Seeking Satellites

Resource by NASA, European Space Agency.
Artist's rendering of our Earth's orbiting satellites,
visible as a ring from space.

One of my favorite nitetime gazing games is looking for satellites. In this image of our Earth, courtesy of NASA, an artist has shown the hazy halo of our buzzing satellites. Though exaggerated in the image, the multitude is quite real.

From space Earth has a ring, of debris.

I'll ignore the potential for a "go green" speech here and just appreciate the magic of spotting these satellites among the immobile starshine of the night. In the silent darkness of the twisting realm above us, little stars skate across our dark field like snails on a wet window.Lying back, eyes wide open and ready to take in the faintness of starlight, you may just glimpse these tiny wonders.

Slowly...slowly...it makes it transearth orbit. Though moving at over 17,000 miles per hour(thats 15 trips around the earth a day) the bullet glides through space with uninterreupted grace. The constant glow of its reflective material marks the earthbound boundary of gravitational orbitting. You can nearly hear the faint...dat....dat....dat....of its internal computers and atomic clock settings. An abandoned victory of the tickerings of man. Watch for them. With an open, glazed eye, seek out satellites. Traveling relics of our kind's knowledge in this great big universe.

NASA

Planet Hunting

This is a beautiful time of year to go planet hunting. All 5 of the visible planets- Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn- are out for gazing. But just how do you know you've found a planet? And how do you even begin to look for one??
There is an easy answer for both of these questions and the answers will acquaint you with the heavens above. The sun is at the middle of our solar system. You probably knew that. And you probably also know that the planets all move around the sun in fairly circluar orbits. But did you know that all the planets will remain on one flat plane? Gravity hold them there! So if you can find this invisible flat plane, you are on your way to finding planets!!
The sun is your starting point, find it or its trail of 'movement' and you are on your way. The sun appears to move because of our own planet's movement around it. You may have also hear that from time to time the moon will cross in front of the sun. This spectaular event is called...an Ecllipse. Thus this apparent line that the sun and moon travel along is called...the Eclliptic. Its all very exciting once you know the basics.
Observe the sun at sun rise when the Earth spins back toward it's gaze. It appears to rise from the East. Then in the evening, when we turn away, it appears to set in the West.  You have just discovered the line of the Eclliptic! And it is along this line that all the planets will sit, at least for a short time before they too dance along this tightrope. Raise your arm and point to the West, then slowly wave your arm across the sky until you hit East- you have traced this line and you are ready to hunt planets.
So tonight....
As our Earth spins away from the sun this evening, in the West you will see a radiant object will glowing amongst the colors of sunset. This is Venus our sister world. Very close in that region will be tiny Mercury, but you will have to wait patiently to see it as sunlight will always win against this faint planet. Heading slightly East you will soon run into Mars and Saturn. Mars glows a red shade due to its rusty terrain and Saturn will be a brilliant shade of white. One trick about planets: they don't twinkle. Like the moon, they do not possess energy of their own so they simply reflect the light of the sun.
Just before midnight, rising in the East is extremely bright Jupiter. This beast of a planet hosts over 60 moons and with a telescope you can often see four of the biggest as they spin around their big brother.
Happy planet hunting tonight!

Sol Luna Terra

"The Sun, the bringer of day, who carries the light of the Lord in his rays

The Moon, and the Stars, who light up the way, unto your throne..."

Beautiful words once sang by a young child's delightful spirit. Words written in devotion by a mind bent on the beauty of this world. Whispers of eternity ride on every sun beam, every moon shine, every twinkle of every star.

I too feel infinity in those rays.

The glory of sunlight toasts my skin, powers my muscles and send me running through its days. The days give me life, so I may live for the night...

The night is full of so many wonders...

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