The winter circle is high overhead in the early evenings of March in the Philippines. It’s name draws questions because Philippine children do not know four seasons, so I have to explain to them how it got its name. This particular night was with my wife (a budding observer of… Continue reading
Hope Moon. “I don’t see it.” I tell the man. “It’s there. The clouds are covering it,” he explains. “How can you be sure?” “It’s right above the sunset.” He searches in the binoculars. It takes him only a few seconds to find the very new moon – Day 2.… Continue reading
There he was. Orion was bright and shining for us to admire from our bedroom window. The entire sky was bursting with starlight at 3:30 a.m. The Pleiades, mentioned in scripture, was easy to find, and Sirius was his brightest self among the visible stars. The ice storm was over,… Continue reading
Like most observing nights, the teenagers came to visit. The hole in the tropical sky held long enough for a window to Saturn and Mars. Three boys and a couple girls grew to a dozen or so. A staff member sent her daughter. The old 8 inch telescope shows wear… Continue reading
So, I asked, “Come see Saturn’s rings!” Although clouds were overhead, we quietly set up an 8 inch telescope. Clear tropical skies are hard to find in the Philippines, but the day had been drier than the last few, so we were hopeful. Mars was bright orange an hour after… Continue reading
