Get Lost Magazine

Stardate Online has a daily celestial observation for you to enjoy, and you can also get their yearly almanac, just like the one we freely poach.

Eclipse home page for how to raise algae for fun and profit in your kitchen sink. (What did you THINK would be there?)

Jet Propulsion Labs Space Calendar

Details on the Sun, sunspots, and aurorae.

The Sun's magnetic explosions and burps of gas from the surace will be at an 11-year high in 2000 and early 2001, so even the less-polar latitudes will have a good chance of seeing the Aurora Borealis. Best time to look is at true midnight, halfway between sunset and sunrise. Check these web sites for leads on aurora-watching:

National Weather Service has pictures of aurora borealises, and the University of Alaska at Fairbanks has stuff on auroras, too.

The year 2000's meteor showers are difficult to see due to the full moon, but they're worth looking for, anyway.

Calendar of Natural and Unnatural Events

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THIS MONTH: Look for the new US quarter for Massachusetts

(This, fresh from Salon magazine:) It's not too early to begin making plans for Fruita, Colo.'s annual Mike the Headless Chicken Day festivities. Each May, the western Colorado town throws this giant fest in fond remembrance of Mike, a rooster who literally lost his head in 1945 -- and miraculously lived on to achieve fame, if not fortune, as a living, breathing, headless fowl.

Fruita has expanded this year's commemorative festivities to two days, May 19 and 20. Scheduled events include a 5K Run Like a Headless Chicken race, a Find Mike's Head Treasure Hunt -- and, of course, plenty of chicken dishes. For travel information, visit the Fruita Web site. For more information about the festival itself, visit the Mike the Headless Chicken site. They sell a killer t-shirt.

1/1 - New Year's Day

1/2 - Earth is perihelion today, its closest point to the Sun for the year.

1/3 - Quadrantids meteor showers. Waning moon provides a dark sky.

1/6 - New moon.

1/14 - A new year for Get Lost magazine! (We start the new year off right... late, as usual.)

1/20 - Full moon, and ironically, a full eclipse of the moon can be seen from the Americas.

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2/5 - New moon. A partial solar eclipse will be visible from Antarctica.

2/5 - The Chinese year 4637 begins today. Party like it's 4636!

2/19 - Full moon, the Snow Moon.

2/29 - "Leap Day" an added day in February, which occurs on years divisible by 4 except in century years unless the century year is divisible by 400. This is as easy to remember as "I" before "E" except after "C" except for most of the rest of the English language. Our best advice is just look at a calendar.