I recently discovered the Humble Bundle site through a colleague, and I really got to like the site! Imagine, you not only get to have great ebooks and games for a price you decide, you also have a choice to donate a portion of the money you pay to charity! Whoever coined the idea for this website is a genius.

My first ever purchase on this site is a book bundle consisting of Astronomy-related titles! Astronomy is one of the fields I'm passionate about so I didn't need to bat an eyelash before I purchased the ebooks from this site. One of the titles included in that bundle is A Stargazing Program for Beginners by James Carter.


I've started reading the book since the start of the year, which is perfect because the stargazing guidelines in this book are divided into months. So far, I've been learning a lot of things, especially in navigating my way around the night sky.

Here's some of the things you'll be able to learn during the months of January to March:

January
- locating the Big Dipper
- finding Polaris using Big Dipper
- finding Polaris using Cassiopeia
- finding Sirius using Orion

February
- measuring the night sky
     1 degree - finger
     5 degrees - width of 3 fingers
     20 - palm wide - from thumb to little finger
- locating the Winter Circle asterism, which is composed of the stars Sirius, Rigel, Aldebaran, Capella, Castor, Pollux, and Procyon
- locating the Milky Way arm, which is in between Procyon and Sirius
- locating Bellatrix, Aldebaran and Pleiades
- locating the Winter Triangle, which is composed of Procyon, Sirius, and Betelguese

March 
- finding the ecliptic and how to use it in locating planets
- celestial motion: stars rise 4 minutes earlier each night
- analyzing Ursa Major (where the Big Dipper is part of)
- astronomical conjunctions
- phases of the moon; observing an earthshine

I tried photographing the sky during those months, and here are two of the best shots I took.

See the Big Dipper? (Sagada, January 2017)

Canis Major, Sagittarius, and Taurus (Pangasinan, March 2017)

I like how in the photo above, the stars Betelgeuse and Aldebaran stood out because of their orange color.

I want to get out more and take photos of stars. It sucks to live in an urban city with all the light pollution around. My mission now is that whenever I'll be out of town, I make sure I bring my good 'ol SLR and the tripod so I can take more starry photos in the future.

Here's to more sky observations and clear nights in the future! 🍷⭐

It's amazing what people can do when they are passionate about something. Passion is what fuels the mind and body to accomplish things that they want to do in their life. This is what makes them successful and what makes them feel fulfilled in their everyday lives.

I've been with people who are into different things. 

I've been with people who are so into astronomy. I myself is an enthusiast in the field, but I never imagined what other astronomy buffs do in immersing their selves in this interest. Aside from knowing A LOT about the heavenly bodies (like this great lady that I know who can tell the position of the constellations like the back of her hand), they really invest into witnessing astronomical events in real life. During my time in UP Astrosoc, a team went to Shanghai, China to see the longest solar eclipse of this lifetime. We were just students then and some of us didn't have the resources to make that trip possible. Due to kind-hearted alumni of the org, we were able to collect funds to send one student (or two..? I cannot remember anymore.) to China along with the team. Whenever I boast that org's activity with my other classmates, they really frown and ask me why we really put effort in doing these things. Imagine making all the effort in going to China just to see a solar eclipse that will last for a few minutes? I get what he's trying to say, but you cannot blame these people. This is their passion. This is what they love to do in life. Though I was not one of the Shanghai team, nothing compared to the excitement and joy that I felt when they showed us the video of the eclipse after their return to the country. It showed the city being engulfed into darkness in a matter of seconds, and after several minutes the surroundings lit up and the sun was shining again.

I've been with people who are into fangirling. Ahh, the craziness a fangirl would do. I'm into kpop and I know a lot of fangirls too. I love the music and the artistes, but these ladies would do more for their idols. They memorize the lyrics, the choreography, imitate their fashion, and splurge their money in every kpop merchandise that they would lay their hands on. They know the latest from their idols because they always read news about them. Sometimes I wonder if they still have personal lives because of that. -___- And again, that's another form of passion. 

Not all countries will be able to personally observe this event but with the power of internet, everyone can access real-time photos and videos of the on-going and the last Venus transit of the century.


Here is NASA's spectular video covering the first and second contact of the transit.

My October started with bang, a virtual explosion that is. I took the courage to join a virtual hackathon called Space Apps Challenge, organized by NASA. Thanks to my friend Mai, because through her, this event came under my radar. Upon registering for the event, I found out that I actually signed up for last year's event, but I didn't push through. Well this time around, I'm more determined to participate.

my virtual souvenir from the event

I love astronomy so it was an instant yes when I read about the invite. It's a plus also that I was familiar with the venue (The Mind Museum at Taguig) and that the launch will start on a very convenient time for me. Going there alone is one of my least worries, though I admit I was anxious because this was my first blogging event and I really don't know what to expect.

the media launch venue

This is why when I saw that the venue is a standing cocktail party, I was surprised.

I helped myself on some cocktail and chocolates! (＃´ー´)旦

ONE WITH THE MEDIA -- my fellow attendees at the launch. It's legit! I'm one of them now! ヽ(*≧ω≦)ﾉ

Last March 14, the planetary arrangement of our solar system caused one very rare astronomical event to happen, that is -- the very close conjunction of two of the brightest planet as seen from Earth, Jupiter and Venus.


