Why is Orion Not in the Zodiac?
The Zodiac contains many of the most famous constellations in the night sky. Orion is a superstar of the night sky and he straddles the…
Tag: earth
The Overview Effect
My thanks to Peter Noble for making me aware of the expression ‘Overview Effect’ (and for the kind feedback). Hi Tristan, Just to say thank…
Why does the Gnomon on a Sundial Point South?
The pointy bit of a sundial is called a ‘gnomon’. It is the part that casts the shadow and in the northern hemisphere it points…
The Sun is Now Over the Southern Hemisphere
This morning I headed out early into the hills. It was strangely satisfying to watch the sun rise south of east for the first time…
Observing Saturn’s Rings – A Tip
My thanks to Prof. Otta Wenskus for an interesting tip for observing Saturn: This has been a lousy summer for stargazing, though great for learninglots…
Learning about the Moon by Watching the Thames
An extraordinary guest article by John Pahl. I love looking at the night’s sky, following the movement of the Moon and stars across the sky.…
The Chandler Circle
We have now passed the December solstice, the northern hemisphere days are getting longer, albeit very slowly. The solstices are key dates in the orbit…
Time and Tide
BBC Devon have a delightful story about the sculptor, Marcus Vergette, on their section of the BBC website. Marcus is sculpting a series of ‘tidal…