Tag: amazing

Amazing astronomy photography at the Fleet Science Center!

Instant and Eternal (Sun with passing aircraft), by photographer Zhang Yanguang. Huli District, Xiamen, Fujian, China, 4 January 2025.

In the basement of the Fleet Science Center, a place few visitors go, there’s an incredible exhibition of astrophotography titled ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year.

Astronomy Photographer of the Year is a global competition that, in 2025, received almost 6000 entries from 68 countries. The Fleet’s exhibition includes all of the prizewinning photographs. There are photos of starry skies over Earthly landscapes and photos of celestial objects very distant from our tiny planet.

I’ve always loved astronomy and cosmology. Looking up at the night sky gives one a feeling of overwhelming wonder. The beauty, the complexity, the sheer enormity of this universe can hardly be grasped with our very limited eyes.

These photos convey that same wonder. A few examples…

Veil of Stars (NGC 6960 Veil Nebula), by photographer Zixiong Jin. Marathon Sky Park, Brewster County, Texas, USA, 28 November 2024.
The Moon With Saturn, by photographer Shamiqh Gajdhar, aged 13. Jeddah, Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia, 14 October 2024.
Electric Threads of the Lightning Spaghetti Nebula, by photographer Shaoyu Zhang. Deep Sky Chile Observatory, Camino del Observatorio, Rio Hurtado, Chile and Xiangcheng, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China 21, 24-25 December 2024, 3-5, 15-15, 19-31 January, 1-6 and 10-19 February 2025.
The Ridge, by photographer Tom Rae. Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, Mackenzie District, New Zealand, 8 April 2024.

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Yosemite Fall chalk art at the Timken Museum!

Look what I happened upon this afternoon while walking through Balboa Park!

Some incredible chalk art has been created in the Plaza de Panama, right in front of the Timken Museum of Art!

The chalk art was created by @sidewalk_chalk_dad. It’s a colorful recreation of Albert Bierstadt’s 1864 oil painting Cho-looke, the Yosemite Fall, which is displayed among other masterpieces inside the free museum.

How amazing is this?

The museum is closed today–a Tuesday–so I couldn’t ask about the chalk art. I suppose it was created over the weekend.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

The cosplay during SDCC will blow your mind!

Don’t head down to San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter during Comic-Con unless you want to blow your mind!

Amazing cosplay is everywhere! You’ll see every conceivable pop culture character!

It’s wonderful chaos!

Here comes yet another batch of photographs. It’s SDCC 2026. These were taken on Friday late afternoon…

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

A brilliantly glowing Growing Home!

In 2019, about one week after its installation, I posted a blog concerning this amazing, stainless steel, sea snail sculpture, which is called Growing Home. It rises near Petco Park in East Village, in front of the Park 12 – The Collection luxury apartments.

You can read more about this phenomenal public art and see my original photographs by clicking here.

Last night I walked past Growing Home. Wow. I was so struck by its glowing brilliance that I had to take more photos.

And here they are!

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Over 250,000 miles from San Diego!

You might have heard that the Artemis II moon mission will be splashing down off the San Diego coast on Friday shortly after 5 pm. But did you know you can be watching the mission live during its lunar flyby?

This afternoon I’ve been watching live video from NASA as Artemis II has begun passing around the far side of the moon! It’s the farthest humans have ever flown from planet Earth. Over 250,000 miles!

Right now as I type this they cannot contact Earth due to loss of signal, but as soon as they come around the opposite side of the moon, we’ll hear from them again and see new views! From over a quarter million miles away!

I urge everyone to watch the live feed from NASA as this historic mission progresses. Human eyes are seeing what they have never seen before. You can watch the live feed from the NASA website. Click here!

All my photos are screenshots taken from the live video feed.

Here’s one look inside the Orion manned capsule:

And here’s the Earth–that tiny bright sliver–about to pass behind the moon as the Artemis II mission moves around the moon:

UPDATE!

Later, the crew of Artemis II would watch a solar eclipse–one never seen before! From a point near the moon!

Yes, the moon at their position appeared much larger than the sun. That tiny dot is Venus.

Science will benefit from this unique observation of the sun’s corona.

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Award-winning quilt in Balboa Park Visitors Center!

Next time you enter the Balboa Park Visitors Center, move to the left side of the front counter and look up. You’ll see an amazing quilt on the wall!

