Plateau Astro

S'il vous plaît, faites-nous savoir quand les avions à réaction passeront au-dessus de nos têtes

Trevor Kjorlien — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 16:01:57 -0400

Montréal a besoin d'être mieux informée lorsque les avions à réaction volent à basse altitude

Si vous étiez à Montréal jeudi dernier, vous avez peut-être entendu le grondement de quelque chose dans le ciel.

Cela commence par un grondement sourd, puis devient rapidement plus fort, plus fort, et enfin WHOOSH ! Au loin, vous entendez un Anglo dans la rue qui crie : « Mais qu'est-ce que c'était que ça ?

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A post shared by Mark Morgenstern (@mark_morgenstern)

Jeudi dernier, c'est une paire d'avions de chasse CF-18 qui a célébré l'ouverture à domicile des Alouettes. Super cool ! J'adore les survols d'avions à réaction... quand je sais qu'ils vont se produire.

Puis, mardi après-midi, cela s'est reproduit ! Cette fois, c'était l'armée de l'air italienne qui survolait le centre-ville.

Dans les deux cas, saviez-vous que cela allait se produire ?

Envoyer un courriel aux Alouettes

Le 12 juin, j'ai envoyé un courriel à l'équipe de communication des Alouettes de Montréal pour leur demander s'ils avaient l'intention de faire un survol en avion à réaction. Cela s'est produit plusieurs années de suite et, à chaque fois, les habitants de la ville ne semblent pas préparés à l'événement. Je me suis dit que si je pouvais le savoir à l'avance, je pourrais utiliser ma plateforme pour avertir les gens et les enthousiasmer (encore une fois, j'adore les survols d'avions quand je sais qu'ils vont avoir lieu).

Je n'ai pas reçu de réponse de l'équipe de communication.

C'est compréhensible. Ils ont probablement un tas d'e-mails à traiter. Peut-être sur les médias sociaux ?

Instagram : J'ai fait défiler, mais je n'ai pas trouvé de message.
Facebook : OK, oui, un survol de mauvaise qualité posté la veille.
Facebook : OK, oui encore, une capture d'écran d'un horaire posté la veille.
Blog : une mention sur leur blog publiée la veille

Je ne reprocherai pas aux Alouettes de ne pas avoir essayé. Il est difficile de faire passer le mot sur une chose ! (Il suffit de me demander ce qu'il en est de l'éclipse solaire). Mais j'ai essayé d'obtenir de l'information à ce sujet et je n'ai pas été en mesure de savoir à l'avance. Et je ne pense pas qu'il faille suivre une équipe sur les médias sociaux ou lire son blog pour savoir que des avions à réaction vont survoler la ville.

J'ai publié un message sur les médias sociaux à propos du survol et j'ai reçu plus d'une douzaine de messages disant que les gens n'avaient aucune idée de ce qui se passait.

Puis vinrent les Italiens

Celui-ci est sorti de nulle part. Depuis Rosemont, nous avons entendu un grondement sourd, mais j'ai supposé qu'il s'agissait d'un gros avion de passagers décollant de YUL. Cela ne pouvait pas être un autre avion à réaction qui passait par là, n'est-ce pas ?

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A post shared by Mark Morgenstern (@mark_morgenstern)

Narrateur : « Il l'était ».

Pour cette fois, il n'y avait pas de précédent annuel pour un survol (pour autant que je sache). Je suppose que je suis censé suivre le Consulat italien de Montréal sur Facebook ? C'est ma faute...

Nous avons besoin d'un meilleur système d'alerte

Encore une fois, j'adore les survols d'avions à réaction et je pense que c'est une façon inspirante d'intéresser les enfants à l'aviation et à l'ingénierie.

Mais je comprends parfaitement pourquoi certaines personnes les détestent. Certains détestent tout simplement le bruit, d'autres n'aiment pas les démonstrations de puissance militaire, et d'autres encore souffrent d'un véritable traumatisme crânien.

Ici, à Montréal, nous devrions être fiers d'accueillir des réfugiés de régions déchirées par la guerre. Mais il n'y a pas de quoi être fier de ne pas leur dire à l'avance que des engins de guerre vont effectuer un survol à basse altitude.

Ma suggestion

Voici quelques conseils à l'intention des organisations qui prévoient un survol. Je n'y ai pas encore réfléchi de manière approfondie, aussi considérez-vous qu'il s'agit d'une première ébauche d'idées :

Publier un message spécifique sur les médias sociaux

Au moins une semaine à l'avance, rédigez un billet contenant uniquement les informations relatives au survol. Inclure :

la date et l'heure du survol
une carte montrant la trajectoire de vol prévue au-dessus de la ville
le nombre de jets qui devraient être en formation

Dites-le à la ville, et la ville nous le dira

Je suppose qu'il faut une autorisation pour effectuer un survol d'une ville en avion à réaction ? C'est exact ?

Si c'est le cas, la ville de Montréal devrait également faire un post dédié avec les informations listées ci-dessus.

Partager/taguer avec les comptes de médias sociaux locaux

Ugh, l'état de la consommation des médias. Idéalement, vous pourriez envoyer un communiqué de presse à CBC, CTV, Montréal Gazette, etc... et l'information serait largement diffusée.

La législation canadienne mise à part, les gens vont probablement entendre votre message par l'intermédiaire de grands comptes de médias sociaux locaux tels que fucknomtl. Renseignez-vous sur les comptes qui ont un impact important dans la ville et demandez-leur de partager votre message comme une sorte d'annonce de service public.

