November Night Sky

With November comes the Leonid meteor shower. The 2025 Leonids can be observed after midnight between November 6 to 30. The peak display will be the morning of November 16 and 17.  November 18 might be worthwhile too.

The meteors originate when the orbital path of the earth collides with the debris left behind by comets. These bits and pieces of comet detritus enter the earth’s atmosphere with the resulting vaporization creating the streaks of light we call meteors.

The debris associated with the comet Tempel-Tuttle results in this November display. Like other meteor showers, this one will be best viewed after midnight. Turn your gaze toward the constellation Leo the Lion, where the shooting stars appear to emanate.

The 2025 Leonids are a moderate meteor shower with a peak display of about 10-15 meteors per hour.  Look to the east to locate Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion, dots a backwards question mark of stars known as the Sickle. If you trace all the “shooting stars” from the Leonid meteor shower backward, they appear to radiate from this area of the sky.  Viewing conditions should be good as the moon will be a thin, waning crescent.  Nevertheless, a dark rural location with minimal light pollution may yield good results.

Tempel-Tuttle is a periodic visitor that will return in 2031.  it is worthy of mention that the Leonids can be stunning on rare occasions. With the reappearance of Tempel-Tuttle every 33 years the debris left in its wake can result in meteors up to a rate of 1000 an hour!  2001 was a very good November and 1966 was breathtaking.

The best time for observation is just before dawn after the moon has set. 

Fingers-crossed for cold, clear viewing conditions and early rising if you have to get out of bed to pee.....

 

Cozy

More than 24 hours of heating with my almost lifetime supply of dead ash.

The only propane burned has been for the water heater and kitchen range. 

Raising a toast to better living thru renewables..... 

Friday Music

Co-written by Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor of the Old Crow Medicine Show - Dylan recorded the chorus in 1973 and Secor added the verses 25 years after the fact.  This version of the song was certified Platinum in 2013.  

The song has been covered by numerous artists including Darius Rucker.  Originally unappealing to Rucker until he heard it performed by the faculty band at his daughter's high school.

Wagon Wheel.....

Last Hurrah

Last evening was a busy one for the night skies.  Following a mass coronal ejection the previous day the heavens were awash in charged particles leading to a spectacular display of the aurora borealis; or northern lights.

Wednesday I had to rise early, drive to the Naked City, conduct a guided hike at the Forest Exploration Center, run an errand or two and drive home.  That's roughly 6 hours on the road with an early start and I was running on fumes. 

The light show was actually an on-again, off-again affair and inconsistent in duration.  Consequently, went outdoors at periodic intervals, let my eyes adjust to dark and if the display appeared robust, take some photos. 

Finally, I had to go to bed.  I was pooped.  At 11:46 PM I captured some more decent photos.  

In the last photo in the tree line (center) is a red navigation beacon on a cellular tower located atop distant Brussels Hill.  A reasonably tall hill with a tall tower.  The photo provides a good illustration of the scale of the display above the horizon.  

It was spectacular.

Fingers-crossed for more of the same tonight....

 

Light Show

On 11 November 2025, an intense solar flare was observed, with a peak around 10:04 UTC. This was followed less than an hour later with the observation of a coronal mass ejection (CME), with an initial speed estimated to be around 1500 km/s and arriving at Earth on 12 November in the late evening or on 13 November in the early morning, although these estimates include some uncertainty. 

- European Space Agency 

Last night we scored a handful of decent photos around 8:30 PM - view to the north east horizon.  Activity seems to have petered-out by bedtime.

Seven hours on the road yesterday.  I was pooped.

You snooze you lose...

Forno Facelift

The brick oven is wrapping-up its fifth year of wood-fired baking, braising, cooking and grilling and it was beginning to show some wear.  A few cracks and chipped and faded paint.  Naturally, if you lived outdoors for your entire life and were subjected to extremes of temperature on a regular basis you'd look a wee bit rough around the edges too.

So we had our paint contractor make arrangements for performing the necessary repairs for resurfacing the exterior.

This started with sandblasting the oven exterior - makes short work of a tough job.  

Followed by our favorite guy - Pablo the Painter - commence with repairs.

Apply a couple of base coats of a Sherwin-Williams neutral stucco primer.

Followed by three top coats of Sherwin-Williams Latitude exterior acrylic in flat grey.  

All-in-all; a nice job.

Fingers-crossed for five more years of terrific outdoor foodie experiences.

Never forget - real men cook with fire...

Armistice Day

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, there was a temporary cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I as a consequence of the armistice signed by the Allies and Germany.

American troops in France celebrate the armistice

On its first anniversary President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11, 1919 as the first celebration of Armistice Day.  In 1938 this day officially became a federal holiday.  Later, in the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became known as Veterans Day in the United States.  And while the allied nations honor members of their armed forces on Armistice Day – we commemorate it as Veterans Day.  

Inasmuch as today is Veterans Day I figure I'd take a moment to talk about my favorite veteran - Howard Gaertner.  Who also happens to be my dad.  Dad has been gone now for more than fifteen years already but I'm sure he'd appreciate the mention. 

This picture of him was taken in Kidderminster England, November 2, 1944. 

He'd already spent more than three months in combat - including the invasion at Normandy, the battle of the hedgerows, the breakout of the bocage at Saint-Lô, the dash across northern France with Patton's forces and the liberation of Belgium.  He was evacuated to England after being wounded in the Meuse River crossing in September of 1944.  Following his convalescence he returned to Europe serving until the cessation of hostilities in May of 1945 including the Army of Occupation.  

This was turning out to be much more than an average adventure for a previously skinny depression-era kid who was drafted after graduating high school.  

Thinking of dad today and giving a shout out to all of my acquaintances and friends who have served in the armed forces of our nation and call themselves veterans.