The quilt, titled THE BOTANICAL GARDENS OF BALBOA PARK, depicts the Botanical Building and Lily Pond. It’s so detailed and exquisite that it won a prestigious national award. It took First Place in the Group Quilts category at the American Quilter’s Society 32nd National QuiltWeek competition in 2016! Here’s the AQS website with all the winners.

Who created this fantastic work of art? The eight members of San Diego quilting group Bobbin Buddies! The quilt was made to celebrate Balboa Park’s centennial.

The award-winning quilt would go on to be included in the Brigham City Museum’s 46th International Quilt Invitational Exhibit in 2018.

This webpage describes how the beautiful quilt was created, and how it was purchased by the Balboa Park Conservancy and has been on display in its Visitors Center. (Today the Visitors Center is operated by Forever Balboa Park.)

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Mural by famous artist on La Mesa school!

Artist and architectural designer Millard Owen Sheets earned international fame for his work around Southern California. Perhaps you’ve seen his gorgeous mosaic murals on the exteriors of buildings that were originally Home Savings Bank branches.

One of those mosaics still exists in La Mesa. People heading down Jackson Drive might notice it above the front entrance of JCS Manzanita Elementary school, on a building that began as Home Savings.

The colorful artwork depicts friars and vaqueros. It was created back in 1976. According to this website, the mosaic was worked on by Millard Sheets and assisting artists Denis O’Connor and Susan Lautmann Hertel.

Around San Diego, three mosaic murals by Millard Owen Sheets can be found in Chula Vista, Coronado and Pacific Beach.

How absolutely amazing is this?

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Morning views from the Cliffhanger Café.

These photographs were taken this morning. I found myself at the Cliffhanger Café and Bar, overlooking the ocean at the Torrey Pines Gliderport in La Jolla.

It was cloudy but predictably beautiful. The wide Pacific Ocean and sky above was painted with complex light and subtle variations of color. Green grass in the foreground, below the deck of the café, produced a stunning contrast. No gliders were up yet. A happy dog was running about.

In all of San Diego, is there a more amazing place to sit outdoors, eating a bite? Take a look at the scenery! Imagine a typically sunny day.

I posted an elaborate blog concerning the Torrey Pines Gliderport almost ten years ago. (Time flies.) From what I observed today, not a whole lot has changed. Just as amazing. See those many past photographs here.

After finishing a snack on the deck, I wandered down to the bench you see in the above photo…

This bench with an amazing view beyond many potted plants has a plaque…

Morgan Meredith Rohde… Drawn to the ocean and kissed by the sun, radiant, exuberant, always smiling, Morgan lives in our hearts forever.

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Painting wildlife at Oceanside Transit Center!

Wow! WOW!!!

Look what I discovered today!

Amazing wildlife murals are now being painted at the Oceanside Transit Center! Passengers walking under the tracks to catch a train are in for a big, wonderful surprise!

These photos were taken from the steps descending to either side of the train tracks, and inside the tunnel that connects platforms.

I see the artists are JustJon Art (@just_jon1), Ground Floor Murals (@groundfloormurals), Victor Rodriguez (@tone_dog), Maxx Moses (@maxxmoses777), and Signe Montefalcon Ditona (@signeditona).

Unfortunately, none of the artists were working on the mural when I happened by.

It appears as if this fantastic project is approaching completion. One guy who works at the Oceanside Transit Center told me the artists have been at it for a couple months.

Feast your eyes on this!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Polar research sailboat Persévérance in San Diego!

Have you seen the enormous sailboat Persévérance docked in San Diego?

I saw the amazing boat this morning. It was a little north of the Maritime Museum of San Diego. I was told it has been in San Diego the past few days.

The Persévérance is a research vessel operated by world-renowned French explorer and polar expedition pioneer Jean-Louis Étienne.

According to a map displayed on the boat, the 2025-2026 Jean-Louis Étienne and Elsa Pény-Étienne’s Expedition has has already visited Greenland and the Arctic region via the Northwest Passage. After leaving the West Coast it will cross the Pacific Ocean and head south to study Antarctica!

The unique oceanographic schooner gathers data on climate and ocean currents, visits Marine Protected Areas, and seeks to analyze human impact on the oceans. Marine Protected Areas on the itinerary include Clipperton, French Polynesia, Ross Sea, and the proposed Dumon d’Urville MPA in East Antarctica.

I asked whether there will be public tours of this remarkable sailboat, but was told, unfortunately, no.

If you’d like to learn more, here’s the Persévérance website!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!