En fait, nous ne devrions pas avoir à suivre de près une équipe sportive, un consulat ou un obscur groupe privé sur Facebook pour savoir quand ces événements vont se produire.

Juste... faites un meilleur travail pour nous le faire savoir

Encore une fois, je comprends la difficulté de faire connaître un événement. Ce n'est pas facile.

En lisant ce post Reddit sur le flyby, même après une décennie d'ouverture à domicile des Alouettes, beaucoup (la plupart ?) n'ont aucune idée qu'ils vont avoir lieu. C'est un problème.

Il y aura aussi des gens qui réagiront négativement à l'organisation des Alouettes, à l'Aviation royale du Canada, etc...

Imaginez le moment différemment : vous avez fait passer le mot longtemps à l'avance. L'information est diffusée sur tous les médias sociaux. Et de nouvelles personnes sont maintenant au courant de votre match de football ou de votre consulat.

À 18 heures, les gens se tiennent à l'extérieur et attendent le rugissement. Ils sont excités à l'idée du survol. Et lorsque le moment arrive, ils sont heureux d'en faire partie.

Comparez cette situation à celle d'aujourd'hui, où un anglophone crie au loin : « Mais qu'est-ce que c'était que ça ?

Please, just let us know when the jets will fly overhead

Trevor Kjorlien — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 16:01:57 -0400

Montréal needs a better heads up when the jets fly low

If you were in Montréal last Thursday afternoon, you might have heard the booming roar of something in the sky.

It starts as a low rumble, then quickly gets louder, louder, and then WHOOSH! Then in the distance you hear an Anglo in the street yelling, "What the hell was that?!"

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A post shared by Mark Morgenstern (@mark_morgenstern)

Last Thursday, it was a pair of CF-18 fighter jets to celebrate the home opener of the Alouettes. Super cool! I love jet flyovers... when I know that they're going to happen.

Then on Tuesday afternoon, it happened again! This time, it was the Italian Air Force flying over downtown.

In both of these instances, did you know it was going to happen?

Emailing the Alouettes

On June 12th, I emailed the Montréal Alouettes communications team to ask if they planned on doing a jet flyover. This has happened a few years in a row, and each time the people of the city seem unprepared for it. I figured if I could find out in advance, I could use my platform to warn people, as well as get them excited for it (again, I love jet flyovers when I know they're coming).

I didn't get a reply from the comms team.

Understandable. They probably have a bunch of emails to answer. Maybe on social media?

Instagram: I scrolled, but couldn't find a post
Facebook: OK, yes, a badass flyover posted the day before
Facebook: OK, yes again, a screenshot of a schedule posted the day before
Blog: a mention on their blog posted the day before

I'm not going to fault the Alouettes for not trying. Getting the word out on a thing is hard! (just ask me about the solar eclipse). But I tried to get info on this, and I wasn't able to know in advance. And I don't think I should have to follow a team on social media or read their blog to know jets are going to fly over the city.

I posted on social media about the flyover and got over a dozen messages saying people had no idea what was going on.

Then came the Italians

This one came out of nowhere. From Rosemont we heard a low rumble, but I assumed it was a large passenger jet taking off from YUL. It couldn't be another jet flyby, could it?

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A post shared by Mark Morgenstern (@mark_morgenstern)

Narrator: "It was."

For this one, there was no yearly precedent for a flyover (as far as I know). I guess I'm supposed to follow the Italian Consulate of Montréal on Facebook? That's my bad...

We need a better warning system

Again, I love jet flyovers, and I think it can be an inspiring way to get kids interested in aviation and engineering.

But I completely understand why some people hate them altogether. Some people just hate the loud noise, others dislike displays of military might, and some people have legit shell shock.

Here in Montréal, we should be proud that we welcome refugees from war-torn regions. But not telling them in advance that war gear will be doing a low flyover pass is not something to be proud of.

My suggestion

Here's a few things that organizations who are planning a flyover should do. I haven't though about this too thoroughly, so consider this a first draft of ideas:

Make a dedicated social media post

At least a week in advance, make a post with just the info about the flyover. Include:

the date and time of when it's going to happen
a map showing the predicted flight path over the city
how many jets you expect to be in formation

Tell the city, and the city tells us

I assume you need permission to do a jet flyover of a city? Right?

If so, the city of Montréal should also make a dedicated post with the info listed above.

Share/tag with local social media accounts

Ugh, the state of media consumption. Ideally you could send a press release to CBC, CTV, Montréal Gazette, etc... and the info would be wide spread.

Canadian legislation aside, folks are likely going to hear your message through large local social media accounts like fucknomtl. Learn which accounts have a big impact in the city and get them to share it as a kind of public service announcement.

Basically... we shouldn't have to closely follow a sports team, a consulate, or an obscure private Facebook group to know when these are going to happen.

Just... do a better job of letting us know

Again, I understand the difficulty in getting the word out on an event. It's not easy.

Reading this Reddit post on the flyby, even after a decade of doing the Alouettes home opener, many (most?) have no idea they're going to happen. That's an issue.

You're also going to get people who are gonna react negatively to the Alouettes organization, the Royal Canadian Air Force, etc...

Imagine the moment differently: you've gotten the word out far in advance. It's shared all over social media. And some new people now know about your football game or your consulate.

At 6:00 PM, people are standing outside awaiting the roar. They're excited for the flyby. And as the moment happens, they're glad to be a part of it.

Compare that to now, where we have an Anglo yelling in the distance, "What the hell was that?!"

Where to Watch the Solar Eclipse in Montréal

Trevor Kjorlien — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 13:10:26 -0400

A few eclipse viewing spots I recommend

The eclipse is almost here! And a question I've been getting a lot is "where is the best spot to watch the eclipse in Montréal?"

