Asteroid Florence Scheduled to do a near pass by the Earth Tomorrow

September 1st, 2017 is not only the beginning of a new month, the day of remembrance for Eid al Adha in the Muslim world, or the start of the new school year in the United States.

It is also the day that Asteroid Florence will be passing only 4.4 million miles away from the Earth. Best of all, it should be visible to either the naked eye or simple light telescopes, if pointed in the proper direction and at the right time.

Space.com had a great write up discussing the way that the asteroid was going to travel between the planets in it's grand trip, and their video helps to visualize the areas that the asteroid traverses when we can't immediately visualize it, but you can't blame people for being both excited and concerned when a 4.8 kilometer wide rock flies by the planet at breakneck speeds.

I hope that you guys and dolls get a chance to check it out, and that this near-Earth object and out home world never meet.

The Great American Eclipse seems to have rekindled Americans' Enthusiasm for the skies

Just in case you happen to live in a different part of the world, a good portion of the United States was fortunate enough to see a full solar eclipse earlier this month on August 22nd, 2017, and even more of the Northern American continent was able to see a partial eclipse.

I didn't happen to be located on the path of the totality, but I had a free hour during the eclipse in my area and I got to see the sun with a bite taken out of it. Even a partial solar eclipse is pretty cool when you can see it from your driveway.

What I find interesting is the number of people who suddenly became enthusiasts overnight, and it seems like the "popular science" crowd picked up on astrophotography for the first time, while the children of the space age had their childhood dreams of exploring the moon, near planets, and distant stars reawakened.

Check out some of the pictures that have been posted to the different forums, and if you haven't look into the video available from NASA.

It's a sight to be seen.

Nasa Website Dedicated to the eclipse Streams

Reddit's Astrophotography Forum

Ideal conditions for Lunar photography June 12th and June 13th

Assuming that you have access to clear skies and  bit of patience, tonight and tomorrow night offer a fantastic opportunity to observe the (nearly) full moon here in the United States.

The west coast is scheduled to be relatively calm for the next two days and only recently having crossed the midpoint of its cycle, the moon will appear nearly full tonight and tomorrow night.

Make sure to look to the skies, and share your results.

Clear skies and a full moon make for a wonderful experience

Here on the West Coast of the United States, the weather has been surprisingly clear for days in a row. I've been lucky enough to encounter clear skies and a full or nearly full moon several nights in a row, and as a result I've had great views of a full round circle framed by trees that are yet to develop foliage.

What sorts of sights have you been able to capture in your parts of the world?