Moonlight at the The Temple of Luxor

The night sightseeing was amazing needless to say.

The moon has a special meaning to me while I am far

from my Sweetie…he will understand. ;)

Today just pictures and Links to the History of this temple. Temple of Luxor

The Egyptians oppressed under the Persian rule, welcomed Alexander the Great with open arms when he entered the country in 332 B.C. While there he visited the Oracle of Amon, at Siwa, where he was declared "the son of Amon." Exactly how this happened is unclear. One story is that either upon entering or exiting the temple he was greeted by the priest as "my son." Alexander's army and followers were not in a strategic position to see the priest and thought the words came from the god himself. However it happened, from that point on Alexander was instated as a son of god, like the pharaohs of old. Alexander initiated the building of Alexandria, but never lived to see the city. He left Egypt in 331 B.C. and left Cleomenes of Naukratis in charge of the territory. This position was later claimed by Ptolemy. When Alexander died, Ptolemy's generals divided the kingdom.

Temple of Luxor - The great pylon of Ramses II

Temple of Luxor - The great court of Ramses II

Temple of Luxor - The mosque of Sufi Shaykh Yusuf Abu al-Hajjaj

Pylon and colonnade of Amonhotep III.

Temple of Luxor - Court of Amonhotep III

Temple of Luxor - Hypostyle hall

Temple of Luxor - Alexander the Great's Chapel

Temple of Luxor - Holy of Holies - Sanctuary

Awesome moon

This was the moon last evening to say the least breath taking.

According to the information below we shall not be in the best location for the Eclipse. DUSKY LUNAR ECLIPSE: On Monday, Feb. 9th, the full Moon will pass through the outskirts of Earth's shadow, producing a penumbral lunar eclipse. The event will be visible to the naked eye as a dusky shading of the northern half of the Moon. Maximum eclipse occurs between the hours of 1400 and 1520 UT (6:00 am - 7:20 am PST). The timing favors observers in east Asia, Australia, Hawaii and western parts of North America. Visit http://spaceweather.com for a visibility map, animations, and more information.

Thursdays Moon

Thursday night we saw the moon – which is now a waxing crescent – shines to the upper left of Venus. To the lower right of the moon and Venus, you might be able to catch the planets Jupiter and Mercury near the horizon some 45 to 60 minutes after sunset.

Cute little bud of a nose ;) http://www.earthsky.org/skywatching/moon-near-venus-the-upside-down-world

Soon outside lights will be a memory ;(

For Friday check out:

Quadrantid meteors before dawn on January 3, 4

Moon and Venus ~~ New Years Eve sky

My Sweetie and I sat last evening and enjoyed this

lovely site.

The two brightest celestial bodies after the sun – the waxing crescent moon and the planet Venus – pair up together this New Year’s Eve. You’ll see them in your southwest sky at dusk and early evening. The attractive evening couple will set about 4 hours after sunset.

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Thursday night we hope to see; the moon – which is now a waxing crescent – shines to the upper left of Venus. To the lower right of the moon and Venus, you might be able to catch the planets Jupiter and Mercury near the horizon some 45 to 60 minutes after sunset.

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http://www.earthsky.org/skywatching/

Do not forget: ~~ TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE:

On Wednesday evening, February 20th, the full Moon over Europe and the Americas will turn a delightful shade of red.

It's a total lunar eclipse—the last one until Dec. 2010.

When should you look?

Click here for an animated timetable.

Visit http://spaceweather.com for full coverage including maps and timetables, live webcasts and discussion.

Sky Watch ~ Moon Glow

It must have been Moonglow,

Way up in the blue,

It must have been Moonglow,

That led me straight to you

Moonglow" is a 1934 popular song with music by Will Hudson and Irving Mills and words by Eddie De Lange. It was first recorded by the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra and Ethel Waters in 1934, and has been recorded many times since.

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That Moonglow gave me you ;)

*** This “Moon” shot was taken on January 12, 2008 ***

Get ready for January 22

January 22 is the full moon.

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Full Wolf Moon - January Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January's full Moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon.

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Janus is usually shown with two faces, one looking forward and one looking backwards as through a gateway. His name was given to the month of January, which is also the first full month of winter, and often the coldest winter month in many parts of the country.

Our forecast for the rest of the month: 20th-23rd Heavy snow (6 inches or more) for New England, with lighter amounts farther south. 24th-27th more snow and flurries. 28th-31st Sharp cold front delivers snow and rain showers, followed by clearing and cold.

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MOON & MARS: When the sun sets tonight, go outside and look east. The Moon and Mars are having a beautiful close encounter all weekend long. The best night to look is Saturday when the distance between the pair shrinks to less than 2 degrees.

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Campfire-red Mars so close to the silvery Moon is a sight wonderful to behold. Visit http://spaceweather.com for sky maps and photos.

Tomorrow pictures of the Koi Pond Ice is the name given to any one of the 15 known solid phases of water. WOW 15 you say!

Water is the only substance that exists in all three phases as gas, liquid, and solid under normal circumstances on Earth. Ummmmmmmmmmmm

Water in the solid-state forms a highly ordered hexagonal (six-sided) crystal lattice structure, because it is the most stable arrangement of the water molecules.

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The way ice forms in bodies of water (not from the bottom up, but from the top down) protects many organisms in the water from very cold and fast temperature fluctuations.

Wonder of water... This actually is very important for life on this planet as ice forms it insulates the water below allowing fish and other organisms to survive. ...