Most importantly: make sure you're in the blue part of the map below. And the further "in" to the blue you are, the longer totality time you'll get. So if you're in Old Port, you'll get more totality time than if you were in Parc Jarry, for instance.

There's no real "best" spot and you don't need to overthink this. But below, I'll list off a few spots that might be a good for you, and the pros and cons of each.

Things to consider

already have a good spot in your backyard or patio? No need to go anywhere!
a wide open space like a park is ideal. This will give you a good view of the 360° sunset that happens at totality!
try to avoid places with tall buildings so they don't risk blocking the view
use the metro, as road traffic will be busy

Parc Jeanne-Mance

This is my top recommended spot. My hunch is that this will be less busy than a lot of other places and has enough open space to accommodate lots of people.

This will also provide a good open view of the horizon to see some of the 360° sunset. Also: how iconic to look at the eclipse and see the Mont Royal cross to your left?

Totality time: 1 min, 15 sec
Nearest metro: Mont-Royal
Google Map

Parc Lafontaine

This is also another great centrally located spot. It lacks a bit of open space to see the 360° sunset and be sure to get a spot that isn't blocked by trees.

The water won't be filled, so don't expect an idyllic scene. But come early enough and you might be able to grab a bench!

Totality Time: 1 min, 14 sec
Nearest Metros: Sherbrooke, Mont-Royal
Google Map

Beaver Lake / Lac au Castors

This spot has a lot going for it, but will take about 30 minutes to walk to from the nearest metro. Seriously: don't even think about getting a parking spot nearby. There is a bus that goes directly here, but just assume traffic will be nuts.

The eclipse will happen right above the St Joseph Oratory. You'll also have a solid view of the horizon to see part of the 360° sunset. You'll also have a clear view to see bright dots Jupiter and Venus at totality.

Totality Time: 1 min, 24 sec
Nearest Metros: Guy Concordia (Green Line, 35 min walk), Côte-des-Neiges (Blue Line, 40 min walk)
Google Map

Belvédère Outremont

This is the best sunset spot in the city, and this will be a really killer view. But there's some downsides.

The available space for this lookout point is small, so it could be very crowded. Honestly: arrive here at like 12:00 PM if you want to guarantee a spot.

Depending on how many people decide to come here, the trail leading up might be horribly congested. Again, arrive early?

But if you do get a good spot here, you'll have an amazing view of the 360° sunset overlooking the horizon looking west. The Sun will be more to the "left" compared to the photo above, so you'll be facing more towards the south than you would for a usual western sunset.

Totality Time: 1 min 17 sec
Nearest Metro: Édouard-Montpetit (Blue Line + 25 minute walk)
Google Map

Parc Angrignon

Credit: Vivek Jariya, Google Maps

If you're on the southwest part of the island, Parc Angrignon might be a solid spot! And of all my picks here, has the longest totality time. Also, the metro station is just a few minutes walk away.

Totality Time: 1 min 50 sec
Nearest Metro: Angrignon
Google Map

Parc Jarry

Although this has less than a minute of totality time, Parc Jarry will have lots of available space and have a good view of the 360° sunset. Perhaps the best of all the spots listed here.

If you can snag that small hilltop by the pond? Good on ya.

Totality Time: 50 sec
Nearest Metros: De Castelneau, Parc (Blue Line)
Google Map

St Joseph's Oratory

Credit, Instagram: @shirinanja

I imagine the Oratory will be packed. People flock here to watch the sunset and I can only imagine what it'll be like on April 8th.

The stairs looking West provide great seating and you'll have an excellent view to see the 360° horizon. Also, if you feel you need to repent at the sight of totality, this might be your spot. But arrive earlier than you think. Like, church on Christmas Eve early.

Totality Time: 1 min 22 sec
Nearest Metro: Côte-des-Neiges
Google Map

Other Free Events

Although it'll be packed, you might enjoy the feeling of being around tens of thousand of other people during the eclipse. Some of these events might have a limited amount of free solar eclipse glasses. Again, don't count on getting glasses and be sure to arrive early:

If you don't need to drive, please don't. Use public transportation (metro will be easier). Arrive early. And be kind to the people around you.

Have a great eclipse!

Do you now know where you're gonna see the eclipse because of this article? Buy me a coffee or become a monthly supporter!

Why is 2024 a Leap Year?

Trevor Kjorlien — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 18:00:00 -0500

And why do we do this every four years?

Every four years, we add an extra day to our calendar. The elusive February 29.

Why do we do this every four years? Why do we do it at all?

How long is a year, really?

It’s common to say that it takes the Earth 365 days to go around the Sun. In everyday life, this is a pretty good number to use.

But the Earth actually takes about 365 days and 6 hours to go around the Sun once. Or, as shown in the diagram below, 365.25 days.

That extra 6 hours is critical to why we have leap years.

Example

Let's pretend we have a calendar with only 365 days in it. No leap years.

Year 1

The Earth goes around the Sun once. And we’ve found that it’s 6 hours out of sync. But who cares? It’s just 6 hours, and compared to 365 days, that’s basically nothing.

Year 2

The Earth goes around the Sun again. At the end of the year, the Earth is now 12 hours out of sync. Again, is this really a big deal?

Year 3

The Earth goes around the Sun again. Now it’s 18 hours out of sync. Big whoop.

Year 4

The Earth goes around the Sun again. Now it's out of sync by 24 hours, an entire day. Now it starts to hit us...

No Leap Year = Out of Sync

If we continued this example for 8 years, we'd be 2 days out of sync. 12 years, 3 days out of sync. And so on...

