Bart B

Sunset kayaks on Mallard Lake

September Sunset over Mallard Lake. 12 Sep 2026. West suburban Chicago.

Tonight's smoky gibbous Moon. 2026 July 26. west suburban Chicago. Olympus camera, 600 mm lens, tripod.

Waxing Gibbous Moon. 2026 June 22. 9:10 p.m. CDT. A single frame taken with Olympus camera and 600 mm lens. 1/1,000 sec. f/6.7. ISO 800. Manfrotto / Bogen tripod. Taken from west suburban Chicago.

Tonight's lovely crescent Moon (18 June). The Sea of Crises is prominent in tonight's 21% phase. Taken with an Olympus camera, 600 mm lens, tripod from west suburban Chicago.

From today’s ride along the Mallard Lake Trail.

2026 Apr 25. 8:14:42 CDT. The waxing gibbous Moon and Regulus, the brightest star in Leo. Observers along the southern Atlantic seaboard saw the full occultation in dark skies. Here in the Chicago suburbs, the star reappeared on the Moon's bright limb in bright twilight conditions.

20 April Crescent Moon. 🌒 The Sea of Crises is nicely centered tonight. Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mark III. 600 mm telephoto lens.

On the Trail: the greening of spring continues in Chicago’s western suburbs.

Along the trail in northern Illinois, the Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) is starting to bloom in violet/pink hues.

The night of April 14-15 is a sad and consequential night in history. 1865 - Assassination of Abraham Lincoln 1912 - Sinking of the RMS Titanic Both tragic events began on the 14th and ended on the 15th.

Attention all spaceflight enthusiasts! Here are two great sources for higher resolution versions of Artemis II images: ★ www.nasa.gov/artemis-ii-m... ★ www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2...

Wow! It was GREAT to see the complete success of Artemis II. 🚀 It feels like a whole new Apollo era has truly begun! 🌖 . . . and something GOOD has happened in the world! 🌎

On the two-year anniversary of the Great American Eclipse, NASA releases this stunning Total Solar Eclipse image from Artemis II. Saturn, Mars, and Mercury shine near the Moon’s ghostly orb. Credit: NASA

Wow! Did you see this nice Milky Way photo from the Artemis II astronauts? P.S. That's the Large Magellanic Cloud in the right corner. Credit: NASA

Tonight's 3-day old crescent Moon, exposed for the Moon's sunlit portion.

Tonight's waxing crescent Moon, with prominent Earthshine. Olympus camera, telephoto lens, tripod. Taken from west suburban Chicago.

A jet flying almost directly overhead joined the already crowded skies in Gemini tonight, including the Moon, Jupiter, and the stars Castor and Pollux. These two frames were taken 28 seconds apart.

The Gemini gathering: Castor, Pollux, Moon, Jupiter. Taken with Olympus camera and 53 mm lens. #astronomy

Celestial traffic jam in Gemini tonight . . . high overhead! Tonight, the 86% lit Moon is positioned beside Castor and Pollux, the two brightest stars of Gemini. The Moon essentially becomes a third (and very bright) brother. 😁 And bright Jupiter stands nearby. #astronomy

Test of AstroBin account link app.astrobin.com/i/4fpa69

The Moon visits the Pleiades February 23. 8:01 p.m. CST Olympus camera. 270mm f.l.

Happy Birthday, George Washington! 🎂 In 6 years, we’ll celebrate the tricentennial of your birth!

I enjoy explaining across my interests: 🪐 Astronomy — what’s in the sky 🇺🇸 Civil War — citizen soldiers & history 🪙 Coins & stamps — history in objects 🚴🏻‍♂️ Cycling — trails & observations • Retired planetarium director • Astrophotographer Accurate, calm explanations across topics.

Remembering Abraham Lincoln on his birthday, which was in 1809 (217 years ago). #AbrahamLincoln #CivilWarHistory #americanhistory

12 Days of Lincoln Day 12 — Second Inaugural Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address may be his greatest speech. Delivered in March 1865 as the Civil War neared its end, its famous line “With malice toward none; with charity for all” emphasized reconciliation over triumph. #CivilWarHistory

12 Days of Lincoln Day 11 — The Lincoln Cent In 1909, on the centennial of Lincoln’s birth, the U.S. replaced the Indian Head Cent with the Lincoln Cent — the first circulating coin to feature a real person. 117 years later, its obverse design hasn’t changed. #CivilWarHistory

Today I enjoyed my first bike ride in 4 weeks! It reached a balmy 45 degrees, with traces of snow still clinging to the less traveled streets.

