rnmay.bsky.social

Today Venus reached inferior conjunction, passing (almost) directly between the Earth and the Sun. This photograph was taken through clouds at 1:05pm, when our inside neighbor was only 6.6° away from the Sun, using my Questar 3.5 and an iPhone 15 Pro. @skyandtelescope.bsky.social #astronomy

Another view of the recent aurora over Hella, Iceland. Nine second time lapse, or about a minute 45 real time. Heading back there tomorrow, and expecting an even stronger light show. Enjoy! #astronomy #weather #photography

A super rare ‘white rainbow’ (also known as a fog rainbow) captured by my son while we were traveling on the Snaefellsness Peninsula in Iceland earlier this morning. #rainbows #photography #weather

Until now, I never lived where I could watch the Moon rise. It’s stunning, and it never gets old. Grab a pal and a seat and try it. #astronomy #photography #moon

America didn’t turn its back on the world; our criminal psychopath president turned America’s back on the world. @latimes.com

My iPhone no longer auto-corrects me out of using the word ‘fuck’ when I write something about Donald Trump.

Trump cutting the legs off our democracy is just his opening act. He’s going to destroy our monetary system, bankrupting the country in the process. We’ll be unable to defend ourselves because we won’t be able to pay for anything. And that’s it. This November makes or breaks us. @ms.now @cnn.com

Every time I turn on the TV, I miss Steve Jobs. Too many channels, too many menus, and too many operating options. On Demand or Apple TV? Paramount Plus? Or Amazon Prime? If Jobs was still alive we’d have unlimited selections, and a single menu to navigate. @corporate.comcast.com

Another beautiful (roughly) first quarter Moon. Taken at dusk this evening; iPhone close-coupled to the eyepiece of my Questar 3.5 #photography #astronomy

I asked ChatGPT to de-noise a screen grab of Jupiter with Io and Ganymede taken with my Questar Seven a while ago… interesting results. What do you think? #astronomy #photography

Here’s a picture of the Moon and Mercury rising into clouds, taken earlier this morning, with the Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux, above. #astronomy #photography #moon

After twenty years I was compelled to download my Complete @newyorker.com archive to read the JD Salinger short from Dec 21 1946 after reading last week’s splendid @nytimes.com 75th anniversary review of Catcher in the Rye by @alexandrajacobs.bsky.social

#glass #blueskyartshow Business end of a Questar Seven maksutov-cassegrain telescope.

Everyone should walk out on Trump. Now. @cnn.com @msnowreports.bsky.social @nbcnews.com @cbsnews.com.web.brid.gy @cbsnews.com Get moving, kids.

A nice daytime view of the Moon and Venus is happening now, for those interested. Venus should be an easy binocular target; find the Moon, scan up 7-8 diameters or so, and then hang a slight left. 😉 #astronomy #photography

Hey, Maggie and Jonathan, I fixed it for you. You’re welcome. @simonandschuster.bsky.social @nytimes.com

@markleibovich.bsky.social I love sneaking peeks at personal libraries. How are your books all the same height? 😉 @ms.now

My copy arrives July 7. Please keep in mind that the Iranians and Israelis - and our allies and enemies - will be reading it, too. @nytimes.com

There’s no space in my life for the New CBS. If I want lies I can watch Fox. @cbsnews.com

When historians parse this presidency, they will learn that one of Trump‘s tenets was, ‘Spend every dollar you can.’ When his name was put on the Kennedy center they used scissor lifts, and to remove it they spent $1 million on manpower and equipment when they could’ve done it in a day for $25,000.

Here’s our Moon rising with the Pleiades earlier this morning. Tomorrow I’ll try to spot and photograph it at just about 0.6% full. #astronomy #photography

Giving a shout-out to Kristen Welker for a job well done, while showing Bari Weiss - and others - how to not back away from pathetic liars. @kristenwelker.bsky.social @nbcnews.com @meetthepress.com @cbsnews.com

@kristenwelker.bsky.social Great job with Trump. Are you saving these? You should be able to wallpaper your house with enough of them, but save room for your Pulitzer! And ps: we love you!! @nbcnews.com @meetthepress.com

@nenrich.bsky.social A great book, a great read…. and it only took 750,000 lives to write it. Heartbreaking.

