Top 100 the most beautiful places from where you could observe annular or total solar eclipses in the 2021-2040 period

Eclipses and tourist places Top 100 2021-2040

This article is probably a compression of the ebook, which I would like to release in the nearest future about the 500 spots, from where you could observe both annular and total solar eclipses worldwide in the 2021-2040 period. I have inspiration from the Sky and Telescope magazine, which has prepared recently a similar list … Read more

The most unique astronomical events you shouldn’t miss in the 2021-2030 decade

Moon Venus Mars and Milky Way 2029

Recently we have entered the new decade 2021-2030. This is a good time to take a look at what major astronomical events will occur throughout this time. I don’t mean typical celestial events, as known from a vast majority of astronomical calendars issued usually on a yearly basis. I would like to take a deep … Read more

Fireworks around the world! Happy New Year 2021 to everyone!

Geneva fireworks Deckchair

Another year is coming now. The year will open the 3rd decade of the XXIth century. Time flies. It looks like it’s already 5th time when I am wishing you a Happy New Year! As usual, I would like to share with you the memories from this special night, which is already around the corner … Read more

The foliage fall mystery

Foliage fall Chorkówka

Have you ever wondered what factors determine the leaves falling from trees in the autumn?  Or maybe you noticed, that the period, when leaves fall on the ground varies every year. This article is an answer to these two basic questions because the foliage fall phenomenon isn’t so simple as thriving leaves from buds during … Read more

Upload vector layers to Windy.com in order to check the weather for your trip

KML layer at Windy.com

It’s been about half a year since Windy.com launched an option to upload .kml, .gpx and .geojson files into the weather map. It happened thanks to the Leaflet-kml plugin, available here. Apart from the Leaflet Javascript API map software, where we can use this plugin for loading our own .kml files, we can add them … Read more

Top 21 things to see during solar eclipse

Total solar eclipse 2017 Wyoming Riverton

At the finish of my considerations about the solar eclipse phenomena observations, done during the last total solar eclipse in the USA as well as another few partial solar eclipses, which I have been fortunate to witness in my life, I would like to summarize all things and put them in one piece. I was … Read more

The movement of prominences against the lunar disk during total solar eclipse

TSE 2017 prominence movement

Except for many phenomena related to the total solar eclipse, that I observed away from the Sun there is one, which is worth attention. This is a prominences movement against the lunar disk, as we can observe during totality. As we know, everything moves in the sky. A fleeting solar eclipse is an effect of … 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

Sky brightness changes during total solar eclipse

Sky brightness changes total solar eclipse

Recently I have shown the light level changes during the solar eclipse. The illumination level is strongly related to the sky brightness. Both of them change at the same time throughout the eclipse. In this article I would like to focus on these changes, having external data from Wolfgang Strickling. Because his observation venue was … Read more

Light level measurements during total solar eclipse

Total solar eclipse 2017 Wyoming

The illuminance level and sky brightness are very important elements of solar eclipse phenomena because both are clearly noticeable by the observer along with his eye adaptation. When the eclipse phase is deep and turning into totality, the light level changes drastically, much quicker than on any other occasion. It makes the solar eclipse one … Read more

Visual range changes during solar eclipses

Owl Creek Mountains extended visual range total solar eclipse

A solar eclipse is a magnificent natural phenomenon, during which the direct Sun is shadowed by the moon to darken the daytime sky (Vollmer, Shaw, 2018). In this article, I would like to draw your attention to another phenomenon, which I “discovered” accidentally during the Great American Eclipse – the visual range changes. 1. INTRODUCTION … Read more

Horizontal visibility as the main factor of long-distance observations, part 1 – weather, astronomical and optical elements

Navajo Mt Horizontal visibility

This article is sort of a continuation of issues related to light scattering in the Earth’s atmosphere as well as haze presence. These subjects are closely associated with each other, so some stuff presented here can be pretty much similar and it will be developed on the grounds of my previous articles. This 2-partial article … Read more

Astrophotography with the Peakfinder.org, part 2 – solar & lunar eclipses

Peakfinder mtBlanc

In the 2nd part of this short guide on the Peakfinder.org panorama generator, I would like to focus on another kind of observation, that we can enjoy. There are solar & lunar eclipses. Those celestial events are quite rare (especially solar eclipses) so this is the prime reason, that we should prepare as best as … Read more

Total solar eclipse vizualisation on Google Earth, part 2

Solar eclipse visualization Google Earth

<<< Read the 1st part of The solar eclipse visualization on Google Earth In the 1st part of this article, I showed you how to create the “umbra” in Scribble Maps and use it in Google Earth as a .kml file. Here I would like to demonstrate step by step how to create a pretty … Read more