Tag Archives: night sky

1806, 2018

The Starry Sky of Mgarr ix-Xini

Joseph/ June 18, 2018/ Astronomy, Landscapes, Seascapes/ 0 comments

I have shared with you images of this place before, mostly of its underwater habitat with its myriad creatures, but also of its splendour above water during daylight hours. However, I have long wished to capture and share an image of this site during the darkness of night, when not a single human soul is present – and all that can be heard is the soothing voice of the sea, as its waves roll up the shore and swash under a starlit sky. Alas, sights like these are vanishing fast because

2512, 2012

Merry Christmas!

Joseph/ December 25, 2012/ Uncategorized/ 0 comments

Hello folks! It’s been a while since I posted something here. Currently I’m fairly busy happily hopping from one side of the island (of Gozo) to the other shooting a short film. (Yes, that’s right, I’m trying my hand at moving pictures). This photo is a still from tonight while I was getting some footage for the said film. It was taken at about 3am from home. I wonder how many of you looked up and noticed the splendid view of the moon, Jupiter and the Pleiades lying fairly close to

2909, 2012

Moon and Spires

Joseph/ September 29, 2012/ Uncategorized/ 0 comments

I was on my way back home when a friend of mine texted me to let me know that the moon looked particularly interesting this evening. And indeed, right behind me the moon was peeping from behind some splendid Altocumulus floccus clouds. I spent the next half an hour or so waiting for cars to pass by so that I could hop right to the middle of the street as soon as it cleared momentarily. (I am sure passers by must have found this odd behaviour quite amusing.) Anyway, I wanted

2907, 2012

Light Pollution

Joseph/ July 29, 2012/ Uncategorized/ 0 comments

I took this picture, which you are encouraged to share, with the sole purpose of creating awareness about the problem of light pollution. The solution is not to switch off all lights, but rather to turn off what is not required and use properly designed lighting fixtures whenever illumination is needed. Properly designed (full cutoff) lighting sends the light where it is wanted, namely the ground, instead of wasting it up in our skies. Not only is poorly-designed lighting a waste of energy, it also blots out pristine starlight which has

2507, 2012

The Heart of the Galaxy

Joseph/ July 25, 2012/ Uncategorized/ 0 comments

This is a quick snapshot of the very centre of our Galaxy, the Milky Way, taken from Malta. Since we ourselves lie in the Galaxy, we cannot see its grand spiral design from our point of view, just as we cannot perceive the Earth’s spherical shape whilst being bound to its surface. So in essence, this picture shows the point of view of a citizen of the Milky Way. Enjoy!

1807, 2012

Of disappearing and reappering acts

Joseph/ July 18, 2012/ Uncategorized/ 2 comments

I presume that last Saturday, at about 3am local (Maltese) time, most people were fast asleep, unaware of a magnificent spectacle going on above their heads. Jupiter and its moons slowly disappeared from the skies, as our own moon glided steadily in front of them, thus occulting the Jovian system, starting with icy Europa and and volcanic Io, then Jupiter itself, and finally large, rocky Ganymede and heavily cratered Callisto. Of course, the surface features of these moons are not visible with small ground-based telescopes; instead they appear as tiny dots

0304, 2012

Venus and the Pleiades

Joseph/ April 3, 2012/ Uncategorized/ 0 comments

Anyone who looks up at the evening sky over the coming days will see a bright gem shining brilliantly in the West. But this is no star. It’s actually the planet Venus (aptly known as the “Evening Star” or the “Star of the West”) which is currently dazzling us every evening as its dense atmosphere reflects back light from the sun. But this evening was even more special as Venus moved across the open star cluster commonly known as the Pleiades. It was an event that reminded me of the brilliant

0612, 2011

Sights in the sky

Joseph/ December 6, 2011/ Uncategorized/ 0 comments

At long last, I’ve taken a new picture. This evening was particularly cold, at least according to my perception, although I maintain that 2degC should be deemed cold by anyone. Anyway, I was on my way back home from college when I was met by the sight of Jupiter and the moon staring back at me from behind Tom Tower. As I hastily took out my camera, I expected that I’d be shooting a couple of pictures and move on. However, I soon realized that clouds were moving quickly and that