Dec 09, 2020 18:30
- I've mentioned this before in several places, but I will
mention it again here and probably more than once again before it
happens: On December 21, Jupiter and Saturn will be only one tenth of a
degree apart. That's one fifth the diameter of the full
Moon. I've never seen two planets that close, and I've been looking
at the sky now for 63 years.
- As I mentioned in a recent entry, I'm
putting my big 10" Newtonian scope back together for the first time
in close to 20 years. Most of the work lay in building a new
base. (Termites ate the original, which I cobbled together out of
scrap wood when I was 16.) The base is finished. The rest should be
easy. With some luck I'll get it all together and do a star test
tonight. If my stars are in alignment, it'll work. But hey,
all stars are my stars, so I can't lose!
- While listening to Peter
Hollens songs on YouTube, I stumbled across a remarkable
women's vocal ensemble: Brigham Young University's Noteworthy. They've posted a number of videos, and all
of them are amazing in terms of pure vocal harmony. Nothing I've
seen tops their cover of "When You Believe" from the
animated film Prince of Egypt. It's the best song out of a
very good bunch, and those ladies nailed it for all time.
- I suspect that by now you've probably heard, but SF legend and former Analog editor Ben
Bova died on November 30, of COVID-19 complications. He was 88.
Ben taught for a week when I attended Clarion East 1973, and he was
spectacular.
- And as though that weren't bad enough,
Chuck Yaeger died this past Monday, December 7. Yaeger, to me,
almost defines the word "badass." He shot down 13 German warcraft
during WW2, five of them on one mission. He rode the Bell X-1 to
the sound barrier and beyond, and piloted the X-15 to the edge of
space. He fought Death to a draw that lasted 97 years. Godspeed,
General Yaeger.
- Watch for Northern Lights from Thursday sunset to
Friday dawn. (H/T to Hans Schantz.)
telescopes,
astronomy,
music