Jedolby

  How many times must I image 3I/ATLAS before I prove that it hasn't changed its course? How many times must NASA release the results of their data on 3I/ATLAS before people believe it's a natural object? Yes, Bob Dylan said it best: "The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind. The answer is blowin' in the wind." The greatest irony of 3I/ATLAS is that it is speeding out of the solar system faster than any known object, yet people refuse to let it go! Everybody wants to believe that it's aliens who might just turn their ship around. The news media keeps teasing us about the possibility that 3I/ATLAS is going to launch its probes at earth. In a previous post, I offered some updates on 3I/ATLAS . My primary goal was to prove wrong the newspaper headline of December 27th announcing that 3I/ATLAS had changed course and was now following an unpredictable path. I've been shooting 3I/ATLAS every night, and it's still landing dead center in my camera's...

Although it's probably considered more of an autumn target, variable star Mira, "The Wonderful," in the constellation Cetus, is an object that veteran backyard astronomers the world over will seek out whenever it's above the horizon. Mira is what's known as a "long-period" variable. It waxes and wanes over a period of about 332 days. And its brightness varies from, at best, 2nd magnitude (like the North Star), to as faint as 9th or 10th magnitude. That means that when it's at maximum brightness, you can see it without any optical aid, but when it's at minimum brightness, you'll need either binoculars or a telescope to see it. In my blinking animated GIF, above, Mira was neither at minimum brightness nor at maximum brightness in the two images. Maximum brightness is expected in February of 2026. And that means I probably should have shot Mira back in October of 2025 to get minimum brightness, and then wait till February to get maximum brightn...

  I saw a headline in the news last week that said, "3I/ATLAS Comet Changes Course Again - NASA Warns of Unpredictable Path." Oh, brother! What does the author of such an article want us to believe? "Changing course" for where, exactly? Are we to believe that it's turning around and coming for earth? And does "Unpredictable Path" mean that the comet will soon be lost, because we won't know where to look for it? I realize that headlines like this are mere click-bait. I shouldn't pay any attention to them at all. But apparently a lot of people are paying attention to them! At least, judging from the comments on these types of incendiary articles and YouTube videos, it appears as though a large number of people believe that aliens are in control of 3I/ATLAS. I hope these commenters are just trolling us. But okay. Let's take the headline at face value. If the comet has truly changed course and is now on an unpredictable path, that means my sky...