Total solar eclipse 2020 – remote chasing the umbra and a brief explanation how do the webcams work

Total solar eclipse below the horizon Namibia 2020

The total solar eclipse on December 14, 2020, was the last one in the 2nd decade and obviously the first “Twenty Years Solar Eclipse Path Tables”  of the XXI century. Most people call this eclipse the COVID eclipse, due to omnipresent travel restrictions, which kept a lot of eclipse chasers in their homes. They could … Read more

The weather-based long range plans for your astronomical expedition

Cloud fraction global map NASA

If you are an astronomer, astrophotographer, or even amateur tourist, you have some dreams about long-haul trips for sure.  Quite often these trips are such long-range plans, because of our financial situation or spare time available in the foreseeable future.  In astronomy or astrophotography, these plans are mostly determined by rare celestial events, which often … Read more

6 logistic hints for a beach day with your toddler

Toddler on the beach

Probably you heard a lot of sentences and conclusions from your kids or friends, that if you have a very small baby is hard to take it somewhere. In fact, when your baby is younger, that 1 year, be prepared, that everything touched by your kid will eventually be landed in its mouth. Another thing … Read more

How the lunar shadow looks like during the solar eclipse?

Lunar shadow seen from MIR TSE 1999

The area covered by umbra is the most spectacular of the whole solar eclipse phenomenon, therefore I would like to pay particular attention to this. Because I was watching the totality only once, I am going to use some supporting materials next to my own pictures. How the lunar shadow looks? We can consider it … Read more

“Beast from the east” a nightmare for British people

Beat from the east Cambridge UK

“Beast from the east” is the common British expression for the wintry air mass, that comes to Britain mainly from the east or northeast. It happens when a big land-based high-pressure system is coming to Eastern Europe and bringing arctic air mass from north-west Russia (The White Sea or the Ural Mountains) to Central and … Read more