Author Archives: Allen Versfeld

About Allen Versfeld

Allen is an amateur astronomer, an IT professional, a podcaster, a father of five growing kids, a barely competent chess player, and the owner and publisher of the Urban Astronomer podcast and website. He has formerly served as Director of the Astrophotography and Citizen Science sections of the Astronomical Society of South Africa. You can find his personal social media feed on Mastodon!

Curiosity rover: Mission Accomplished (sort of)

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A self-portrait of the Curiosity rover on Mars. This picture was assembled from a series of images taken by the MAHLI camera, mounted on the end of Curiosity’s robotic arm. Credit: NASA / JPL / MSSS / Ed Truthan A few days ago, the science team of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), also known as the Curiosity rover, described by some as a laser-armed nuclear robo-tank, announced their latest findings.  In summary: The rover’s current location, a site named John … Continue reading →

Isaac Newton

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Isaac Newton was born in 1642 in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England, and is the author of probably the most important scientific book in history.  He was a difficult man, and a genius, who spent the majority of his time pursuing heretical religious beliefs and trying to solve the great problems of alchemy – the science for which he is famous was merely a distraction.Young Isaac had an unhappy childhood.  His father, a wealthy landowner, died before he was born, and his … Continue reading →

The Cross and the Fly

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Crux and Musca, with some cloud. Image Credit: Allen Versfeld (Canon EOS 1100D, f/5.6, 4sec, ISO800, 55mm) I went out tonight to try to capture Comet PANSTARRS one more time, but the clouds began rolling in (from the West, where the comet was, naturally) just as it began getting dark. Happily, though, as I was packing away the camera, I looked South and saw Crux poking through some clouds and looking very photogenic.  So I took a picture, did some … Continue reading →

Photograph of Comet C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS

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For only a few more days, Comet PANSTARRS (named for the sky-scanning survey which discovered it back in 2011) has been putting on a beautiful show for the Southern hemisphere, just above the western horizon at sunset.  Auke Slotegraf has some excellent advice for those who’d like to try and see it themselves over at psychohistorian.org, along with some stunning photographs.  My own efforts at capturing a comet are a little more modest – I’m new at this game but … Continue reading →

Message from the Globe At Night campaign

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Urban Astronomer has long supported Globe At Night, with regular announcements of each campaign and reminders to our readers to please participate.  This message landed in my inbox this morning, summarising their goals and methods, and I’ve decided to share it with you: Join the Worldwide GLOBE at Night 2013 Campaign What would it be like without stars at night? What is it we lose? Starry night skies have given us poetry, art, music and the wonder to explore. A … Continue reading →