Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

LightNews

AstroRick

@therickman.bsky.social

240 followers 170 following 5.3K posts

Husband, father, brother, uncle, grandpa, Air Force Vet, IT guy, astronomer, photographer, clean air and environmental advocate, weather forecaster, patriot, 17th Airborne Division Scion, WWII nut 🇺🇦

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · Jan 17

My various endeavors: rickevans.me

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 5h

Record-breaking gamma ray burst seems to be caused by a black hole engulfed by a bloated star - #Astronomy - ift.tt/asVcO2Q

Record-breaking gamma ray burst seems to be caused by a black hole engulfed by a bloated star

On July 2, 2025, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (Fermi-GBM) captured around three hours' worth of signals that appeared to come from the same source. When scientists compiled this data with sign...

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 5h

The Sky Today on Wednesday, October 15: Check out Comet Lemmon - #Astronomy - ift.tt/ZVmgkoq

The Sky Today on Wednesday, October 15: Check out Comet Lemmon

Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) is visible in the hour and a half before sunrise, now in the northeast in the constellation Canes Venatici.

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 5h

Waka-waka-waka… - #Astronomy - ift.tt/hi452s7

Waka-waka-waka… | Astronomy Magazine

Andrew Stone The Pacman Nebula (NGC 281) in Cassiopeia glows at around magnitude 7, but that brightness is spread across an area slightly larger than the Full Moon. This image comprises around 28 hour...

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 5h

I propose a Toast - #Astronomy - ift.tt/yrCZips

I propose a Toast | Astronomy Magazine

📷: Ogetay Kayali from Houghton, Michigan Three objects fill this frame in the constellation Cepheus. At far right is the Shark Nebula (LDN 1235), at center left is the Wolf’s Cave Nebula (LDN 1217), a...

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 5h

Can we hear gravitational-wave 'beats' in the rhythm of pulsars? - #Astronomy - ift.tt/yiJZUHc

Can we hear gravitational-wave 'beats' in the rhythm of pulsars?

Pulsars suggest that ultra–low-frequency gravitational waves are rippling through the cosmos. The signal seen by international pulsar timing array collaborations in 2023 could come from a stochastic g...

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 5h

Launch Roundup: Falcon 9 to launch six missions in one week - #Astronomy - ift.tt/kmLxScy

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 5h

Arab scholars may have noted the supernovae of 1006 and 1181 AD - #Astronomy - ift.tt/fKUZdcN

Arab scholars may have noted the supernovae of 1006 and 1181 AD

It's great to see old astronomical observations come to light. Not only can these confirm or refute what's known about historic astronomical events, but they can describe what early observers actually...

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 5h

Mars’s ice has been disappearing - #Astronomy - ift.tt/6ami07E

Mars’ ice has been disappearing

A new study has discovered numerous ice ages on the Red Planet, and that its ice has decreased over millions of years.

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 5h

Tidal forces heat white dwarfs to unexpected temperatures in tight binary orbits - #Astronomy - ift.tt/aki3nuc

Tidal forces heat white dwarfs to unexpected temperatures in tight binary orbits

White dwarfs are the compact remnants of stars that have stopped nuclear burning, a fate that will eventually befall our sun. These extremely dense objects are degenerate stars because their structure...

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 5h

Software solution can correct image blurring by James Webb Space Telescope - #Astronomy - ift.tt/SRGjXbN

Software solution can correct image blurring by James Webb Space Telescope

A pair of Sydney Ph.D. students helped sharpen the view of humanity's most powerful space observatory—without leaving Earth. As an indelible reminder of this thrilling result, Louis Desdoigts, now a p...

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 5h

Exploring the hidden rings of the Milky Way - #Astronomy - ift.tt/HNlty52

Exploring the hidden rings of the Milky Way

Radio astronomy opens a window onto the invisible universe. While our eyes can detect visible light, countless objects in space emit radiation at much longer wavelengths, in the radio portion of the e...

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 5h

Oct. 14, 1947: Flying faster than sound - #Astronomy - ift.tt/WBcfpid

Oct. 14, 1947: Flying faster than sound

Today in the history of astronomy, Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier.

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 6h

I’ve found this format to be a far more dynamic way to share my astrophotography. It reveals layers of detail that a single image can’t capture, and the music adds a whole new dimension to the experience.

youtu.be/PGY69eyxX0E?...

2025-07-25-S30 - IC 1396A Elephant Trunk Nebula - Mosaic

YouTube video by RickEvans.Photography

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 6h

#Stargazing #Forecast for #FranklinCountyPA for Wed 10/15 - Overall Outlook: Very Good

Imaging / Viewing: Poor to Excellent, depending on the subject, cloud cover, transparency, and seeing.

Moon phase: Waning Crescent / Illumination: 30% 🌘

#Astronomy #Space #Weather

#Stargazing #Forecast for #FranklinCountyPA issued Wed 10/15 - Overall Outlook: Very Good

Imaging / Viewing: Poor to Excellent, depending on the subject, cloud cover, transparency, and seeing.

