Photo Of The Day - Manhattanhenge

JMG reader Inga sends us her stunning photo of last night's Manhattanhenge.

SATURDAY: Extreme Supermoon

This Saturday the moon makes its closest approach to Earth in 18 years in what astronomers call an "extreme supermoon."

If no clouds get in the way, it should be a great night for stargazers. But the moon, which will appear about 10 to 15 percent larger than normal, could create abnormally high tides from Friday through Sunday, experts say. And that could mean beach erosion and minor flooding along the shoreline. "The tides are definitely going to be higher, not only in Florida, but worldwide," said astronomer Arnold Pearlstein. The best time to view the moon will be at sunset — about 7 p.m. — on Saturday, when it will be closest to the horizon and should look "huge and orangey," Pearlstein said.

There's a moon in the sky (called the supermoon.)

The Symphony Of Science

Eighth in one of my favorite YouTube series.

Rachel Has Fun With New Zodiac Signs

Point for the sly SNL reference from 1975.

Back In The 1970s You Were Totally Wearing The Wrong Gold Chain

Astronomers say that position of the Earth is totally different than when astrology was dreamed up 3000 years ago. Therefore, your sign isn't really what you think it is.

"This is not something that happened today. This has gone on for thousands of years," said astronomer Parke Kunkle. The star doctors say Earth is currently in a different spot in relation to the Sun, and its equatorial alignment has changed from 3,000 years ago when the study of astrology began -- back when 12 zodiac signs were assigned to 12 different periods of the year. Those signs you were born into are different now because the Earth's wobble on its axis has created a one-month bump in the alignment of the stars, according to Kunkle. "Because of this change of tilt, the Earth is really over here in effect and Sun is in a different constellation than it was 3,000 years ago."

So you're supposed to subtract one month to get your "real" sign. This is where you say, "Oh, I just knew I was really a Virgo!"

Photo Of The Day - Solar Eclipse

The Boston Globe's Big Picture blog has a great series of photos of Tuesday's solar eclipse. The above image was taken by a telescope on a low-orbit satellite.

RELATED: The Big Picture has been named to Regator's Top Ten Blogs Of 2010. And so has this here website thingy.

Evening View - Lunar Eclipse

Somehow I managed to stay awake for last night's lunar/solstice eclipse and crept up to the sundeck of the Island House for some photos. At first I was the only one up there, but I was shortly joined by patrons who'd set their alarms and the event turned into quite a charming and chatty collection of camera-toting gay men from around the world. Two highlights: the very tall and probably normally forbidding-looking man who played the Star Wars death march and Total Eclipse Of The Heart over his phone speakers, and the hilarious modeling agency rep Jose C. from Manhattan who turned out to be a rather devoted JMG reader. Totally a great way to close out our final night in Key West.

Today In Ominous Press Releases

OK, maybe not ominous...but definitely intriguing.

NASA will hold a news conference at 12:30 p.m. EST on Monday, Nov. 15, to discuss the Chandra X-ray Observatory's discovery of an exceptional object in our cosmic neighborhood. The news conference will originate from NASA Headquarters' television studio, 300 E St. SW in Washington and carried live on NASA TV. Media representatives may attend the conference, join by phone or ask questions from participating NASA locations.

Buh-buh-bummmm.

(Tipped by JMG reader NYC Girl)

Galileo Was Wrong!

Enjoy the whackadoodleness.

Tomorrow: Manhattanhenge

Tomorrow night at 8:17pm is Manhattanhenge, the twice a year event in which the setting sun lines up perfectly with Manhattan's street grid.

On Sunday, May 30, the entire solar sphere will be visible just above the horizon at 8:17 p.m. EDT. The second opportunity comes later in the summer, with another half-sphere sunset on Monday, July 12, at 8:25 p.m. EDT and a whole-sphere viewing on Sunday, July 11, at 8:25 p.m. EDT. These times are calculated every year by the astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York, who coined the term "Manhattanhenge." The "henge" comes of course from Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument in the Salisbury plains of England. The large structure of stones and earthen mounds is thought to be a burial ground that was oriented to face the midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset.

Viewing parties are scheduled at the east ends of 34th and 42nd streets.

Meteor Lights Up Midwest

JMG reader Paul in Minnesota tips us to the below image of a meteor exploding into the atmosphere over the midwest last night. The fireball was visible from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, northern Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. Its path was caught by Doppler radar at the National Weather Service in the Quad Cities region.