During this, the Long Night Moon, I compiled a list of gifts of enlightenment for readers that will, in turn, support generous gift giving to the Earth.
Even though moonlight this year will overwhelm the light of many Geminid meteors, begin to look skyward every night at about 9 p.m., facing away from the moon.
In many area gardens, beds of early beets, carrots, turnips and garlic bulbs will be harvested between now and early August, challenging us to choose short-season and frost-hardy varieties for continuous planting.
Wherever the Big Dipper is in the sky, simply “arc to Arcturus” to be assured that you have located the second brightest star visible in northern skies.
This week December’s Geminid shower is predicted to peak Thursday the 13th after 10 p.m. into Friday the 14th before dawn, with 2 a.m. as optimum observing.
The world is full of darkness to be found at every turn; to acknowledge its presence -- to hold space for it -- is not the same as letting it engulf us and extinguish our light.
After the Summer Solstice, waiting for us just around the next bend in time’s progress, the shadow will begin its drift back toward me, slowly demonstrating the diminishing light and the shortening days.
When planning on being outdoors at dawn for planet- and star-gazing, know that being out just an hour earlier may add shooting stars to your experiences of the heavens.
Although moonlight will screen out a view of all but a fraction of the shooting stars in the Geminid meteor shower, “a patient observer may be able to spot 20 or so per hour, even from urban locations,” according to the United States Naval Observatory writer.
Halloween encourages our imaginations and coaxes us to embrace the dark time of year marks the approximate halfway point between the autumnal equinox (September 22) and the winter solstice (December 21).