A hug to you for your review of ‘The Dog’s Gaze’ in the new issue of TNY. It’s not like losing a parent; it’s more like losing a child. Applying human sensibilities to dogs/cats can be tough. Our pets live better than 40% of the world - living in poverty. @newyorker.com @adamgopnik.bsky.social

God bless Scott Pelley. And goodbye, 60 Minutes. @cbsnews.com.web.brid.gy @cbsnews.com @60minutes.bsky.social @ms.now

@assemblydems.bsky.social @cademocrats.bsky.social Cal Dems: now that Bessera has the lead, STOP trying to fragment the Party by continuing to air your attack ads targeting each other. The enemy is on the OTHER side of the aisle, not this one. @gavinnewsom.bsky.social @schiff.senate.gov

The Moon, captured at 12:45pm and just 5% full, with a passing jet. Venus is below the frame. #astronomy #photography

Happy 96th birthday (yesterday) to Jasper Johns, America’s Michelangelo - and greatest living artist. @moma.bsky.social @metart.bsky.social

This beauty is M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, situated right at the edge of the handle of the Big Dipper. Fifty-five minute exposure with a Seestar S30 Pro. #astronomy

Here’s a quick look at the Andromeda Galaxy - it’s only a 15 minute exposure because it rose just before sunrise. The light from this galaxy took 2 1/2 million years to get here. I’ll post a better picture in a few months when it’s positioned higher in a darker sky. #astronomy

Tonight’s full Moon rising, in case you missed it… #photography

This is exactly what the presidency of a madman in turmoil looks like. Expect anything. It’s all being staged for an audience of one. @maddow.bsky.social @cnn.com

@metropolitanopera.bsky.social I hope you know that Donald Trump told Saudi Arabia to pull back their proposed $200 million donation to you only because he’s an asshole. @mayor.nyc.gov @moma.bsky.social @metmuseum.org

Hey S&T: I think you have your dates mixed up. As far as I can tell, the lunar occultation of Regulus occurs Friday, April 25, not Saturday, April 26. @skyandtelescope.bsky.social

Here’s a look at the Moon and Venus setting into clouds, with the Pleiades visible in a bit of clear sky above. #astronomy

Once Trump is out of office, pardons granted to any White House staff must be rescinded, and those people, along with Trump and his family, must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. @cnn.com @msnowreports.bsky.social @thebulwark.com @barbmcquade.bsky.social @maddow.bsky.social

The haze or "aura" often seen around a lightning bolt is caused by the intense ionization of nitrogen and oxygen in the air as the bolt discharges, creating plasma that illuminates as it cools. This phenomenon is captured in high-speed photography, reflecting the electrical energy discharge.

I’ll be surprised if even a single Trump dollar passing through my hands doesn’t have this criminal motherfucker’s signature blacked out.

Tonight’s 99.9% full Moon… #astronomy

Here’s the slo-mo grab of last night’s ISS transit taken just after 11pm local time. iPhone to the eyepiece of my Questar 3.5 at 50x magnification; actual transit time was just under one second. #astronomy #photography #moon

Here’s a prep shot for tonight’s ISS transit, taking place in about 3.5 hours and two miles away, if the clouds cooperate. If all goes well it should be a good one, with the station almost 60 arc minutes in size. Stay tuned! 😁 #astronomy #photography

With a little luck you can make a daytime Jupiter grab… just find the moon and hang a right…

This is what happens when you don’t plan properly: the ‘bug’ you see shooting across the bottom left-hand side of my screen is actually the Tiangong space station; I did not leave enough room below the Moon to capture it properly. Nonetheless, I was surprised to record it in daylight. #moon

Venus (blue arrow) and Mercury (red arrow) are back in the early evening sky. #astronomy

Going through some shots of the Moon and Jupiter last night with light cloud cover, I bumped into this… #photography #astronomy

The aurora seems to be heating up, here now (6:45pm Pacific time) forty miles northeast of Sacramento. @vincentledvina.bsky.social @astroroyalscot.bsky.social @davidbflower.bsky.social @astronomyedinburgh.bsky.social @imometeors.bsky.social @astrosociety.org #astronomy