So you’ve invested in the necessary equipment, learned how to use it, and gathered a night’s worth of photos of some deep-sky target. You’ve also shot the calibration frames that you will need. The...
Articles & Stories
The Most Important Garden Nutrient
What is the single most important nutrient for growing plants? There are two possible correct answers, water or carbon. Both of these run in global, sun-powered cycles and provide renewable energy....
Eridanus
How to Make a Porch Light Birdhouse
House Wren. Photo © Kevin Shank. Find a wall-mount porch light.Take the top off.If the wiring is still in the light, tear the wiring out.Take the panes of glass out.Spray the panes of glass with...
SpaceX and the Fireball
SpaceX launch and fireball. Photo © Jason Rinehart. The skies were dark from the Pine Tree overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. I had come here on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, to...
Satellites
I enjoy relaxing and watching the darkness of night extinguish the distractions of daytime, as the tranquil beauty of the silent stars appears. We’re used to those stars holding still, but at times...
Exploring Nature, January 2022
By mid-January, the wintering eagle population peaks in Virginia.Look at snowflake designs under a microscope.Bucks are shedding their antlers.January and February are the most popular months to...
Pup
Weddell seal and pup. Photo © Dreamstime.com. A seal pup struggles to raise himself up and looks for his mother. He is only one day old, but his senses of sight and smell are keen. There are many...
Snowbirds
Dark-eyed Junco. Photo © Kris MacLeod. It’s a crisp, bright winter morning. Snow sparkles on the spruce boughs, and my footsteps leave a deep trail to the feeders. The hoppers and trays are filled...
Mailbox, January 2022: Suet Recipe
Wondernose: What animal wears an apron of hair that drags on the ground when it walks?
Photo © Dreamstime.com. Here's a big animal for you! The adult males grow to over 6 feet (2 m) high at the shoulders. They may weigh three-quarters of a ton.Buffalo? Good guess, Wondernose, but no....
Battle of the Dining Room Floor
From the Editor’s Quill, January 2022: Starlink Satellites
Starlink satellites. “Look up there! That is those satellites!” I exclaimed to Cheryl. “Get the phone on video and get on them as fast as you can!”We were returning home from a long day in the...
Eagle Encounter
Bald Eagle approaching nest. Photo © Kevin Shank. On May 24, a beautiful Sunday afternoon, my dad, my brothers, and I headed off on an excursion. After hearing about a Bald Eagle nest about fifteen...