After 100 years of using a 365 day calendar, it would be 25 days out of sync.

Eventually, we would be looking at our calendars and the date wouldn't match what we would expect to see outside. The calendar would say something like July 1st and there would be two feet of snow on the ground.

This is what adding a day every 4 years avoids. It keeps our calendars in sync.

Imagine a Different Planet

It might be good to hammer this home in your brain by imagining how often a Leap Year would happen on a different planet:

Questions

How often would a Leap Years happen if the planet took...

365 days and 12 hours to go around the Sun
365 days and 4 hours to go around the Sun
365 days and 1 hour to go around the Sun

Answers

Every 2 years
Every 6 years
Every 24 years

Basically, we find how much "extra time" it takes the planet to go around the Sun. Then we divide 24 hours by that number.

This assumes the planet also has a 24 hour day, but try and think about a planet that spins more slowly or quickly. What might their calendar look like?

Not exactly 365.25 days

The Earth's orbit around the Sun is actually a little bit more than 365 days and 6 hours. It's more like 365 days, 6 hours, and 9 minutes (Wikipedia Page all about Earth's orbit).

To compensate for that little bit of difference, some years which would normally be a Leap Year do not. To quote this website:

"After 1752 we adopted the system still in use today where an additional day is inserted in February in years wholly divisible by four, other than years ending in 00 with the exception of those divisible by 400 which are still leap years (like 2000)."

Nature is Imperfect

Before I was old enough to know better, I assumed that the calendar had 365 days because we humans willed it that way. It just sounded like a cool number that was close to 360 (also a very useful number, I'd been told). And we did Leap Years just to keep things interesting.

But as I got older, it became clear that some of our human-made systems arise from nature. But nature can be imperfect, and so we need to conform our systems to natural reality.

It would be easier if Earth took exactly 365 days to go around the Sun. We wouldn't need Leap Years.

But here we are: making the best use of the natural world around us, and compensating when we need to.

Do you know why we have Leap Years now? Support my work!

Take me to Null Island

Trevor Kjorlien — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 14:30:00 -0500

The little spot on Earth where zero meets zero

There's a scene in Seinfeld that I've loved since I was a kid, and now I finally get to use it as an astronomy teaching tool.

Kramer's lost. He calls Jerry on a payphone. Jerry asks where he is:

Kramer: “I’m on 1st and 1st. How can the same street intersect with itself? I must be at the Nexus of the Universe!”

Roll the clip...

Kramer may have found it weird to be at the corner of 1st and 1st, but what if you found yourself at the corner of 0 and 0?

No Location = A Location

My friend Jonah posted a story on Instagram a few days ago. From what I gather, he was on a plane to Los Angeles and looked at the location on his phone.

What did the map show? Something like this:

Did the pilot take a wrong turn? Were they actually at the South Atlantic Ocean, below Ghana?

No. But why did it show his location here in the middle of the ocean?

My web design past roars back

I'm super familiar with this exact spot as I've seen it over and over in my web design career.

Many times, I've had to build sites with locations on a map. If you have no location coordinates – NULL coordinates – this is often where the default pin is set.

But why here?

This spot on Earth is where the latitude is 0° and the longitude is 0°. "How can the same map lines intersect with itself? I must be at the Nexus of the Planet!"

You can find the position of any place on Earth with these two numbers.

Latitude

Latitude measures how far north-south you are.

If you're at the Equator, we say you're at 0° latitude. If you go north 1°, we say your location is 1° N, and if you go south, you're at 1° S.

So, this place is at the Equator (notice the dashed line in the map above indicating that).

Longitude

Longitude measures how far east-west you are. 0° is at a location called the Prime Meridian.

It's not in the map above, so I've added here in the red dashed line:

If you're on this line, we say you're at 0° longitude. If you go east 1°, we say your location is 1° E, and if you go west, you're at 1° W.

Putting these two ideas together, we can pin down Montreal's location to 45°.5 N and 73.5° W.

Longitude is Arbitrary

There's no controversy in saying where the Equator is: it's at the halfway point between the North Pole and the South Pole. There's no debate to be had about where the halfway point is with latitude.

Longitude is a different story. That vertical red line in the map above is a completely arbitrary line. For lack of a better term, it's not "naturally occurring".

We call this line the Prime Meridian.

The Prime Meridian runs through the Greenwich Observatory, located in London, England. This location was decided in October 1884 at the International Meridian Conference (yes, this sounds like a 99% Invisible or Radiolab episode just waiting to happen).

Daniel Case

It surprises me how recent this is! I seriously thought it would have been a date in the 1500s or something, but nope. Very recent.

You can read the Wikipedia page for the full details, but other countries also suggested the line run through their cities, but lost the vote to England.

So the coordinates 0° latitude and 0° longitude are only in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean because of a human decision.

Alternate Prime Meridian

Just imagine that instead of London being chosen as the Prime Meridian, it was Rome. Here is where the point 0° and 0° would be:

In one alternate timeline, the default spot for GPS coordinates could have been in the country of Gabon, nestled somewhere in Ivindo National Park:

But nope: history went one way and the intersection of 0° and 0° is in the middle of the water. But that didn't stop us from giving this spot a name: Null Island.

Null Island

The nearest land to this spot is about 600 kilometres away.

0° and 0° is pretty remote, however a weather buoy named "Soul" is permanently stationed there. It's part of a network of buoys used to track changing climate.

Fun fact: each buoy is named after a musical genres and dances. Other names include "Reggae", "Samba", and "Waltz".

