My Eyes on The Sky and My Life

Here is my view of the Jupiter and Venus conjunction on June 8th, 2026, from Massachusetts.

I did some viewing and photos of the Sun on June 4th, 2026. There was a hazy overcast which got worse as the day went on. I did minor adjustments on my laptop photo program and cropped out two areas to show a close up of the sunspots.

🔭Telescope: Celestron Omni AZ 102mm

📷Camera: Canon Rebel T8i

📊Camera Setting: 1/500sec // ISO 800

I was able capture a nice image of the near full Blue Moon on May 30th, 2026, at 10:15pm est before it went behind the trees in my neighborhood. The night of May 31st was too cloudy to get a picture of the totally full Blue Moon.

I used my Canon Rebel T8i DSLR attached to my Celestron Omni AZ102 refactor telescope.

Camera settings: ISO 250 / Shutter 1/250sec.

🌃Clear Skies!

I capture this image of Venus and the waxing crescent phase of the Moon showing only about 3% the surface illuminated on May 18th, 2026. In the upper left of the photo is the King of the planets Jupiter.

Camera: Canon Rebel T8i DSLR

Lens: Tameron 16-300mm

Exposure: f/5 - 1/60s - ISO 3200

This photo was taken from the Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles California on August 3rd, 2011

🌌Clear Skies!

Here is a video of the Lunar Eclipse on March 3rd, 2026, using my smartphone attached to my telescope.🔭📲

🌌Clear Skies!

Here are photos of the Lunar Eclipse taken on the early morning of March 3rd, 2026. I did them with a smartphone and telescope at 5am and 20 degrees outside. I was able to get some photos of the partial eclipse before the moon started setting behind some trees. I was also watching Sunshine Nate's live YouTube broadcast of the event from Hawaii.

🌌Clear Skies!

Forty years ago, on a cold January morning, millions of us watched as the Space Shuttle Challenger launched.

President Ronald Reagan canceled his planned State of the Union address January 28, 1986, after the Challenger space shuttle broke up shortly after takeoff, killing seven people. Instead, he spoke in the hours after the disaster, calling the deaths a "national loss."

We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together. To the families of the seven, we cannot bear as you do the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, 'Give me a challenge and I'll meet it with joy.' They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.

I did a time lapse video of the International Space Station crossing in front of the Sun on the morning of August 8th, 2025. I used my Celestron telescope and Canon camera to record this event, and it took about 30 frames to create this video. 🔭📷

Clear Skies!

🌐kencallahanphotography.com

The International Space Station (ISS) is a large, habitable artificial satellite orbiting Earth, primarily used as a microgravity research laboratory. It's a collaborative project involving multiple space agencies from the US, Russia, Japan, Canada, and several European countries. The ISS is the most expensive single structure ever built, costing around $160 billion. 

Here are some fun facts about the ISS:

Size and Speed: The ISS is about the size of a football field and weighs nearly a million pounds. It orbits Earth at a speed of 17,500 mph, completing an orbit every 90 minutes, meaning astronauts see 16 sunrises and sunsets daily. 

Continuous Occupation: The ISS has been continuously inhabited since November 2000, making it one of the longest-running human outposts in space. 

Research: It serves as a unique microgravity research laboratory, conducting experiments that cannot be done on Earth. 

Visibility from Earth: The ISS is the third-brightest object in the sky (after the Moon and Venus) and can be seen with the naked eye. 

Unique Living Conditions: Astronauts live and work in a space slightly larger than a six-bedroom house, complete with a gym and a bay window for viewing Earth. 

Building the ISS: It took 42 assembly flights, using different types of spacecraft, to build the station. 

Honeybee on a sunflower in my backyard August 5th 2025. 📷

Flowers around my front lawn lamppost July 26th 2025. 📷

Moon and Mars in the trees just after sunset on the evening of July 28th 2025. Photo taken with my Canon Rebel t8i and Tamron 16-300mm telephoto lens. 📷

Clear Skies!

The Moon Meets Mars: A Rare Celestial Encounter🌙

On the evening of June 29, 2025, There was a close encounter of the Moon and Mars known as a lunar conjunction. I used my Celestron telescope and Canon camera to capture this image. 🔭

Clear Skies!

I photographed this Northern Cardinal in my backyard on Friday June 27, 2025 .

Cardinals are often seen as spiritual messengers, and their frequent visits can be interpreted as a sign of good luck, a message from a loved one who has passed away, or a reminder to stay connected to your spiritual beliefs. 📷

Today, we celebrate 250 years of service, strength, and sacrifice by the United States Army.

On June 14, 1775, the Continental Congress established a unified force to fight for American independence. Since that day, the U.S. Army has stood as a pillar of resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to our nation.

As the oldest commissioned warship afloat, USS Constitution proudly salutes 250 years of Army excellence. Your legacy continues to inspire us—past, present, and future.

Army Strong!

Today also marks Flag Day, commemorating the moment in 1777 when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes, a new flag design credited to Betsy Ross. What began as 13 stars in a circle has evolved alongside our nation, symbolizing unity, freedom, and the American spirit.

We proudly honor what the American Ensign represents—liberty, perseverance, and national pride.

Photo taken October 19, 2018.

Castle Island, South Boston Mass. 📷

On May 16, 2025, the USS Constitution underwent a turnaround, which is a standard practice for the ship. This turnaround is part of the USS Constitution's 2025 Underway Season, where the ship is sailing for various events and preparations. The ship's crew used this underway for damage control training, seamanship exercises, and other preparations to ensure they're ready to host guests during upcoming events. Additionally, the turnaround allowed for the USS Constitution to honor the VE Day Ceremony aboard the ship, with public tours resuming later in the day.

The photos I took of the USS Constitution, also known as "Old Ironsides," shows the ship doing a 21-gun salute to honor Fort Independence on Castle Island in South Boston Massachusetts. 📷