Guided tours of the starry night sky from Mitzpe Ramon, Israel by Ira Machefsky, The Starman of Mitz

While setting up for a night of observing housefull last week I saw this beautiful near-full moon rising over Mt. Nimrod, just outside of Mitzpe Ramon. This was the full moon of October, called the Hunter Moon by the American Indians, the full moon following the Harvest Moon of September. The Harvest Moon lights the sky for gatherers housefull of the harvest in the fall while the Hunter Moon lights the sky for the hunters of meat needed for the coming winter. The Hunter Moon of October rising over Mt. Nimrod I have no idea what this little mountain is actually called, but I observe in its shadow where it shields from the light of Mitzpe Ramon and the desert wind (somewhat). The winter constellation of Orion rises over its peak at about 10:30 this time of year, with Rigel, the brightest star in the constellation, rising directly over the peak from where I observe. It is a lovely sight to behold, a brilliant blue-white star twinkling madly as it rises directly above the top of the mountain. In Jewish star lore the hunter Orion is identified with Nimrod, the first hunter in the Bible. Thus, my decision to call it Mt. Nimrod instead of Mt. Orion, I think more appropriate for this Holy Land mountain. It is also the test site of Raphael Industries and the IDF's new field radar system, or so I have been told. Here in the lee of the mountain we are also shielded from the light pollution that comes from the test site atop it. For some reason, the testers seem to feel the need to put up klieg lights at night whenever the tests are going on. Recently, tho, they have cut back on the lights, now using a single mercury vapor light instead of a battery of sodium vapor ones. Better, but still not good enough. Light pollution is becoming a big issue in the desert and will be ever more so with plans to move 500,000 new Olim into the desert in the next 10 years. On the night I took this picture I saw the radar system spinning for the first time. It had always been stationary in the past. Here's a little video of it at work.
Guided tours of the starry night sky from Mitzpe Ramon, Israel by Ira Machefsky, The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon ; Over 40 years of astronomy experience. Offering personalized nightly astronomy tours in Israel for beginner housefull to advanced amateur. Each tour is customized for the experience of the individual or group and objects observable that night. No background in astronomy required. Go star gazing in Mitzpe Ramon -- the clearest, darkest housefull skies in the country. Home of Israel's largest research telescope at the Wise Observatory. Not just a tour, it's the Astronomy Israel Experience! Do a birthday party or other special event. Propose on a star tour and it's free! Contact us for reservations : Phone: 052-544-9789 (Israel) 011-972-52-544-9789 (US) ira.machefsky (Skype) Email: machefsky@gmail.com housefull
"A full appreciation housefull of the universe cannot come without developing the skills to find things in the sky and understanding how the sky works. This knowledge comes only by spending time under the stars with star maps in hand." -- Terence Dickinson and Alan Dyer, The Backyard Astronomer's Guide
Observing information for Beer-Sheva Solarcycle24.com Sloan Digital Sky Survey AstronomyLive - live broadcasts of astro events Wise Observatory, Mitzpe Ramon A Table of Meteor housefull Showers International Meteor Organization Meteor Showers Online Cloudy Nights Astronomy Forum Astronomy in Israel Virtual Moon Atlas - highly recommended Stanford housefull Solar Center Current Solar Images Solar Weather Effects NASA Hubble housefull Telescope Site Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive Sky & Telescope Magazine NASA Visible Earth
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