier, which theorists think will happen in the next million years. \m/
As far as the show, I have it recorded on my PVR, it was on NOVA and called "Monster of the Milky Way" awesome show, thanks a lot for thinking of telling me, much appreciated. \m/ \m/
Bob - those photos are gorgeous! They just keep getting better!
Thanks Kathy, glad you like the pics, so lucky I had clear skies.
Wonderful images, I've just started exploring night photography and not very good at it. It's been quite cloudy here recently so I'm really missing my starry nights.
Thanks 1st lady, you'll notice the moment you become interested in night photography is about the time the percentage of nights that are cloudy increase dramatically,
\m/\m/:-( :(
Hi! Everytime I come here I'm amazed at what I see and read. I also can't help but get excited when I see that you are so enthrauled with the moon and the stars. Bob you are a great teacher! I owe you a lot. So much in fact, that I'd even come over to turn off those lights in the orionmoonpl.jpg just to say thanks!
Take Care,
Peter
Thanks Peter, it is always good to know that what I do is worth while, that someone is learning and appreciating what the cosmos has to offer. \m/
Hey Bob;
Wow what a shot!!
Ohhhh ahhhhh
Better than fireworks!!! Free and better for the environment, plus it looks much more impressive!
Nice to hear you are getting better weather, we are supposed to get over 20c on Saturday! I better get the sun block out! LOL No sunburn from Earthshine though!!
The parking lot looked pretty busy up there in that ISS shot..
A shower during a full Moon and to think I have been taking it in the morning before going out….
Very cool about Earth Hour, here’s some info uou may find interesting about it in BC:
British Columbians saved 125 MW of electricity, which is the equivalent of turning off 2.5 million lights. This resulted in an overall reduction in the load of an average 2% throughout the province during the entire Earth Hour. In Vancouver, the average reduction for the hour was 3.5%.....the combined savings would be enough to power 573 homes for an entire year.
Love the Moonrise gif Bob, you always do such a great job, I love coming here, but I have to say its your personality and heart that are the draw, you’re a good guy Bob….
Very very nicely done!!!.You managed to get the seven sisters without over exposing the moon!!!.
I think all of the world should get involved in Earth Hour.200 less tons of greenhouse gasses in Ontario is incredible!!.
Thanks livingsword, we are getting 20c weather Sunday, beautiful!
lol, I thought the ISS was heading for a collision in the lot with one of the stars in Orion's belt, that would have been cool to catch in an image. \m/
Cool about the saving in BC, it is amazing that just cutting back one hour can do so much for our environment, we should do this more often before it's too late.
So glad you like coming here too, it's a lot of fun for me to share what I love so much so people like yourself can enjoy it. \m/
Thanks Andrew, they are a couple of my fav shots so far ever.
All of the world was supposed to be involved but you get the odd place that doesn't put much importance on it, too bad, at least Canda did their part.:->
wonderul images Bob. thankyou. they are so detailed.
can i ask about the meteor shower you talk about on april 21st.. Will we be able to see it in the uk and if so when will we see it?
thanks for sharing your vast knowledge and the wonderful images.
Thanks Carole, yes you will be able to view them, actually they start April 16 and end April 25, there will be a Full Moon which will take away some of the contrast but still worth a view, best time is after midnight on April 22, but there should still be around 10-15 hour before then.
Post a Comment