Tag: Skywatching
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Solar eclipse traffic and weather: Oregon feels the calm before totality
Clouds partially obscure the sun over Oregon Solarfest in Madras, Ore., precisely 24 hours in advance of Monday’s total solar eclipse. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) MADRAS, Ore. – Traffic to Oregon’s total eclipse zone has been surprisingly light over the past couple of days, but officials say they’re not out of the woods yet.…
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As eclipse nears, astronomers issue warning about fake solar glasses
Eclipse glasses let you see a partial solar eclipse safely, but they have to come from a reputable dealer. (AAS / Evan Zucker Photo) The country’s top astronomical organization says it’s alarmed by reports that potentially unsafe eclipse glasses are flooding the market in advance of the all-American solar eclipse on Aug. 21 – and…
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Here comes the sun’s corona: What eclipse chasers will see during totality in August
This image shows field lines of a solar coronal magnetic model based on measurements from the National Solar Observatory Integrated Synoptic Program, one solar rotation before the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse. (NSO / NSF Graphic) Skywatchers will see a rare celestial sight during the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse: the sun’s shimmering outer atmosphere,…
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Got eclipse glasses? Here’s how to get ’em
GeekWire’s Cara Kuhlman, Clare McGrane and Chelsey Ballarte give their eclipse glasses a test drive. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser) All of the continental United States and Canada will witness a solar eclipse on Aug. 21, but you’ll need eye protection to see the partial phase safely. This may be the event that turns solar-filter…
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Webcams and night owls capture subtle photos of the ‘aurora that nearly got away’
The colors of the aurora glow above Mount Adams in a webcam photo. (MtAdams.tv Photo) You may not have been able to see the northern lights that arced over Western Washington and other northern regions of the U.S. early this morning, but your camera might have caught it. Space weather forecasters said there was a…
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Aurora alert: Solar storm heightens chances of seeing northern lights
The northern lights shine above Seattle’s Space Needle and Queen Anne Hill in a photo captured by Tim Durkan from West Seattle in May. (Tim Durkan Photo) What could make a summer weekend even more perfect? How about the northern lights? The chances of seeing auroral displays are better than usual tonight and Sunday night.…
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Jumping Jupiter! Hubble Space Telescope gives giant planet its super-close-up
As Jupiter made its nearest approach to Earth in a year, the Hubble Space Telescope viewed the solar system’s largest planet in all of its up-close glory. This picture was taken on April 3 from a distance of 415 million miles. (STScI / ESA / NASA / GSFC Photo / A. Simon) Jupiter is as…
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Watch a fireball light up Seattle’s skies
The greenish streak just to the left of the streetlight in this dashcam video marks the flash of a fireball. (Michael Lee via YouTube) Dozens of reports have streamed in about a fireball that was seen in the skies over Washington state, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia on Thursday night. The American Meteor Society’s online tracker lists…
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Watch on the Web: ‘Ring of Fire’ solar eclipse serves as a warmup for totality
A montage of images shows the progression of an annular solar eclipse in May 2012, as seen from Red Bluff, Calif. (Brocken Inaglory Photo via Wikimedia – CC BY-SA 3.0) Skywatchers in South America and Africa will be seeing an unusual “Ring of Fire” solar eclipse on Sunday, and the rest of us should be…
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Totality-minus-6 months: Ten ways to get fired up for an all-American solar eclipse
Certified solar glasses are required to watch a partial solar eclipse. The total phase, however, should be enjoyed without wearing shades. (Rainbow Symphony Photo / Mark Margolis) BOSTON – Six months from today, millions of Americans will watch the sun darken during a rare coast-to-coast eclipse – and it’s not too early to get into the…