• M31, Then and Now

    blinking GIF comparing shots of M31 from the Palomar Survey (POSS) and a modern Seestar.
    The Palomar Sky Survey shot of M31 blink compared to the one from Carol Santulis’s SeeStar. Can you tell which is which?

    Sometimes I like to sit back and marvel at the remarkable progress our hobby has seen over the past half century or so. Technology has revolutionized everything, but perhaps nothing has changed more profoundly than astrophotography.

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  • Fun with LROC QuickMap

    The LROC QuickMap is like a web-based virtual telescope that puts thousands of terabytes of lunar imagery at your fingertips. Its powerful interface makes browsing lunar images deceptively easy—and addicting.

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  • Titan Shadow Transit Season

    Starry Night Pro simulation of titan shadow transit
    A simulation created using Starry Night Pro of Titan’s shadow transiting Saturn’s disk.

    Twice during every 29.5 year orbital period of Saturn around the sun, Earth and Saturn briefly occupy the same ecliptic plane. During this brief period two rare planetary phenomena can be observed: Saturn’s rings will appear edge on, and Titan’s shadow may be seen transiting the disk of the planet.

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