How Ice Forms on Ponds Under the influence of cold air eventually the water on the surface of a pond goes below 34 Fahrenheit when water is at its densest. Below 34 F the water or ice expands the colder it gets. This is because of the molecular structure of water. The further influence of cold air below 32 F causes the water at the surface to reach its freezing point of 32 F, but as the pond has shallow points and deep points the ice doesn't form equally until the entire surface reaches its freezing point

Ice is not often thought of as a MINERAL, but it is! Most mineralogists define minerals as having an homogenous chemical composition, with an organized structure and of a natural inorganic origin. Ice fits all these characteristics; it has a homogenous formula, H2O, it has an organized structure, with hexagonal symmetry, it is formed naturally as snow, etc. and it is formed inorganically.

The Moon on THIS Christmas Eve

This Christmas Eve, Mars is at its closest to Earth for the next nine years. Mars is also "at opposition." That's astronomy-lingo for "directly opposite the sun." It means Mars is up whenever the sun is down: on Christmas Eve, the Red Planet will be visible all night long.

Moon Phases

MOON

Something neat to check out!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Picture not of a recent Moon however…

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BIG FULL MOON: This week's full Moon (Oct. 25-26) is the biggest full Moon of 2007. It's no illusion. Some full Moons are genuinely larger than others and Thursday night will be as much as 14% wider and 30% brighter than lesser full Moons we've seen earlier this year. Check http://spaceweather.com for the reasons why. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This week's full Moon is a "perigee Moon" with extra-high "perigean tides."

Ah the ONTH of October

Soon to be Turkey dessert?

A piece of bark draped over a tree limb looking like a deer face.

Late yesterday afternoon, after I had toiled in the garden on and off most of the day, I took a slow and leisurely walk about. Later I sat; totally content listening to the turkeys calling, the deer scampering across the creek, the walnuts hitting the roof of the garage and listening to the birds.

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Sometime in the middle of the night the Moon awoke me as it shone down through the skylight…

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‘Tis moonlight, summer moonlight, All soft and still and fair; The solemn hour of midnight Breathes sweet thoughts everywhere … Extract from ‘Tis moonlight, summer moonlight By Emily Jane Brontë [1818-48]

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It was a DARK and CLOUDY Night…

While not quite Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter… The moon was more of a sight than the game. Alas and Alack. No. 18 South Florida Tops No. 5 West Virginia: College Football ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sigh!

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October 6 at Syracuse…TBA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OK Onward and UPWARD…I am going to go KNIT!

Plus get ready to go see our DAUGHTERS and first son-in-law, Whooooo HooooooooooooooooooooLook out DC here we come!

Get yourself READY

for the 2007 Harvest Moon shines on September 26

^^^ Shine On Harvest Moon

By Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth (1903)

Shine on, shine on harvest moon

Up in the sky,I ain’t had no lovin’

Since January, February, June or July

Snow time ain’t no time to stay

Outdoors and spoon,

So shine on, shine on harvest moon,

For me and my gal.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The Wolf Moon, the Snow Moon, the Worm Moon, the Pink Moon, the Flower Moon, the Strawberry Moon, the Buck Moon, the Sturgeon Moon, the Harvest Moon, the Hunter's Moon, the Beaver Moon, and the Cold Moon.

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They're really all the same Moon, of course, but long before the advent of modern calendars people named the full Moons of a year to keep track of time. These fanciful names have been handed down through the generations and they are still a part of modern Moon lore.

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The name Harvest Moon applies to the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox (which this year was, Sept. 23rd). Until the advent of electricity, the harvest moon was quite important to northern farmers. On average the Moon rises about 50 minutes later each day throughout the year. However, close to the autumnal equinox the day-to-day difference in the local time of moonrise is only 30 minutes. The Moon will rise around sunset on this night and not long after sunset for the next few evenings. That extra stretch of evening light from the full Moon meant more time for harvesting crops -- essential work to be done before winter's cold set in. The Fall Equinox itself was often an occasion for celebration across Europe and North America. It represented the end of the harvest time - when the last of the grains were taken in and fruits such as grapes and apples were harvested. It was sometimes called "second harvest" or "wine Harvest."

I shot the Moon

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Last night was just one of those nights when it mattered not that I was getting eaten alive by the mosquitoes. The moon was huge and lovely…these are a couple of shots as the moon began to rise from behind the trees.

********************** “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”

Les Brown

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Illuminating

MOON ~~~~~~~~~~~ LUNAR ECLIPSE ~~ On Tuesday, Aug. 28th, the full Moon will slip into Earth's shadow for a two-hour total eclipse. People on the Pacific side of Earth including much of North America (map) will have the best view as the Moon turns a dreamy shade of sunset red. Graphic artist Larry Koehn created this animation of the event: The Moon That orbed' maiden With white fire laden Whom mortals call the Moon. - Shelley

~~~~~~~~~~~~ I see the moon, The moon sees me, God bless the moon, And God bless me. - Nursery Rhyme

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Live eclipse web casts: from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Once in a BLUE MOON

This Thursday evening, May 31st, the moon over North America will become full for the second time in the month of May. According to folklore, that makes it a BLUE MOON. But will it really be blue? Believe it or not, blue-colored moons are possible. You can see the bright pair with the naked eye, or for a real treat, scan them with a backyard telescope. The moons of Jupiter, lunar mountains and craters, and the Great Red Spot are surprisingly easy to see. The song Blue Moon was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934. It was even a rock and roll hit for the Marcels in the 60s.

On a Walk we SPIED…

As we began our walk it was apparent that we would be having others join us. Some would catch up with us later after they ate.