Winter Solstice Holidays!

So this weekend was Winter Solstice, to be precise, on December 21 (at 17:11).

I've already mentioned this astronomical event in my blog.
But some additional information can never be excessive:

According to Wikipedia, the word solstice is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, the seasonal movement of the Sun's path (as seen from Earth) comes to a stop before reversing direction.

So in other words, this is the the shortest day of the year (the Northern hemisphere) and at the same time the longest night of the year. But from now on the day becomes longer, every day we can enjoy few more minutes of sunshine,  people celebrate the return of the light. This process will continue till the summer solstice in June.  

I've also mentioned that a lot of Winter Holidays (all of which has pagan origin, or at least the greater part of them) are connected with Winter Solstice:

...pagan holidays, such as Slavic Koleda (Kolyada), Germanic Yule, Celtic Midwinter, Incas' Inti Raymi and so on.

But this year I've found a very curious article about solstice in Chinese Culture.

And if speaking about me personally, I always feel magical at this time of the year. So there is some nice music to enjoy:

If you want to have some fun, listen to the albums of The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society called "A Very Scary Solstice" and "An even Scarier Solstice".

Oh and don't forget that the symbol of the Winter Solstice and Winter Holidays is evergreen tree. People in old times believed that evergreen trees and plants had magical powers that scare away evil spirits, diseases and help withstand long cold winter. 

I celebrated the Winter Solstice by making these decorations  from fir branches, rowan berries and rosehips:

This is the magical time of the year, enjoy it and gather strength from the positive vibes of the holidays, you will need it for the long winter ahead!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Venus-Jupiter Conjunction

Ok, I'm back.
And again in the middle of March we have some really eye-catching spectacle in the sky: The two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, conjunction.
Sunday evening (11 March) I was amused by the two really bright stars.

(c) Crazy Ink

Yesterday my friend told me that they were actually planets, not stars. The brighter one is Venus, so the other one is Jupiter. (Thank you, Danil).
According to National Geographic news the peak of this planets' show will be on Thursday. So don't miss it.

Some tips for skywatchers:
1) Look west, not too high above the horizon.
2) The best view is after several hours after the sunset.
3) The stars (and planets) are more visible outside the city (well it's obvious, but still).
4) You don't really need any optical equipment, though it's always nice if you have it. Just don't try to use it when looking at the Sun ;)

Oh, and this period of time is remarkable for the spirit of generosity and optimism =)


 Today's pictures (14.03.2012):

(c) Crazy Ink

You can also check some nice articles on that topic (I like the titles very much): 

Jupiter and Venus get intimate in night sky 

Venus and Jupiter Wrap Up Months-Long Celestial Dance

 Now go and enjoy the view!

Vernal Equinox

Translated literally, equinox means "equal night." Because the Sun is positioned above the equator, day and night are about equal in length all over the world during the equinoxes. A second equinox occurs each year on Sept. 22 or 23; in 2011, it will be on Sept. 23 at 5:05 A.M. EDT. This date will mark the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Southern (vernal denotes "spring").

 + some article for more info

So the moon wasn't that big, but it was very bright.

(c) Crazy Ink

Supermoon

The term supermoon was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979, defined as

“	...a new or full moon which occurs with the Moon at or near (within 90% of) its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit. In short, Earth, Moon and Sun are all in a line, with Moon in its nearest approach to Earth.

(c) Wikipedia

So it's already March 19, 2011 at my time zone (+5 GTM Yekaterinburg). And in an hour or so I'm gonna have a lil night walk to observe that phenomena.

Now I've read some articles about it and have found some tips:
"Do you want to watch the Super Moon. If you want to do it , i have some tips on "How to Watch a Super Moon".

Super Moon is a phenomena that happens rarely and it will be different when viewed from different parts of the world.

So if you are lucky you will be able to see Super Moon with all its beauty.

You can take a visit to the nearest Planetorium or Sky Obesrvatory which has equipments like Telescope to watch Moon.

Do not use Binoculars to watch Super Moon. It will cause damage to your Eyes and Retina.

I had an experience of trying to watch the Ordinary moon with Binoculars. I was able to see the Moon closer, but many rays or light that came from Mooon entered directly to my eye causing vision problems for a week.

I tried at an Ordinary Moon and suffered this , so do not even think of using Binoculars on Super Moon.

So the safest thing to do is climb on the terrace or roof and see the Moon with Human Eyes.

If you want to observe the Moon very close you will have to depend on the Telescopes at Observatories as i have mentioned before." (c)bigfather (HubPages)

the full version of that article: http://hubpages.com/hub/Super-Moon


History shows that Super Moon cause natural disaster or at least extraordinary intensive tides. So may be this time SuperMoon triggered disasters in Japan.
Anyway you always can find more information in the Internet ;) Fortunately I have no time to write more about it. I don't want to miss such a rare thing. Next Supermoon will be in November 14, 2016.

Take care, nightwalkers ^^

Don't let the worms have all the fun (c) Ebenezer Scrooge

I felt no Xmas/New Year spirit, till I had watched "A Christmas Carol".
Oh, And I really like what the Spirit of the Present Christmas had told to Ebenazer Scrooge:

- There are some upon the world of yours who claim to know me and my brothers, and do their deeds of ill will and selfishness in our name. These so-called "men of the cloth" are as strange to me and my kin as if they never lived. Charge their doings to them, not us.

Animated film 2009

"There are some upon this earth of yours," returned the Spirit, "who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us."

novella by Charles Dickens

Let Father Winter bring you happiness this New Year Eve!
Happy Holidays, Folks!

Father Winter by David Purcell

Artist's commentary:
I was walking, very carefully, on the north pier of the Saint Joseph lighthouse in mid-winter. The ice on the south pier light formed this beautiful ice formation. It reminded me of an old man pointing to a safe harbor. This picture was taken with a FinePix S5200 camera.

!!!Winter Solstice + Full Moon + Total Lunar Eclipse!!!

Quite a unique combination! Astronomers say that there was maybe one day like this Tuesday in the past 2,000 years. The fact that we couldn't observe eclipse from our time zone, upsets me a bit, but stil we are lucky, cause now we can enjoy some really striking pictures

And now about Winter Solstice.
The winter solstice is the time when the sun has the biggest distance to the equator.
This is the shortest day of the year, which has the longest night.



Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied from culture to culture, but most cultures have held a recognition of rebirth, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around that time. (c)
For example, pagan holidays, such as Slavic Koleda (Kolyada), Germanic Yule, Celtic Midwinter, Incas' Inti Raymi and so on. Later thess pagan holidays had transformed into modern holidays such as Christmas, New Year, Hanukkah, etc.

So Let me congratulate you, my friends!