Nightly Logbook
The blog
Short observations, explainers, and reader questions from Dmitry Shteynbuk — one post per night, rotating through observing skills, the Solar System, stellar physics, telescopes, Miami launches, reader questions, and history.
- 07Dmitry Shteynbuk — How Henrietta Leavitt Measured the UniverseIn 1912, a woman working as a "computer" at Harvard found the pattern that made the extragalactic distance scale possible.2 min
- 06Dmitry Shteynbuk — Averted Vision: The Observing Trick Built into Your RetinaThe faintest thing you can see is not what you look straight at. It is what you almost look at.2 min
- 05Dmitry Shteynbuk — What Is a Light-Year, Really? (Answered)Reader question this week: a light-year is not a unit of time, and yes, it does actually matter.2 min
- 04Dmitry Shteynbuk — Watching a Rocket Launch from a Miami RooftopCape Canaveral is 340 km up the coast. From a Miami rooftop, you can see the arc — if you know where to look.2 min
- 03Dmitry Shteynbuk — The Moon Illusion: Why It Looks Huge on the HorizonIt is exactly the same size overhead as it is on the horizon. Your brain is doing the trick.2 min
- 02Dmitry Shteynbuk — Why Aperture Beats Magnification Every TimeThe number that actually matters on a telescope box is the one nobody prints in giant type.2 min
- 01Dmitry Shteynbuk — Polaris Isn't the Brightest Star. Here's What It Actually Is.The North Star's fame has nothing to do with brightness — it comes from an accident of geometry.2 min