Our January skies
We’re on to a new year and our January moon is full THIS Friday, and while you’ve heard of Supermoons this one is the opposite: a Micromoon. Supermoons are simply full moons that are closer to Earth in orbit (perigee) while Micromoons are farther away (apogee). While Supermoons are generally 226,000 miles away from Earth, Micromoons are 250,000 miles away--this month’s full moon is 252,600 miles out! Here is a fifteen second video from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory illustrating the two:
An Occultation Celebration?
First, let’s get this definition out there: “occultation” simply means “the act of blocking or concealing from view”. All of that sure sounds like a verb, but it’s a noun! And tonight, almost everywhere but HERE, the moon will pass between Earth and Mars, hiding Mars from view. The planet Mars literally goes behind the moon. What’s nice is that the moon is full tonight and the occultation occurs in the late evening (10pm to midnight), so lots of people will be able to see this happen. A big deal? Well, to some degree since lining up the Sun, the Earth, the full moon and Mars all at the same time only happens every couple of years.
Will lagging heat drag us into August?
If you watch KPRC 2, then you may have noticed lately that sometimes the high temperature for the day doesn’t actually occur until after 5 p.m. and, often, closer to 6 p.m. Despite the sun being highest in the sky around noon, the heat builds all day to its crescendo in the later afternoon. In turn, the earth cools all night so that our coolest temperatures are usually right at dawn (ask walkers and joggers). This daily lagging effect applies to our seasons, also. It’s called the seasonal lag effect.
LIVE: SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying Ax-1 crew set to return to Earth after nearly 15 days in space
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying Ax-1 crew is set to make a splashdown to Earth on Monday after spending almost 15 days on the orbiting laboratory conducting scientific experiments and outreach activities, according to Axiom Space.
Mickey Mouse to Texas? Fort Bend County Judge KP George extends invitation to Disney to consider new resort in Texas amid fallout over self-government in Florida
Would you want an outpost of “the most magical place on Earth” down the highway on 59? Fort Bend County Judge KP George says, “come on down!”
Remembering the lost art of ski ballet, a Winter Olympics tradition
Every four years, the world's greatest athletes across the winter sport disciplines gather at the Olympic Games to provide a spectacle of sport and sportsmanship. And every four years, we must revisit the lost Olympic art of ski ballet.
Watch out for Fake Moons!
I have to admit: I wish this one was real. The huge moon eclipsing the sun somewhere around the north pole went viral crazy last week looking something like you’d see in a Star Wars movie on another planet. The descriptor even read like a movie-trailer: Imagine that you are in a place between Russia and Canada in the Arctic during the day, where there is 24-hour daylight in the summertime. At a certain time, the Moon appears for 30 seconds just above the horizon - which explains it’s enormous size - and after it covers the Sun for about 5 seconds - it disappears again!
A completely fall-to-the-knees moment!
Tokyo earthquake: 5.8, 5.9 or 6.0?
You may have heard about a strong Earthquake off Japan’s coast yesterday at 3:22pm CDT (5:22am Japan Time). Our KPRC 2 Anchors in Tokyo, Keith Garvin and Christine Noel, reported that the minor shaking lasted less than 30 seconds and felt a bit like standing on a rocking boat. ExactTrack radar detected the quake 130 miles from Tokyo as you can see in my cover graphic.