Mrs. Quads' Favorite Constellation

The small but pretty constellation Delphinus, the dolphin, glides high across the sky on summer nights. You need dark skies to see it. The dolphin is due east at nightfall, a little below the line linking the bright stars Deneb and Altair. It climbs high overhead later on, swimming alongside the faint glow of the Milky Way.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

ISS Tonight

29 Jun -2.0 21:14:16 W 45

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

Summer Triangle

Summer nights offer one of the grandest star patterns in the sky: the Summer Triangle. Tonight, it is well up in the east at nightfall. Dazzling Vega stands atop the triangle, with Deneb to its lower left and Altair farther to its lower right.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

teapot

The constellation Sagittarius moves into prime viewing time this month. It rises around 10 p.m. and scoots low across the south during the night. Its brightest stars form the shape of a teapot, with the handle on the left and the spout on the right.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

ISS Tonight

27 Jun -2.3 21:57:17 WSW 49

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

beautiful lineup of bright planets and stars

A beautiful lineup of bright planets and stars slants across the western sky the next few evenings. The anchor is Venus, the "evening star." Moving to the upper left of Venus, the other members of the lineup are Regulus, Mars, Saturn, and Spica.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

the Short Night Moon

The Moon is full early today, so it rises not long after sunset this evening and remains in view for the rest of the night. But since the night is short, so is the time for moonwatching, so June's full Moon is sometimes called the Short Night Moon.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

ISS Tonight

26 Jun -3.3 21:29:41 SW 54

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

a "bite" out of the Moon

Earth's shadow will take a "bite" out of the Moon early tomorrow, creating a partial eclipse. The best part of the eclipse begins when the Moon first touches the dark inner part of the shadow around 5:16 a.m. CDT. The Moon exits the shadow at 8 a.m.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

ISS Tonight

25 Jun -2.6 22:38:48 WSW 55

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

ISS Tonight

24 Jun -3.2 22:12:25 SW 47

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

4th of July fireworks photography tips

The 4th of July is nearly upon us, and that means it's time to to go watch things explode violently and colorfully in the sky... and impressing your friends with the photos you take of said explosions.

Taking good fireworks pictures isn't actually all that easy, so I've cobbled together my favorite fireworks pic-taking tips -- something of an annual tradition now at Yahoo! Tech -- to help you on your way. After all, you only get one day a year (maybe two) to snap a big fireworks show.

Don't forget to charge your batteries and clear out some space on your memory card first!

Forget the Flash
You're shooting at night or dusk, and unless you change it, your camera's auto-flash setting will want to go off with ever shutter press. Turn it off before you get started: You can no more illuminate a fireworks display with your tiny flash than you can the moon. The flash will even work against you by slowing down your camera, causing you to miss shots.

Tripods Are Your Friend
Low-light photography means keeping things as still as possible during the shot. A tripod will help immensely here. If you're comfortable with manual settings, change the aperture to f/8 or f/16 and use ISO 100, which pros say are the best settings for pyrotechnics. (Many cameras also have a special fireworks mode, obviously also worth a shot.)

Try the Rapid-Fire Mode
Most cameras have a speed mode that lets you capture 5, 10, or more shots in rapid succession with a single shutter press. Give it a try when you know a big volley is coming up. You never know what you're going to catch.

Vary Your Angles
You'll naturally feel like zooming in on the explosions in the sky, but more interesting shots often include the environment -- the crowd, surrounding buildings or landscape, clouds, and anything else nearby. Consider getting a seat further away than you might ordinarily try for so you have this option. At the same time, ultra-close zoom shots of fireworks can yield very interesting and unusual results.

Experiment with Long Exposures
If you can leave the shutter open for a while -- a few seconds or more, even -- you can capture some really interesting and unusual shots of fireworks in motion. Don't even try it unless you have a solid tripod, though.

Have Fun
Get creative with your shots. That means capturing reflections of explosions in bodies of water, mirrors, and glass windows (consider the windshield of your car), and grabbing shots of audience members, including the faces of the kids seeing fireworks for the first time.

source....

ISS Tonight

23 Jun -2.9 23:20:33 WSW 63

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

horse and rider

A horse and rider gallop high across the north on summer evenings. They form the middle of the Big Dipper's handle. They are the stars Mizar and Alcor. Mizar is the brighter of the two, with Alcor just a whisker away. They are so close together that many long-ago skywatchers thought of them as a horse and rider.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

Moon has some bright companions

The Moon has some bright companions tonight. As night falls, look for the planet Mars to the upper right of the Moon, the star Regulus to the right, and the planet Saturn farther to the upper left of the Moon.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

a beautiful triangle

The planet Mars stands to the upper left of the Moon as darkness falls tonight. It looks like an orange star. The true star Regulus is above the Moon, completing a beautiful triangle.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

beautiful pairing of the Moon and the planet Venus

A beautiful pairing of the Moon and the planet Venus highlights the western sky this evening. Venus is the brilliant "evening star" just above the crescent Moon.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

galaxy M81 is visible through binoculars

Under clear, dark skies, the galaxy M81 is visible through binoculars. Find the Big Dipper, which is high in the north at nightfall, then scan to the lower right of the dipper's bowl. M81 looks like an oval smudge of light almost as wide as the Moon.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

in the west the next few evenings

The planet Venus lines up with Pollux and Castor, the twin stars of Gemini, in the west the next few evenings. Venus is the brilliant "evening star." Pollux is to the right of Venus, with Castor about the same distance to the right of Pollux.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

the harp

Vega, the brightest star of Lyra, the harp, is in the northeast at nightfall. The remains of a star that was once like Vega stand to its lower right: the Ring Nebula. You need a telescope to see the nebula, which is thousands of light-years away.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

western sky at nightfall

The planet Mars stands high in the western sky at nightfall. It looks like a bright orange star. And tonight it has an equally bright companion: Regulus, the brightest star of Leo, the lion, which stands just a whisker below the Red Planet.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

a bright golden star

The planet Saturn poses high in the southwest as darkness falls this month. It looks like a bright golden star. A telescope reveals its best-known feature: its beautiful rings.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

The Northern Cross

The Northern Cross is one of the highlights of the summer evening sky. Look toward the northeast around 10 p.m. for six stars that form a cross that is lying on its side. The brightest star, which stands at the top of the cross, is Deneb.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill