Antikythera Mechanism

Antikythera Mechanism (Wikipedia image)

A recent article in Scientific American (Dec. 2009) nicely summarizes the latest research into the Antikythera “computer” which was recovered from the Mediterranean Sea in 1900.  Not much could be done with the lump of encrusted parts at the time.  But new advanced imaging revealed inscriptions that confirm that the surprisingly sophisticated mechanical calculator was used to predict eclipses and other astronomical events.  This device is amazing considering that it is at least 2000 years old!

Additional links:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism
• http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=antikythera-mechanism-eclipse-olympics
• http://www.antikytheramechanism.org/

Leonid Meteor Shower

For those who have been asking — yes, I did go out to see the Leonid meteor shower.  As predicted, the west coast of the U.S. was not the best place to see the narrow peak of activity, but we did have some some increased activity at the end of Monday night (morning of 11/17).  I put together a composite shot of the meteors caught on camera and a time-lapse video covering most of the night on my astrophotography page.  Don’t miss the separate video of one of the meteors in the corner of the frame which left a persistent smoke trail.

By the way, according to my observatory neighbor Jim, there was also a fair amount of Leonid meteor activity on Tuesday night, but Monday night was better.