Graham Curran

In conclusion: if you see your GPS coordinates somewhere off the coast Ghana and you didn't have plans to be there, fear not. Your map just has no location and has put NULL values in place there.

Did this article help you find your way back home? Become a supporter so I can help other lost Null Island souls.

Why isn't the Winter Solstice the Earliest Sunset?

Trevor Kjorlien — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 16:10:22 -0500

Why the earliest sunset of the year is a few days before you expect it should be

The earliest sunset of the year doesn’t happen on the Winter Solstice. This fact was a surprise to me when I first stumbled on it a few years ago.

My intuition told me that because the Winter Solstice is the “darkest day of the year”, that would be the day of the earliest sunset. And from feedback I’ve gotten, most folks also think this.

But no: the earliest sunset in Montréal is on December 10th each year. Why?

I’ll admit: I’ve read about this for years and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. I am going to do my best, but I am going to link to the resources that have helped me at the end and hopefully at least one of these will help you understand.

OK, let’s get into it.

What is the Winter Solstice?

Let’s get this out of the way: what is the Winter Solstice? It is the day with the least amount of total daylight.

Above is a sample of dates for Montréal in December. You can visit this page and look at the Daylength column for the full data.

On December 21, we see the number 8:42:14 (8 hours, 42 minutes, and 14 seconds of daylight). All other days of the year have a higher number than this. This is why we call this the “darkest day of the year”.

Everybody got that? Good.

The Dates and Times

Next, let’s look at the actual date and times of the sunset in Montréal. Look again at the table above.

If you visit this page, look at the Sunset column. Here’s a few to illustrate the pattern:

Dec 1: 4:12 PM
Dec 10: 4:10 PM
Dec 21: 4:13 PM
Dec 31: 4:20 PM

The takeaway: the date with the earliest sunset is December 10 at 4:10 PM.

On the Winter Solstice on December 21, it’s at 4:13 PM. The earliest sunset is not on the Winter Solstice.

Everybody got that? Good.

The Length of a Day Changes Throughout the Year

When trying to understand this entire concept, I stumbled over this particular part for a while. So hopefully I can help you avoid that.

We have multiple ways of measuring how long a day is.

Using a clock. The length of it doesn’t change. It’s exactly 24 hours every single day.
Using the Sun. The length of it varies throughout the year. Not much: only by a few seconds. Some days it’s 24 hours and 20 seconds long. Some days it’s 23 hours, 59 minutes and 40 seconds long.

How do we measure how long a day is using the Sun? Pretty simple:

When the Sun is exactly South in the sky, start a timer.
The Earth will slowly rotate for about 24 hours, and the Sun will appear to move.
Wait for the Sun to return again exactly South in the sky. Stop your timer.

You would think that this number would be the same every single day. But it’s not! How weird!

How much does it vary?

Time for a Graph

OK, it’s graph time. Sorry if that scares you, but I promise this will help!

Here’s a graph you’ll see over and over again if you research this topic. I’ve modified it slightly from Explaining Science.

Credit: ExplainingScience.org

This shows how many seconds plus or minus 24 hours we get throughout the year. Here’s a few examples (note that I’m eyeballing these values from the graph):

Jan 1: +27 seconds
Apr 1: -17 seconds
Jun 1: +10 seconds
Sep 15: -22 seconds
Dec 1: +20 seconds

So on January 1, the day lasts: 24 hours and 27 seconds.

And on April 1, the day lasts: 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 43 seconds.

And so on.

Honestly, this kinda blew me away. The length of a day changes?! Yes… if you were to measure the time just using the Sun.

And this is the crux of why the earliest sunset is on December 10 instead of December 21. There is a discrepancy between how we humans measure time on our watches (24 hours) and the Solar Time (which varies).

We don't need to know why the solar day changes to continue, but if you're interested, I highly recommend this blog post.

When do sunsets start getting later?

What I found clicked for me when researching this was flipping the question on it's head:

Instead of thinking When is the earliest sunset and why is it not the Winter Solstice?, I found it easier to think When do sunsets start getting later?

For me, this next graph made the concept finally sink in. I've recreated what ExplainingScience.org has done in their blog post, but adapted it for Montreal.

Each orange bar shows the date that the Sun rises and sets. For example, December 1st, the Sun rises at 7:13 AM and sets at 4:12 PM.

It also shows the amount of daylength in hours, minutes, and seconds.

Remember how at this time of year, the Solar Day lasts about 24 hours and 30 seconds long? This means that, on our standard 24 hours watches and clocks, the sunrise will be "pushed" about 30 seconds later the following day.

The pink arrows illustrate this push.

What this also means is that the sunset on the following day will be "pushed" later, too.

The Push vs The Shrink

Look closely at the daylength of December 9, 10, and 11. The days keep shrinking and shrinking, and you would expect then, the sunset to get earlier and earlier.

But on December 11, the "push" has a greater effect than the "shrink". On December 11, the sunset happens about 1 second later than December 10.

Conclusion: This Isn't Easy

If you found yourself really scratching your head here, that's totally OK! As an amateur myself, this took a lot of blog post reading, video watching, and walks outside to have it wrap around my head.

If I had to summarize this entire concept, it would be this:

the length of a day with our human-made clocks is 24 hours long
the length of a day using the Sun varies through the year
the length of a day with the Sun varies a few seconds above or under 24 hours
because of this discrepancy in time keeping, the Sunrise can be "pushed" ahead of what our clocks say it should be
this "push" causes our Sunsets to start later in Montréal on December 11

I'm purposely omitting some stuff here, as I found it's what I needed to grasp the concept. I hope that it works for you, too.

