Biodynamic Astronomy Lecture and Star Party on September 6th

Over the past many years I've made several visits to a biodynamic farm called Live Power Farm. The children at San Francisco Waldorf School have a tradition of going there to learn about farming and as a parent on several of these trips I have had a chance to get to know the farmers at Live Power Farm and the approach they embrace, biodynamic farming. It relates to astronomy because it is a very natural and harmonious approach to working with soil, seed, sun and the cycles of nature. As a member of the Live Power CSA, I share in the bounty of the farm and enjoy the amazing food they produce every week.

On my visits to Live Power Farm I learned that the farmers are very cognizant of the lunar cycles and planetary positions with respect to the Sun and Earth. They use a well known guidebook by Maria Thun and biodynamic calendars to guide their work on the farm and I was fascinated to see how farmers worldwide have come to understand cycles in the heavens and use these cycles in their farming. I spent many nights at Live Power Farm talking with the farmers and apprentices about the celestial mechanics of the sky to deepen their appreciation of how these cycles actually come to be.

Saturday September 6th I will be hosting a lecture with Stephen Decater of Live Power Farm. I will share my insights on how to understand the motions of the Moon and planets and how we see their motions from our vantage point here on Earth. Stephen will share his interpretations of these motions and how he works with the cycles in the heavens to guide his work on the farm. Please join us at 7:00 pm for the lecture and 8:30 for star gazing and telescope viewing of the skies. This event takes place at the Marin Waldorf School and is being sponsored by Live Power Farm, San Francisco Waldorf and Marin Waldorf Schools. I hope to see you there.

KFOG Broadcast: August 5th, 2008

Dance of the Planets

The evening sky in August and September will feature a terrific display of planets, stars and the moon in an elegant dance just above the horizon shortly after sunset. This interplay of planets is a chance to become familiar with the motions of the planets, particular the closest three (Mars, Venus and Mercury) in stark contrast with the motion of the stars and Saturn.

Sky and Telescope has an impressive animation showing the motion of the objects in the evening sky from the start of August until the end of September. The stars move a small distance closer to the horizon every evening of the year, but the planets move from the west toward the east in their orbit around the sun.

Perseids Meteor Shower

While observing in the mountains two weeks ago I saw several meteors streak across the sky. Meteors are always a joy to watch because they appear completely without warning yet are so brilliant to see. Seeing one is the reward for keeping focused on the sky and keeping your eyes open and attentive. Every night of the year there are many meteors to be seen but throughout the year there are particularly intense periods of meteor activity called Meteor Showers. The biggest show of the year is the Perseids Meteor Shower which peaks this year during the morning of August 12th. StarDate Online has a helpful list of meteor showers throughout the year and provides some insight how they happen.

There are two simple guidelines for observing the Perseids. First of all you want to be in a dark location with a clear view of the eastern sky. From San Francisco there is a great deal of light pollution which will obscure many of the meteors. The brightest meteors will still be visible but the rate will be considerably lower than the 1-meteor-per-minute rate you would see in very dark skies. So if you want a good view, drive east away from urban centers. Second of all, you want to view them in the early morning hours when the earth is speeding into the spacedust that makes up the meteor shower and when the moon has set. The best viewing should be from 2 AM until 4:30 AM. NASA has a helpful page showing where to look in the sky. During the early morning hours the rate will increase up to a maximum of 1 per minute.

Great eclipse images

The total solar eclipse of August 1st was well documented. Sky and Telescope has a nice gallery of pictures. I find that photos can't really do justice to the real thing, but a collection of photos like those on Sky and Telescope are interesting if taken in total -- that is, look at many of them and imagine seeing all of these images at the same time with your eye. That is what it is like at an eclipse. Your eye can see a lot more shades of brightness than a camera and besides the visual spectacle of an eclipse, being there is an unforgettable experience.

A colleague showed me this amazing view of the total solar eclipse from an airplane. The most intriguing thing to me is the way the shadow of the moon looks from the vantage point of an airplane and how it moves from north to south during the very short period of totality. It must be a very eerie sight to see in person.

