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Nightwise.org expresses my astronomy outreach and personal interests.  Content includes blog posts, upcoming events, projects, dark sky advocacy, and other pursuits.  I welcome your feedback
-Chuck Bueter

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Events 2023

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April 8

The one-year countdown begins for the 2024 total solar eclipse.  It's not too early to advise school boards and businesses to mark 2024 calendars and to consider time off for viewing one of nature's greatest spectacles--a total solar eclipse.

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Attend the community engagement event on Thursday, April 13, to learn firsthand about solar farms in general and the Honeysuckle Solar Farm near New Carlisle, IN, in particular.  Free and open to the public.

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Join astronomers with telescopes set up in a field at Dr. TK Lawless Park in Vandalia, MI.  Come for an hour or come for the weekend.  See the sky as you have never seen it before!

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See Venus by Day

See Venus in the daytime sky when the crescent moon is nearby as a guide.  In 2023, best opportunities include June 21, July 19 and 20, September 11, and October 10. 

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2024 Solar Eclipse is April 8

One of the most amazing of natural phenomena occurs on Monday, April 8, 2024, when the moon passes directly in front of the sun.  Start planning now to see the solar eclipse from the path of totality. 

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Make Solargraphs

Make a solargraph between the solstices to show the annual path of sun.  With an aluminum can, some duct tape, and photographic film, your pinhole camera will capture a long-duration snapshot of time and place.  The June solstice is a good time to start an exposure.

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For astronomy events in our northern Indiana region, see the Michiana Astronomical Society.  Local observing is available from the dark skies of Dr. T.K. Lawless Park in Vandalia, MI. 

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Blog Archive

 

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I'm Chuck Bueter, an amateur astronomer embracing public outreach. Let's make ideas happen--be energy at the speed of life!

Nightwise is my portal to the night sky and other personal interests. Blog posts about recent and upcoming events often have an emphasis on astronomy.  

AstroCamp is a stargazing adventure at YMCA Camp Eberhart in Three Rivers, MI.  See intro here or go directly to the www.astrocamp.us

Clear your calendar for April 8, 2024.  Totality for  solar eclipse will be visible along a swath from Texas to Maine.  Make a Sun Funnel for your telescope so a crowd can view safely.

Here are my 100+ ideas to inspire better outdoor lighting practices and lessen waste.  I have personally field-tested most of these activities, ranging from easy to ambitious.  Go!

Capture the essence of time--an image of the sun arcing across the sky between the solstices--by making a simple pinhole camera.

 

Using sufficient yet sensible light will benefit the night sky and human health, too.  In lessening light pollution we gain many upsides.  Avoid the blues (blue light, that is).

  • Comet Festival

  • Transit of Venus

  • Paper Plate Education

  • Let There Be Night                 And more...

Gotta love the Great Lakes.  Here are weather links for on the water and on the sun alike. 

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