Weather tonight: Clear with a low around 40 and north winds of 5 to 7 mph.

Air Quality: 3.3 - W.H.O. Good

Moon phase: Waning Crescent / Illumination: 30% 🌘

Moon Alt° Dir: 2:24am: 0° ENE ↑ | 3am: 6° ENE ↑ | 4am: 16° E ↑ | 5am: 27° E ↑ | 6am: 38° ESE ↑

Average Darkness Rating: 5.7 (Partially illuminated). There will be good darkness from 7:50pm to 6am.

Viewing Impacts: During the 10 hour, 50 minute viewing hours (7:30pm to 6:20am), cloud cover will be 1% to 5% (3% average) with above average transparency and poor seeing. Viewing Temp: Good

Expectations: With clear skies, you can expect poor observations of planets, good observations of galaxies and nebulae, and excellent observations of open clusters, planetary nebulae, and large globulars. Stars will be diffused.

Capture Time Rating: Excellent. 96.8% of the viewing hours, or 10 hours and 28# minutes are available for capture/viewing.

#Astronomy #Space #NASA #Weather #WaynesboroPA #PAwx

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 7h

#Aurora Forecast for #WaynesboroPA for Wed 10/15 - KPI: 4 / Outlook: Very Poor

During the 10 hour, 50 minute viewing hours (7:30pm to 6:20am), cloud cover will be 1% to 5% (3% average) with good darkness from 7:50pm to 6am. Viewing Temp: Good

tinyurl.com/AuroraPAWX

#Aurora #Forecast for #WaynesboroPA issued Wed 10/15 - KP Index: 4 / Outlook: Very Poor

Active aurora activity forecasted. If skies are clear, active auroral displays may be visible overhead from locations such as Inuvik, Yellowknife, Rankin and Iqaluit, Canada; to Juneau, Alaska, and Edmonton, Winnipeg and Sept-Iles, Canada; and may be visible low on the horizon from Vancouver, Canada; Great Falls, Pierre, Madison, Lansing, Portland (Maine), U.S.A.; and Ottawa and St. John’s, Canada.

Moon phase: Waning Crescent / Illumination: 30% 🌘

Waynesboro weather tonight: Clear with a low around 40 and north winds of 5 to 7 mph.

Viewing Impacts: During the 10 hour, 50 minute viewing hours (7:30pm to 6:20am), cloud cover will be 1% to 5% (3% average) with good darkness from 7:50pm to 6am. Viewing Temp: Good

Forecast courtesy of the UAF Geophysical Institute: https://www.gi.alaska.edu/modules/custom/aurora-forecast/images/idl_graphics/north_america/NorthAmerica_4.png

#FranklinCountyPA #Pennsylvania #UnitedStates #Canada #NorthAmerica #Astronomy #Space

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 18h

You can find your local #Astronomy forecast at The Clear Sky Chart Home Page: ift.tt/ort4STB

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 18h

Good afternoon. Enjoy this picture from my website: ift.tt/x7krIHB #Photography

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 22h

Good afternoon. This picture and others can be found on my website: ift.tt/Tx9LhAR #Photography

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 1d

Enjoy a picture from my website: ift.tt/Tx9LhAR #Photography

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 1d

Oct. 14, 1947: Flying faster than sound #Astronomy - ift.tt/WBcfpid

When Glamorous Glennis, an experimental Bell X-1 aircraft built to mimic the shape of a .50 caliber bullet, shot to 700 mph (1,127 km/h) with Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager insi…

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 1d

Good morning. Start your day with a picture from my website: ift.tt/Tx9LhAR #Photography

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 1d

You can find your local #Astronomy forecast at The Clear Sky Chart Home Page: ift.tt/ort4STB

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 1d

Western Veil nebula, the Witch's Broom - #Astronomy - ift.tt/wvkNYJ8

Western Veil nebula, the Witch's Broom

This blog is all about astrophotography and it works mainly as an imaging diary. J-P Metsavainio is a Finnish astrophotographer,

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 1d

The Sky Today on Tuesday, October 14: Look south for Pluto and M75 - #Astronomy - ift.tt/xX4lQYd

The Sky Today on Tuesday, October 14: Look south for Pluto and M75

The dwarf planet Pluto may be within reach of large amateur scopes; meanwhile, globular cluster M75 is visible for all.

AstroRick @therickman.bsky.social · 1d

'Space tornadoes' could cause geomagnetic storms, but these phenomena aren't easy to study - #Astronomy - ift.tt/OW8HvFq

'Space tornadoes' could cause geomagnetic storms, but these phenomena aren't easy to study

Weather forecasting is a powerful tool. During hurricane season, for instance, meteorologists create computer simulations to forecast how these destructive storms form and where they might travel, whi...