Joshua Kutryk heads to the International Space Station

Trevor Kjorlien — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 15:22:57 -0500

Some thoughts on Joshua's 2025 flight to the ISS

Two weeks ago, the Canadian Space Agency announced flight assignments for two astronauts, Joshua Kutryk and Jenni Gibbons.

Quick recap: we have four active Canadian astronauts. David-Saint Jacques, who did a six-month stay on the International Space Station in 2019, and Jeremy Hansen who is scheduled for the Artemis II mission around the Moon as early as November 2024.

The last two remaining active astronauts just got their assignments.

Jenni Gibbons has been assigned as backup to Jeremy Hansen, just in case something happens and he can't go. There's a lot to unpack there, so I'll save that for a separate post.

Joshua Kutryk got assigned a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. The mission could happen as soon as early 2025. Let's look at some of the interesting tidbits about it.

Getting There: Boeing Starliner

When the Space Shuttle retired in 2011, the only way to get to the ISS was with the Russian Soyuz craft. This is how Chris Hadfield got there in 2013, and how David Saint-Jacques got there in 2019.

In 2020, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon craft began operational flights to the ISS. Since then, the USA and other partner countries have sent most crews with this vehicle. It's had a great and reliable run so far.

But Joshua won't be going up in this bird. Instead, he’ll be flying on the Boeing Starliner craft.

Credit: NASA

Starliner's development has been... interesting. Like most new space vehicles, it's been delayed for years, but has also been marred by issues in its two flight tests into space.

Those test flights had no crew aboard, but in April 2024, the first crewed test is planned.

If all goes well, Joshua could be flying as early as January 2025 as the first official crew of Boeing Starliner.

Two Canadians in Space At Once?

Only once has there been two CSA astronauts in space: in 2009 when Julie Payette was on a 16 day Space Shuttle mission while Robert Thirsk was on a 6 month mission aboard the ISS.

Credit: NASA

Just spitballing: let’s say Joshua’s mission goes up on time in January 2025. Then, the Artemis II mission with Jeremy Hansen is a few months delayed.

That means that Joshua would be in orbit around Earth while Jeremy is on his way with his crew around the Moon.

This is common for USA and Russia, but for Canada it's a rare moment.

Last Canadian Astronaut to ISS?

The ISS is set to be de-orbited in 2030. That’s a moving target and could be extended, but let’s assume that date.

Chris Hadfield launched to the ISS in December 2012. Six years later, David Saint-Jacques headed to the ISS in December 2018.

It’s not a big dataset, but there’s a pattern: a CSA astronaut goes to the ISS about every 6 years. If Joshua goes up in January 2025 and arrives home in July 2025, this means that he might be the last CSA astronaut to live long-term on the ISS.

Mission Patch

For some CSA missions, the tastes of the astronaut is imbued in their patch.

A prime example is Robert Thirsk's patches for his two missions. Thirsk is an admirer of Pacific Northwest Indigenous art and each patch was designed by Tsimshian artist Bill Helin.

You can see every CSA astronaut's mission here, along with each mission's patch. You can even buy each of these mission patches from the Ingenium store.

I’m curious when Joshua’s mission patch will be released and what it will contain. I'll admit to not being as tuned in when David Saint-Jacques mission was in the works, so I'll be watching more closely this time around.

In videos and presentations, Joshua has referenced his upbringing in rural Alberta as he watched the night sky. As a kid who also grew up in rural Alberta and did much the same, I can't help but wonder if that'll play in to the design.

BONUS: Both crew are from Alberta

Credit: CSA

Alright, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it: both Joshua and Jenni are from Alberta.

While I think my home province is in a political what-the-hell? moment right now, I can't help but feel pride in seeing people like Joshua and Jenni come from there.

Learned more about Canadian spaceflight? Help me continue by supporting my work.

Recommended Telescopes & Space Gifts for Christmas

Trevor Kjorlien — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 13:43:01 -0500

Two telescopes and some solid space goods

Christmas is coming up, and each year I usually get a few messages asking about what telescope somebody should by for their kids and family.

It’s nearly a tradition at this point: a parent buys a $100 cheap-o plastic telescope that has a lotta hype on the box, but in real-world use is a huge disappointment. Trust me: do not buy these.

So, I’m here to help. Below, I’m going to list only two telescopes. One is if you already have a steady tripod and the other is if you do not.

They’re both able to get clear views of the Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn. They’re both more expensive than the $100 cheap-o plastic telescope, but they’re not an insanely high cost, either.

If they’re out of your price range, I’ve listed a few other space gifts that are more affordable.

Celestron C90 Mak

$350 CAD

Buy at Maison d'Astronomie

If you have a tripod for a camera, go with this one.

This is the telescope that I use when I need to be portable for my workshops. It comes with eyepieces, a small backpack, and spotting scope.

Setup takes just a few minutes and gives great views of the Moon. You can also see Jupiter and its moons, and Saturn and its rings.

Orion Starblast 4.5

$350 CAD

Buy at Maison d'Astronomie

If you do not have a tripod, go with this one.

A major complaint I see with telescopes is that they are not steady and are difficult to point at things in the sky. You get what you want to see in the eyepiece, but then it quickly gets rustled and you have to infuriatingly re-find it.

That’s why for most beginners, I recommend a table-top design like this. It sits steady on a flat surface. Then, you point and it’ll stay in place. It makes the hobby much more enjoyable.

Also: with this design, there’s very little setup time. Just pop in the eyepiece, take off the front cap, point it at the Moon, and you’re good to go! Other designs can take 15 minutes to get going, and by that time your kid would rather run around the park instead of watching you fiddle any longer with the damn thing.

