Astrognome Weather Frost Fair on river Thames

Frost Fair on the river Thames

On January 19^th 1684 the diarist John Evelyn visited the Frost Fair  being held on the river Thames. This was at the time referred to as the ‘Little ice Age’ because it was so cold. The Thames was frozen to a depth of several feet.

There was a series of frost fairs held on the Thames. The first was in 1608, the last in 1814. However the frost fair of 1684 was the most splendid of all the fairs that were held on the Thames.

In late January 1684 even King Charles II spent a night on the Thames. On the frozen river, Oxen were roasted all sorts of goods were sold plus there were even horse races on the frozen river.

This particular frost fair continued until early February.  

Astrognome Astronomy Simple Basic Astronomy

Here are some basic astronomy shows, there will be more too follow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cny455sD4NA

Astrognome Scrapbook Mars 272 BC

Mars and Beta Lyrae

On January 17th 272 BC there was a very close approach of the planet Mars to the star Beta Lyrae. this was observed from Babylon and was recorded by Ptolemy.

Astrognome Scrapbook David Lunt and the Coronado Telescope

David Lunt and the Coronado Telescope

David Lunt founder and main optical designer of the Coronado Technology Group in Arizona died on January 16^th 2005. He was 62 years old.

 Coronado burst on the scene in the late 1990s with a new line of affordable hydrogen alpha solar filters.

Lunt was born in Denbigh, Wales, the son of an opera singer he would go on to become a brilliant optical designer. He moved to the USA and went to Harvard University but never finished his formal education as he had to support his family. 

Astrognome Scrapbook Lunar Eclipse 800 AD

Lunar Eclipse 800 AD

On the evening of January 15^th 800 AD a partial eclipse of the Moon was seen over Europe and Asia, with maximum eclipse occurring at 21.29 hours.

Later that year according to the Anglo Saxon chronicle king Beorhtric of Wessex died and ealdorman Worr of Wiltshire was killed in battle. 

Astrognome Scrapbook Ernst Hartwigg found first Supernova

Ernst Hartwig

On January 14^th 1851 the astronomer Ernst Hartwig was born in born in Frankfurt, Germany.

 On August 20^th 1885 he discovered what he thought was a nova in the Andromeda Nebula (at this time astronomers thought that the nebula was inside our galaxy not realising that it was much further away and was a galaxy in its own right). The star was given the designation S Andromeda. Today we know that this was the first example of a supernova rather than a nova.

He observed the transit of Venus in 1882 from Argentina, in 1874 he became assistant at the Strassbourg observatory in France and director of the Bamberg Observatory in 1887. He died in 1923.

Astrognome Weather Frost 1205 AD

Frost 1205 AD

On this day in 1205 a frost formed on the ground that lasted until the 22^nd March, farmers were unable to plough the fields and planet their seeds. Due to this frost the price of wheat that summer was very high.

 It is thought that this great and fatal frost gives rise to the medieval belief that the 13^th January, St Hilda`s Day, is the coldest of the year.