12 Days of Lincoln Day 10 — Places Named Lincoln Only one town named “Lincoln” existed during his lifetime — Lincoln, Illinois. In the 1850s, Abraham Lincoln helped design the town, practiced law there, and helped shape its future. All others were named for him after his death. #CivilWarHistory

12 Days of Lincoln Day 9 — Lincoln’s Height In the 1850s, the average American man stood about 5’ 7”. At 6’ 4”, Lincoln physically towered over his contemporaries — including Stephen Douglas, who stood a full foot shorter. The contrast became part of his legend. #CivilWarHistory

12 Days of Lincoln Day 8 — Lincoln’s Beard In 1860, an 11-year-old girl wrote Lincoln suggesting he grow a beard to soften his appearance. After the election, he did just that! When his train passed through Grace’s town in 1861, he met her and credited her suggestion. #CivilWarHistory

12 Days of Lincoln Day 7 — Lincoln’s Speaking Voice (Part 2) We’ll never hear Lincoln’s real voice, but using historical descriptions, I conducted a thought experiment using ElevenLabs speech synthesis technology. The result was far less strange than expected: bit.ly/3OeEtFt #CivilWarHistory

12 Days of Lincoln Day 6 — Lincoln’s Speaking Voice (Part 1) Lincoln’s voice was high-pitched and reedy — not the booming baritone we imagine. But it carried across crowds and proved remarkably effective once listeners adjusted. Tomorrow: a voice reconstruction experiment. #CivilWarHistory

12 Days of Lincoln Day 5 — Lincoln at Gettysburg Following Edward Everett's two hour speech, Lincoln's short address argued that the Civil War was a test of whether a nation founded on equality and self-government could survive. Lincoln’s 272 words redefined American democracy. #CivilWarHistory

12 Days of Lincoln Day 4 — Cooper Union: Lincoln the Logician Lincoln’s 1860 Cooper Union speech made his presidency possible. By calmly proving that the Founders supported restricting slavery, he made his conclusion inescapable — and transformed himself into a national figure. #CivilWarHistory

12 Days of Lincoln Day 3 — Thinking Anew (Annual Message, 1862) In 1862, Lincoln warned that: “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present.” To save the country, Americans had to “think anew” — and free themselves from past traditions and outdated habits. #CivilWarHistory

12 Days of Lincoln Day 2 — Public Sentiment In an 1861 letter to Stephen Douglas, Lincoln warned that “Public sentiment is everything. With it, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed.” Lincoln understood that no policy can succeed without the support of the public. #CivilWarHistory

12 Days of Lincoln Day 1 — Lincoln and Power In an 1858 letter to his law partner William Herndon, Lincoln warned that adversity builds character — but power tests it. In an era of celebrity politics and constant amplification, the warning feels uncannily modern. #CivilWarHistory

Here begins my "12 Days of Lincoln" tribute to our nation's 16th President to commemorate the 217th anniversary of his birth. Each day, I’ll highlight a different Lincoln quote or factoid, ending on his February 12th birthday.

Tonight (Jan. 30), the waxing gibbous Moon will be near Jupiter all night. If you have a clear sky, step outside and have a look. The cold air and beauty of the night sky will do you good! SkySafari rendering. #astronomy

2026 Sky Highlight #9: The night of December 23-24 will feature the largest Full Moon of 2026, which will appear 15% larger than the smallest full moon that occurs on the night of May 30-31. December’s “SuperMoon” will also be the largest Full Moon since January of 2023! #astronomy

40 years ago today, the world was rocked by the tragic loss of Challenger. I was performing a planetarium show to a school group at the Cernan Earth & Space Center at the time. In the days that followed, I made a number of radio and TV appearances to discuss the disaster to a grief-stricken world.

2026 Sky Highlight #7: Saturn will be closest to Earth on October 4th and remains a fixture in our evening sky through February of 2027. By this time, Saturn’s rings will have opened up considerably since going edge-on in 2025. #astronomy

2026 Sky Highlight #6: Late on the evening of August 27th, everyone in the Americas will be able to see a Partial Lunar Eclipse, when 93% of the Moon will be immersed in the Earth’s shadow. Maximum eclipse will occur at 11:14 pm CDT. Best seen in eastern U.S. #astronomy