Although I haven’t tried this telescope specifically, this is highly recommended by many astronomy groups. It’s also the same telescope that is lended out by some Montréal libraries, if you want to give that a whirl ahead of time.

Solar Eclipse Glasses

$6 CAD. Available in bulk orders.

Buy at Plateau Astro Shop

On April 8, 2024, day will turn into night over Montréal during the total solar eclipse. To see it, you’ll need eclipse glasses.

I sell these myself, either individually or in 5, 10, and 25 packs (so you could prep your entire visiting relatives, if you wanted!)

Buying these really helps support me and my business. It’s much appreciated!

Glow in the Dark Stars

$15 CAD

Buy on Amazon

Telescope out of your budget? Get some glow in the dark stars for your kid’s room.

I remember getting these as a kid and loving them. Legit: I was excited to head to bed and wait for the moment the lights turned off.

You can also use this as an activity to teach about some of the constellations.

Canadian Space Agency Patch

$10 CAD

Buy at Ingenium

NASA patches are cool. But if you want your kid to stand out, get them the recently redesigned Canadian Space Agency logo patch.

Caveat: I thought they were going to be made out of thread, but instead it’s silicone. Hoping the CSA eventually gets these in higher quality material. Now, you’d think that Canada’s astronauts would have a higher quality patch? Nope! They wear this exact patch on their suits (at least from what I’ve seen in autumn 2023). Take a close look at the patch the next time you see Jeremy Hansen in his space suit.

RTL SDR Radio Receiver

$105 CAD

Buy on Amazon

This is more fitting for a teenager who has an interest in electronics and physics. This kit will them to “tune in” to a wide variety of radio channels, including spacecraft that transmit back down to Earth.

I’ve used this kit myself to download weather imagery from NOAA satellites. It takes a bit of practice, but this is an insanely gratifying exercise which teaches your kid many skills.

The kid includes the USB dongle, wires, antenna, and little tripod. All you’ll need is a laptop and download the free SDR++ software to get going.

Plateau Astro Prints

OK, one more. If you want to support Plateau Astro further, I sell prints of photos I’ve taken. Take a browse on my shop.

Thank you! Happy holidays!

Found this useful? Consider buying me a coffee or becoming a monthly Patreon supporter.

How to see the Partial Solar Eclipse in Montréal on October 14, 2023

Trevor Kjorlien — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 10:41:55 -0400

Watch the Moon cover part of the Sun on a Saturday afternoon

Montréal will be treated to a solar eclipse this autumn. This is when the Moon appears to go in front of the Sun, blocking some portion of it.

For this eclipse, we'll see about 20% of the Sun get blocked in Montréal. These are quite a rare event, so if it's clear and you have the right equipment, you should definitely make time to watch this.

I've created a quick video on how to see it. Below, I'll go in further detail:

When?

The solar eclipse will be visible on Saturday, October 14. Here are the most important times:

12:11 PM: start of the eclipse. The Moon will begin blocking the Sun on the right-hand side.
1:17 PM: maximum eclipse. This is the most the Sun will be blocked.
2:23 PM: end of the eclipse. The Moon will stop blocking the Sun on the bottom-left.

For complete info and animation of the eclipse from Montréal, TimeAndDate.com.

Where?

This will be visible over most of North and South America. So if you have friends in these continents, let them know!

The times and view will be different depending on where you are on Earth. Use this page to find the full info for locations.

Where in Montréal?

The eclipse will be high in the sky during the eclipse. So long as you have a clear view of the sky, you should be all set!

In 2021, it was a different scenario: the eclipse happened early in the morning as the Sun was rising. For that, we needed a clear view of the eastern horizon.

But for the October 14, 2023 eclipse, anywhere in the city is a good spot.

How to see it?

This is important: to see it you, you'll need a pair of eclipse glasses. Never look at the Sun without proper eye protection.

If you don't have a pair yet, I have them for sale! They ship quickly and they're a great way to help support Plateau Astro.

Buy Eclipse Glasses

$6.00: 1-pack
$27.50: 5-pack
$50.00 10-pack
also available in bulk orders

These glasses are ISO 12312-2 certified and are safe for looking at the Sun.

Take part in the eclipse experiment

An experiment I'm doing: trying to get people all over the country to take a photo at the same time to show how different it will appear. You can use your eclipses and your phone to do it.

I've created a dedicated page with all the details on how to do it that you can send to other around Canada.

Take part in the experiment

Why you should care about the eclipse

Solar eclipses are a near-spiritual event for me. Here's why:

The Sun is enormous. The Moon is a lot smaller than it.

Yet, when we see the Sun and the Moon in the sky, they appear nearly the exact same size. How can this be if they're vastly different?

The reason is that the Moon just so happens to be the correct distance from the Earth that it appears the exact same size that the Sun does. Isn't that wild?

This wasn't always the case. Millions of years ago, the Moon was much closer to the Earth when it was forming. Almost 17 times closer! Back then, the Moon would have looked enormous in the sky, but eclipses wouldn't have the spectacular appeal they have now.

Millions of year from now, the Moon will be slightly further away, and won't be able to block out the Sun fully. We won't have total solar eclipses then.

Photo of myself standing in Nunavut during the August 2008 solar eclipse

Special Time and a Special Place

Earth is the only planet in our Solar System where a Moon perfectly appears the same size as the Sun. What are the odds that it happens to be the one planet with creatures on it that have the mental capacity to appreciate that fact?

And how lucky am I that I get to be in that special time and place.

Find this eclipse info useful? Consider buying me a coffee or becoming a monthly supporter!

