Wimberley area skygazers, residents and visitors, are often lucky enough to
have an unobstructed view of the wonders of the night
sky. Away from the light
pollution of the city, even a few minutes skywatching can be relaxing,
restorative, and reawaken our sense of place in the
universe. Welcome to The Wimberley Sky.
Named for the extinct constellation Quadrans Muralis, this meteor shower is best viewed after the Moon sets in the very early morning. More spectacular (in a cosmic way) than all the fireworks man devises, it presents no fire hazard to Central Texas and offers about a hundred "shooting stars" per hour. Look for it around 1 AM.
This year (2013) nature didn't cooperate with
viewing, but with a clear
sky intrepid late night / early morning skywatchers will be abundantly rewarded.
April's
meteor shower, the Lyrids, peak at about 10 to
20 each hour. The cool thing about these is
their unpredictability...if you check these out
some time between late night April 22nd until
dawn of the 23rd, you may see occasional surges
bringing the number up to 100 per hour. The
evening before may be almost as good a time to
view them.
The moon will be competing for your
attention, but find a dark sky in Wimberley to
watch the sky and you may be well rewarded.
Believed
to be the year’s best meteor shower by some,
the Perseid meteor shower is spectacular when the moon doesn't inhibit viewing.
The 2011 Perseids peak on August 13th, with
competition from a full moon. More
here...
Phoenix touched down at 6:53 p.m. CST on Sunday, May 25, 2008...the first spacecraft ever to reach a polar region of Mars.
See video and photos, along with the latest from
this probe. More
here...
Our Visible Earth
A huge resource with searchable database including images, animations and visualizations of our planet. Check out such items as smoke plumes over the Gulf states, carbon monoxide around the earth and hydrological changes.
Light
Pollution DarkSky.org is the website of
the International Dark-Sky Association. The Resources
link there is recommended. Help keep the Wimberley Sky
beautiful!
Earth
& SkyPodcasts, articles, blogs, and
home on the web for the popular Earth & Sky radio
moments.
