Now that I’m in south Texas, the night skies are amazingly dark. The trick to great stargazing is clear skies though. Thankfully we get a fair amount of clear skies. Last night was a good example. It was so clear I could see the dust cloud of the great Milky Way galaxy. It’s tilted edge on stretching north to south.

I’ve only seen the Milky Way galaxy with my own eyes a couple of times, but it is an awe inspiring sight. Looking into the heart of our great home galaxy really stirs my imagination. How many billions of stars are there? What’s it like at the center, knowing there’s a gigantic black hole at the center that’s gobbling up stars? Is there anyone out there looking back at us?

Milky Way Galaxy on YouTube

Read more…
http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/rel_milkyway.html

You can see Mars in the night sky, as it passes by the constellation Orion and the Pleiades star cluster, which is also called the Seven Sisters because only seven major magnitude stars can be seen with the naked eye. There’s actually hundreds of stars in the cluster, that can be seen with a telescope and time exposure images.

Also of interest, I’ve updated my blogroll to include this great site, along with a few others that share this blog’s focus on astronomy and space exploration.
Astronomy Magazine: www.astronomy.com
Earth & Sky: www.earthsky.org
NASA: www.nasa.gov
Sky & Telescope: www.skyandtelescope.com
Space.com

We have all felt the power and passion great music brings to our senses. There’s something very special happening, speaking in a universal language understood across the world and probably Across the Universe.

Imagine looking up at the stars across the night sky, peering through a powerful telescope at the image of Saturn, or the Horsehead Nebula deep within the constellation Orion. Now blend in DVD quality audio and the sound of appropriate music takes you on a cosmic journey through the universe.

Pink Floyd, David Gilmour, Electric Light Orchestra, Beatles, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, Jeff Beck, and the Moody Blues come to mind.

I once saw a live band play in an observatory and the sound was awesome. The domes that house the giant telescopes are perfect acoustic environments for the absolute best viewing experience of any amateur astronomer that likes music.

Since November 2004, This Crazy Cosmos has served as my private blog, with anything and everything I’m interested or involved in getting posted. Not only am I an amateur astronomer, but I’m also a total computer geek, techie, radio enthusiast, pop culture collector, photographer, graphics and web designer.

With over 20 years experience in the music industry, from club & radio DJ to Warner Elektra Atlantic Records sales, marketing and promotion, I also play drums, bass & guitar, and jam with local musicians on a regular basis. I’d like to learn how to play the piano, and I’m recording my own CD & DVD. I’m a born again Christian, a Native Texan, a Classic Rocker, and I love the Blues & great BBQ.

My other current blogs include CybersMusic, CybersView, Musicians-Blognet, & the Daily Rover, plus I’ve posted on CybersDVDs & Electric Guitar Review as a guest blogger.