How to Know When an Amazing Sunset Will Happen

Trevor Kjorlien — Wed, 03 May 2023 18:00:00 -0400

Learn to love partly cloudy skies

Why are some sunsets so fiery and spectacular, that they make us stop in our tracks, whip out our phone, and take a photo?

And why are some sunsets just kinda... average?

What makes the difference between the two?

Clouds Provide the Magic

If we watch a sunset on a clear evening, it can be a beautiful view:

But this isn't the sky-on-fire type of sunset that I'm taking about.

It might feel counter-intuitive, but the best sunsets happen on partly cloudy days. These fiery sunsets are caused by the Sun's light hitting the bottom of these clouds. Here's a few examples:

Just a few clouds

This can make for some nice cotton candy-looking clouds. Very aesthetic!

A few more clouds

Here, the sky is a reddish-orange buffet.

Let's go nuts

These are the show-stoppers.

The Sun Needs a Clear Path

Of course, too much clouds just make for a cloudy sky. Not cool.

What we need is for the Sun to be setting on the horizon and have a clear path for its light to hit the bottom of the clouds above us. In fact, you could have a canopy of clouds above you covering most of the sky, but if there's just enough clearance on the horizon for the Sun to peak its head through and shine on the bottom of the clouds, you should be in for a good show.

Cloud Colours

Why do some clouds at sunset appear yellow and orange, and others appear red and pink?

In short: when sunlight has to go through more air to reach the clouds, the more red it will appear.

In my rough, not-to-scale diagram below, you can see the Sun setting below the horizon. Light is leaving the Sun, traveling through space, and going through Earth's atmosphere.

Notice that the clouds closer to the horizon appear yellow. The light that hits them has to go through the least amount of atmosphere. The orange clouds are a bit further from the horizon and the light has to go through even more atmosphere. Finally, the red clouds are even further from the horizon, and light goes through a lot of atmosphere.

Light is made up of all the colours of the rainbow. Remember ROYGBIV?

Well, when light goes through just a bit of atmosphere, the red, orange, and yellow light wavelengths are all able to reach the first cloud. It appears yellow.

When light goes through more atmosphere, those yellow wavelengths of light get scattered. We're left with just the orange and red wavelengths of light. The cloud appears orange.

And when light goes through a lot of atmosophere, the orange wavelengths are scattered. So we're left with only the red wavelengths of light reaching the cloud and making it look a pretty pinkish-red.

Spotting Pinkish-Red Clouds

These clouds are really gorgeous to me, and I keep my eyes open for them. One way is to the look in the opposite direction of the sunset to the East.

Remember: the light has to go through more atmosphere to reach these clouds. Here's some pink clouds after a rain storm from 2020:

Another way that light goes through more atmosphere is for high-altitude clouds. These would typically appear in the West, in the direction of the Sunset.

High-altitude clouds are usually icy cirrus clouds, and can make an incredible effect:

How to Predict Fiery Sunsets

Now you know that sky-on-fire sunsets need:

some clouds
a path for the Sun to reach those clouds in the western sky at sunset

This combo happens on partly cloudy days. My recommendation is to keep an eye on your weather apps for partly cloudy skies around sunset time.

That's the recipe for these majestic views.

Know a bit more about how to see amazing sunsets?

Support my work on Patreon or buy me a coffee!

Plateau Astro

S'il vous plaît, faites-nous savoir quand les avions à réaction passeront au-dessus de nos têtes

Envoyer un courriel aux Alouettes

Puis vinrent les Italiens

Nous avons besoin d'un meilleur système d'alerte

Ma suggestion

Publier un message spécifique sur les médias sociaux

Dites-le à la ville, et la ville nous le dira

Partager/taguer avec les comptes de médias sociaux locaux

Juste... faites un meilleur travail pour nous le faire savoir

Please, just let us know when the jets will fly overhead

Emailing the Alouettes

Then came the Italians

We need a better warning system

My suggestion

Make a dedicated social media post

Tell the city, and the city tells us

Share/tag with local social media accounts

Just... do a better job of letting us know

Where to Watch the Solar Eclipse in Montréal

Things to consider

Parc Jeanne-Mance

Parc Lafontaine

Beaver Lake / Lac au Castors

Belvédère Outremont

Parc Angrignon

Parc Jarry

St Joseph's Oratory

Other Free Events

Why is 2024 a Leap Year?

How long is a year, really?

Example

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

No Leap Year = Out of Sync

Imagine a Different Planet

Questions

Answers

Not exactly 365.25 days

Nature is Imperfect

Take me to Null Island

No Location = A Location

My web design past roars back

Latitude

Longitude

Longitude is Arbitrary

Alternate Prime Meridian

Null Island

Why isn't the Winter Solstice the Earliest Sunset?

What is the Winter Solstice?

The Dates and Times

The Length of a Day Changes Throughout the Year

Time for a Graph

When do sunsets start getting later?

The Push vs The Shrink

Conclusion: This Isn't Easy

Further Reading

Joshua Kutryk heads to the International Space Station

Getting There: Boeing Starliner

Two Canadians in Space At Once?

Last Canadian Astronaut to ISS?

Mission Patch

BONUS: Both crew are from Alberta

Recommended Telescopes & Space Gifts for Christmas

Celestron C90 Mak

Orion Starblast 4.5

Solar Eclipse Glasses

Glow in the Dark Stars

Canadian Space Agency Patch

RTL SDR Radio Receiver

Plateau Astro Prints

How to see the Partial Solar Eclipse in Montréal on October 14, 2023

When?

Where?

Where in Montréal?

How to see it?

Take part in the eclipse experiment

Why you should care about the eclipse