Category: Astronomy
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Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks: Some Ways to See it, Where and When
Today, we’re going to be taking a brief and general look at the comet 12P/Pons-Brooks. As with all comets, and most things in the sky, there is a pattern to the names, 12P for being the 12th periodic comet and Pons-Brooks for the surnames of the two astronomers recognized for its discovery. This comet has…
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The Analemma, How the Sun moves Throughout the Year
The analemma has been the subject of the past two Irish language videos so if you’ve been reading along here, then you already know that it is a figure eight shape traced out by the Sun over the course of the year. We’re going to take a further look at this motion, from Ireland and…
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An Radharc ón Meánchiorcal: an Anailéim ar lean
In this video, we will finish dealing with the strange motion of the Sun in our sky by travelling to the equator and observing the analemma, from (almost) the sub-solar point. Of course, we will also be heading forward in time to the equinox, so while that happens at the beginning of the video we…
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The Spring Equinox at the North Pole, plus the Solstices and More!
In this video, we take a look at the sky from the North Pole, at one of the most interesting times of the year to do so, the equinox. Specifically, this is the spring or vernal equinox, the March equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. After months of darkness, the Sun is finally starting to rise.…
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An Cónocht, Grianstad, Iarnóin agus Anailéim: Níl an Grian san áit ina Cheap Tú
Welcome to Seachtain na Gaeilge! Seachtain na Gaeilge, Irish Week or the Week of Irish, is a celebration of the Irish language in Ireland, and for a while now it has lasted a fortnight, from the 1st of March till the 14th. This gives me time to put up an few extra Irish videos, at…
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Mars: How and When to See it and How it Moves in the Sky.
As you may have seen in some of the recent posts here, Mars is beginning to be visible in the morning sky, but we’re going to have to move to the end of March and beyond before it reaches a good position for observation, at least those of us in higher latitudes. Starting right on…
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A Quick Look into March: The Equinox, Mercury and a Conjunction in February!
We are very early into the month of March, so we’re going to take a look forward at a few of the events it will contain. However, we’re also going to review a couple of the things that are happening now, at the end of February. Most of these are occurrences that have been mentioned…
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Ó Feabhra go Márta, an Cónocht, Pláinéid agus Urú!
Although this Irish language video takes a look ahead into March, there are still a few interesting things yet to happen in February. To start on a low note, Saturn will be gone from the sky at night, by now as the Sun is setting, Saturn will be out of view. Jupiter is still there,…
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100 Subscriber Q&A: Part 2, Eccentricity, Constellations and the Shape of the Moon
We’re back for part two of the 100 subscriber Q&A special, so let’s dive right in. The first question is “What makes an orbit eccentric?”. This is a great question, mostly because eccentricity is such a complex thing. Many of the planets in our solar system a lot of the orbits are minimally eccentric compared…
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100 Subscriber Q&A: Part 1, Eclipses and the Solar System
This is the 100 Subscriber Q&A special, so I’ll be answering a couple of questions viewers have submitted. It turns out, I really did only answer couple of questions, just two in this video, hence the “Part 1”, the second part coming Thursday will finish up. I ended up giving almost two answers to every…
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