w.j. barendse

I love science especially pictures of the earth and space

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

Woah. So many stars out tonight. Blazing skies.

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

The end of the eclipse | #space

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

@Bridie_OD Love your viewpoint on the SBS cycling coverage. Also great that Louis Meintjes (Mainchis or Mainkis) is getting so much attention. Cheers.

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

Venus is the evening star (Hesperos) this winter solstice

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

The eclipsed moon is in Scorpio so I guess the astrologers are having a field day

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

Just a tiny sliver of brightness with the dull moon in eclipse

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

Two meteors already. The sky is so clear I can see fifth magnitude stars and the Milky Way with the naked eye from my backyard in the suburbs. What a magnificent sight. Doesn’t happen very often.

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

We stood on the patio in the twilight, the sky now a deep dark blue seeing Jupiter and Saturn together at closest approach, passing the binoculars around, joking that you didn’t need them to see the Great Conjunction, until the mosquitoes started to buzz around our ears

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

Caught my first glimpse of Jupiter and Saturn adjacent to each other in the night sky. They’re the brightest thing apart from the Moon at the moment. We’ve had rain, storms and overcast conditions since my last update and the clouds are rolling in again.

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

Jupiter and Saturn are in my night sky less than a thumb width (of your outstretched arm) apart and on 21 December we’ll view an event not seen for nearly 800 years, a Great Conjunction of these two planets. Astrologers are going nuts.

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

Clear skies tonight. The Pleiades are near the zenith at the moment.

[Dylan O'Donnell 🦋 @erfmufn]

Ok I'm pretty happy with this.. Jupiter JUNO data in 3D! I realised making the 3D displacement based on luminance is actually accurate in this case, the light parts are close, the dark are further away. If you can do this prepare to have your mind melted.

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

Orion will set soon in the West. I haven’t seen it for months.

Betelgeuse appears to have recovered and is flaming bright red tonight.

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

Sunset and only bright Venus and the crescent Moon in the sky

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

Everything is so quiet and the sunset is so beautiful

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

The stars are bright tonight, for the first time in a long while, and I can see fifth magnitude stars with the naked eye and the Milky Way stretched across the sky from my suburban back garden.

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

Happy New Year everyone! Sydney fireworks are going off!

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

People are saying that Betelgeuse, the Red Giant in Orion, is fainter than usual. So I went out to have a look, as you do. It's only slightly brighter than Bellatrix at the moment, so worth a look at a bright variable star near its low point, if you've got clear skies.

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

@duxguitar Well, yes, who knows how long it’s been an interstellar comet and how many solar systems it has flashed through

[w.j. barendse @willbaren]

I was going to have a look at the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov which is at its closest point to the Sun today until I realised it is so faint I would need at least a 16” telescope. It’s currently in the constellation of Crater, which isn’t that funny for a comet.