Astrophotographer Dennis diCicco takes excellent photographs and this depicts him at work in China.This image gives you a sense of what it looks like to be there with a dusk-like but not dark sky. You can see Mercury and Venus to the upper left of the sun-moon pair.

The Exploratorium had its usual great coverage of the eclipse live from China. The video is now available for replay on their website. It is a great resource if you want to get an idea of what it is like to be at an eclipse.

Total Solar Eclipse in China

Friday August 1st is the date of the next Total Solar Eclipse. Like lunar eclipses, solar eclipses happen frequently but total solar eclipses are somewhat less common and furthermore, to see a total solar eclipse you generally have to travel to a narrow track (unlike Lunar Eclipses which are visible from just about anywhere on the night side of the earth).

The eclipse this week follows a very narrow track across the arctic regions of the globe and finishes across Siberia and western China. The Exploratorium of San Francisco is sending a crew to report on the eclipse including a live video linkup and webcast from the ground in China. For the hard core eclipse fans who want to feel some of the excitement without leaving the Bay Area, the Exploratorium is having an all night party. The Exploratorium did this for the last total solar eclipse in Turkey (both broadcasting live from Turkey and having a party at the Exploratorium). I had the good fortune to travel to Turkey and witness that solar eclipse from Side on the Mediterranean coast.

Given that the eclipse happens during the afternoon in China, it will be very early Friday morning here in California (4 am). For those who want to watch it live on the internet, you will have to get up early. And for those who are into long-range planning, the next Total Solar Eclipse is in July 2009 in Asia and the Pacific, and in 2017 in the United States.

Changing Perspectives

I spent last week at the Stanford Sierra Camp at Fallen Leaf Lake near Lake Tahoe. At nearly 6400 feet elevation with dry clear skies, the view of the night sky was excellent. I hosted two stargazing sessions during the week in which fellow campers took in the view of deep space objects such as the Lagoon Nebula, Swan Nebula and Andromeda Galaxy plus some riveting views of Jupiter's most prominent cloud belts and the four Galilean Moons. All of this was possible using a 5 inch telescope under the right conditions. The view from the boat dock at Sierra Camp faces east, motivating me to get better acquainted with a few constellations I had never fully appreciated such as Andromeda, Pegasus, Delphinus, Aquarius and even Aquila, because many of the stars in these constellations are not visible in the city. The dark skies gave me a chance to see them in their entirety. It's never too late to see something new so if you get out in the dark this summer, take a star chart and make a few discoveries.

Growing up in Los Angeles I saw summer concerts at the Hollywood Bowl and noticed that even in the bright lights of LA, you can see the Summer Triangle shining above the stage at the Hollywood Bowl. That perspective never has escaped me and whenever I see the Summer Triangle during July or August in the early evening, I can visualize myself looking at the stage at a Hollywood Bowl concert. Last night I was watching Steely Dan at the Berkeley Greek Theater and learned a new view, that of the stars over the Berkeley Greek at night. Above the stage to the left was Scorpio, rising higher as the concert went on. To the right were the stars of Leo (with Mars and Saturn still nearby in the glowing sky after sunset). Just above the stage is Spica (the brightest star in Virgo) and Arcturus (the brightest star in Bootes). Most of the other stars in Virgo and in nearby Libra are too washed out by city light and moisture in the air to be seen above the Greek theater stage, but there were still plenty of bright stars and planets to enjoy. Later in the evening Jupiter, now visible in Sagittarius, rose in the east (above the stage to the left) and dominated the sky. I enjoyed getting to know a new night sky above a popular venue and look forward to the memories of that concert every time I see this particular lineup of stars.

Planets fading into the sunset

The evening sky has been graced by the sight of Saturn and Mars over the previous months and as the two slowly fade into the glare of sunset they are making one last beautiful show with the Moon and with each other. On July 5th and 6th Mars and Saturn create a beautiful group next to the crescent Moon and they slowly move closer to each other until Thursday July 10th when they are separated by a mere 0.7 degrees, slightly more than width of a full Moon. Mars, being much closer to Earth than Saturn, appears to move a small amount to the east each evening and has been gradually drawing closer to Saturn. It's quite a finale to see these two worlds so close to each other from our point of view. By month's end they will be nearly out of sight.