Hi everybody!

Here's the latest article from the Astronomy site at BellaOnline.com.

Cepheus the King
An ancient Greek tale of pride and passion is played out across the sky, involving five constellations including Cepheus the king. In Cepheus there are stars being born and stars at the end of their lives, including those which will die in a blaze of glory.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art29501.asp

*Manhattanhenge*

Twice a year the Sun sets between the skyscrapers of the east-west streets of Manhattan. This dramatic effect was dubbed"Manhattanhenge" by astrophysicist Neil de Grasse Tyson. The tall buildings are reminiscent of the stone uprights of Stonehenge. If the Manhattan street grid were precisely aligned with the compass points, this effect would occur on the spring and autumn solstices, but it actually happens in January and July, since they're thirty degrees off.

Here is a nice selection of photos taken on July 12, 2012, including a timelapse sequence: http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/mustsee-pics-time-lapse-of-man/67948

What is an equinox? “Why Planets Have Seasons” explains it at:
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art54046.asp

*Night Skies and these are clear, dark skies!*

T-RECS has some splendid shots of clear night skies in Yosemite and Death Valley in this video which you can see at http://vimeo.com/43797471. Some of the objects are also, very helpfully, labelled. The opening images show the Summer Triangle, an asterism composed of Vega, Deneb and Altair. I can often see the Summer Triangle, but it doesn't have the background of all those other stars shown in the video.

You can find out more about observing the summer sky here: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art27681.asp

To participate in online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Astronomy located here - http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=323

Please visit astronomy.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Astronomy.

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I welcome your feedback!

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I wish you clear skies.

Mona Evans,
Astronomy Editor
.