What a Winter Solstice!
Today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year and the official start of the Winter season. Tomorrow, the days will start to get longer again, as we head towards Spring, which is only 12 weeks away! What is really exciting about this Winter Solstice is that there is a also a Full Moon! But wait! There is also a Lunar Eclipse! The last time that these three things occurred simultaneously was 372 years ago!
Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse from William Castleman on Vimeo.
By the time you read this, the lunar eclipse will have already occurred, but you can watch it happening on the video!
It's hard to imagine that, at one time, the sky was the only clock or calendar or map available. You had to really know how to read and understand the sky, if you wanted to go anywhere and find your way back, if you wanted to plant seeds that would have a chance to grow into food, or even if you just wanted to be safe from the elements.
My mom is always saying that, if she listened to the weatherperson, she would never wear the right coat. "Look out the window!" is my advice! Spectacular events like lunar eclipses get many of us looking up, but there are things going on in the sky all the time that deserve our attention. Amateur astronomy is a wonderful hobby for anyone and a great way to reconnect with Nature. Some good binoculars and a dedicated magazine, like SkyNews, can make a huge difference in your understanding and appreciation of the sky.
SkyNews, The Canadian Magazine of Astronomy and Stargazing, is among the best publications for novice stargazers and astrophotographers anywhere. Written in an easy-to-understand style by astronomy experts and edited by popular astronomy author Terence Dickinson, each full-colour issue carries amazing photos, columns, equipment reviews, how-to articles and the world's finest star charts (designed for night-sky viewing from Canada). It was named Best New Magazine in Canada in 1996.
We are so lucky to have an actual observatory near to where we live and no doubt there is somewhere similar close enough to you to visit. Tickets to an observatory, a telescope or binoculars, a subscription to a magazine such as SkyNews, would all make awesome gifts, for Christmas or birthdays, to an adult or a child! Throw in some of those glow-in-the-dark stars that you can buy and stick on the ceiling of your bedroom to look at when the lights go out and you have yourself a fantastic gift to give or keep!
A very happy Winter Solstice to you! Keep looking up! It's almost Spring!
Do you have binoculars?
:: images courtesy of Magazines Canada, and CaptMondo.
