The Sky This Week, 2011 June 7 – 14 — Naval Oceanography Portal
June’s Full Moon [6/15] is variously known as the Rose Moon, Flower Moon, Strawberry Moon, or Honey Moon. Each of these names derive from the characteristic appearance of June’s Full Moon, which occurs as Luna reaches her southernmost declination of the year.
The Sky This Week, 2011 June 7 – 14 — Naval Oceanography Portal
Abandoned campfires in S.F. area prompt boost in restrictions – The Santa Fe New Mexican
Since Jan. 1, there have been 13 fires in the Santa Fe National Forest, all human caused and most of them from abandoned campfires. Santa Fe National Forest and the Valles Caldera National Preserve entered stage 2 fire restrictions Friday, banning all campfires, including in developed campgrounds. "They found one today, after we went to stage 2 fire restrictions," said Lawrence Lujan, Santa Fe National Forest spokesman.
Abandoned campfires in S.F. area prompt boost in restrictions – The Santa Fe New Mexican
[hat tip dangerousmeta]
The Sky This Week, 2011 June 7 – 14 — Naval Oceanography Portal
Due to the complex interplay between modern timekeeping and the elliptical nature of Earth’s orbit we’ll experience the year’s earliest sunrise on the 14th. …We won’t experience the latest sunset until the 28th… Sandwiched in between is the solstice itself, and it is on this day that we experience the longest duration of daylight for the year with the Sun above the horizon for 14 hours and 55 minutes. Summer is almost "officially" upon us!
The Sky This Week, 2011 June 7 – 14 — Naval Oceanography Portal
Aerial imagery of the Wallow Fire in Arizona | Google Earth Blog
Started on May 29, the Wallow Fire, located near the Arizona and New Mexico border, had already burned 389,000 acres when Landsat captured a stunning aerial image of it on June 7.
Smoke from the fire has affected air quality as far north as Wyoming and as far east as Georgia. The U.S. Geological Survey and NASA cooperate closely in managing the Landsat program and we have them to thank for images such as this.
To view it yourself in Google Earth, simply download this KML file.
Aerial imagery of the Wallow Fire in Arizona | Google Earth Blog
As usual, Boston’s The Big Picture has some great photos, although I hate scrolling to see them.
Arizona wildfire rages on – The Big Picture – Boston.com
2 Fire crew members sharpen their tools as they prepare for a back burn operation in Eagar, Arizona. A raging forest fire in eastern Arizona has scorched an area the size of Phoenix, threatening thousands of residents and emptying towns as the flames raced toward New Mexico, June 8, 2011. (Jae C. Hong/Associated Press) #
Arizona wildfire rages on – The Big Picture – Boston.com
June 2011 Arizona fires seen from space | Earth | EarthSky
Three images taken from space of the Wallow North fire in Arizona in June 2011 show the fierce magnitude of this event.
June 2011 Arizona fires seen from space | Earth | EarthSky [via Arizona Hiking]
Arizona Wallow fire: Are wildfires getting worse? – By Jeremy Singer-Vine – Slate Magazine
Are large American wildfires becoming more common?
Yes, at least in the West, home to most of the nation’s largest wildfires.
Arizona Wallow fire: Are wildfires getting worse? – By Jeremy Singer-Vine – Slate Magazine [via dangerousmeta]
Ash from this fire covered my chair in Albuquerque.
Look for Luna’s slender crescent very low in the west-northwest about half an hour after sunset on the 3rd. The following evening you’ll find her making an attractive triangle with Castor and Pollux, the Gemini Twins. On the night of the 7th she passes about seven degrees south of the star Regulus, heart of Leo, the Lion. The Sky This Week, 2011 May 31 – June 6 — Naval Oceanography Portal
PUH-lease. Altura Park has had nesting Cooper’s hawks for years; some years more than one nest, more than one chick. We saw 5 juveniles playing on the tennis courts. Never heard of a problem. We’re thrilled to see hawks throughout the city.
A Rare Eclipse of the Midnight Sun – NASA Science
"It might sound like a contradiction to have a solar eclipse in the middle of the night, but this is what we will see in northern Norway, Sweden and Finland on June 1st," says Knut Joergen Roed Oedegaard, an astrophysicist at the Norwegian Centre for Science Education in Oslo.
A previous "midnight Sun" eclipse photographed by Oddleiv Skilbrei in northern Sweden on July 31, 2000. The eclipse of June 1, 2011, will be more than twice as deep.
A Rare Eclipse of the Midnight Sun – NASA Science
The Sky This Week, 2011 May 31 – June 6 — Naval Oceanography Portal
The New Moon that occurs on June 1st will have an unusual twist this year since it will produce a partial solar eclipse that’s best seen from the arctic regions. The only portion of the U.S. that will see it will be the northern half of Alaska, with the greatest coverage of about 20% of the Sun visible from Point Barrow. Across the pole, residents of extreme northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and western Siberia will see about 60% of the Sun obscured as Old Sol skirts the horizon at local midnight!
The Sky This Week, 2011 May 31 – June 6 — Naval Oceanography Portal
[a very cool graphic]
This is a map of every star within 50 light years visible with the naked eye from Earth. There are 133 stars marked on this map. Most of these stars are very similar to the Sun and it is probable that there are many Earth-like planets around these stars. There are roughly 1400 star systems within this volume of space containing 2000 stars, so this map only shows the brightest 10% of all the star systems, but most of the fainter stars are red dwarfs.
The Sky This Week, 2011 May 10 – 17 — Naval Oceanography Portal
Full Moon, which occurs on the 17th at 7:09 am Eastern Daylight Time. May’s Full Moon is variously known as the Flower Moon, Milk Moon, or Corn Planting Moon, depending on whose mythology you prefer.
The Sky This Week, 2011 May 10 – 17 — Naval Oceanography Portal
International Migratory Bird Day
What is International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD)?
IMBD celebrates and brings attention to one of the most important and spectacular events in the Americas – bird migration. Bird Day is celebrated in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.When is International Migratory Bird Day??
IMBD officially takes place on the second Saturday in May in the U.S. and Canada and in October in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean each year.
International Migratory Bird Day
Hat tip to Mike’s Birding & Digiscoping Blog, a great site for bird photos.
“Albuquerque has only had 0.14" of liquid moisture since the start of 2011. That makes this the driest start to any year of record. 1947 comse in second with 0.24" and 2006 is third with 0.31".†[abqjournal]
Northwest Greenland Canyons : Image of the Day
Northwest Greenland Canyons
Posted May 1, 2011
download large image (9 MB, JPEG)