For the last several weeks, the two objects moved gradually closer every night.

January 31, 2012

February 9, 2012

February 16, 2012

  At the start of the month of March, the planet pairing can be spotted in the sky a few minutes after sunset, and the night of March 14 is their closest, after which these two would gradually move again to opposite directions across the night sky.

March 14, 2012

It is indeed an eye-catching sight in the night sky.

For actual images of the pairing, visit a friend of mine's astronomy blog.



*Unfortunately I was not able to see the closest position of the pairing during that night because I have work and the Western sky was blocked from my view. T^T

--Photos taken from Stellarium software

For this year's Holy Week, I spent it again at our province in Pangasinan. It has always been our family tradition to go there during the summer vacation. In recent years I wasn't able to go back again because of work and other appointments. I wanted to maintain the tradition alive, even pass it down to the newer generation (my niece!). My niece was able to visit her lolos and lolas (grandparents) in the province. This visit this year is indeed one of my favorites so far.

We borrowed my brother's car, and so that's what we used to travel to the province. There was heavy traffic along NLEX (as usual, because almost all people are going on a vacation) and it got worse because of some accidents involving trailer trucks. Along the way, I switched with my dad in driving. It was my first time to drive along a highway wherein there's a speed limit. It was exhilarating to drive at 80kph (I almost went beyond, good thing my dad was observing me while I drive). It was a huge accomplishment for me ever since I learned how to drive. I was able to drive from NLEX to Tarlac. 😎

It was always my dad's habit to walk along the fish pond in the morning - it's his form of morning exercise. This time, he took his grand daughter along. Of course I went with them to capture some photos. 😀

As usual, we walked around the fishing ponds. My niece was really excited looking at all the fish and the seashells.

My dad rocking that Taylor Swift 1989 World Tour shirt 😂

one of my favorite shots during the trip

I always feel relaxed whenever I am at our province. I'm closer to nature, and the wind breeze is cooler, and it's just quieter and calmer. I could hear the chirping of the birds. 💗 One of my favorite parts is interacting with the pet dogs and cats! They are all very tame and used to people. I loved petting each of them! 😺🐶


I witnessed every sunrise and sunset of each day, all because I'm so used to waking up early. I was always up as early as 6AM each day.


I also enjoyed capturing the sky - whether it be sunrise or sunset. I am so satisfied on how my camera is capturing the sceneries (courtesy of my Lumix camera!).




My stay felt extra special because I was reading a Paulo Coelho book during that time. I contemplated deeply about life and what I really wanted to accomplish in this journey.

On our last night, electricity went out because it suddenly rained hard. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning, and realizing all the lights were out, I went outside to check the sky (in case you don't know, I love astronomy) I was trying to match the stars I was seeing with the constellations I was familiar with, and I was confused because there were two bright dots in my vision that shouldn't be there. I downloaded the Sky View Lite app and found out I was actually looking at Mars and Saturn on the Sagittarius constellation. I felt that same feeling when I see "shooting stars" during a meteor shower observation. I felt so happy at that moment. It was a magical way to cap up this wonderful vacation.

I'm very sure this trip left wonderful vacation memories to my niece, and to every one of the family. I hope we could return again next year!

[February 2015]

Baler is on the east side of Luzon, and it's shore extends to the Pacific Ocean. This means we can view the sunrise as the sun goes up from the Pacific ocean itself! I know it may sound like any other sunrise, but thinking that the we are part of the of the first landform that the sunlight will reach after the vast Pacific Ocean is kinda cool!

This is the highlight, for me, of our last day in Baler.

We planned to wake up early to be able to catch the sunrise. I was the first to wake up. I intentionally set my alarm a bit earlier because I really didn't want to take any risks of oversleeping. Also, this is one life lesson I've earned when I was part of an astronomy org back in college. If you need to observe a solar eclipse or any other astronomical events in that case, never be late. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance and nature will never wait for you.

I went outside ahead of Krishan and Jo to find a good spot to watch the sunrise along the shore. It's already breaking dawn then and light can already be seen in the horizon.


Surprisingly, there were already a lot of people along the shore. Some were jogging while others were just walking leisurely along the beach with their respective groups.

Krishan and Jo joined me a few minutes afterwards. While waiting for the sun to rise, we bought some tupig from a local vendor (coz we haven't eaten anything yet! *hungry*)


We spent the next several minutes just walking along the shore, observing people. We looked at the East every now and then anticipating the sunrise.

Finally, we saw a bright spot among the mountains - that's where the actual sun will come up!


Apparently, a lot of people were also waiting for this. A lot of people were taking photos as the sun emerged from behind the mountains.


When the sun was already up in the sky (and it was too hot already hehe), we searched for a place to eat! We saw this restaurant by the bay that offered unlimited breakfast buffet. *yum!*

After having that hearty breakfast, we walked along the beach again. By that time, there were a lot of people surfing already. I got a bit sad again because the memories of yesterday came rushing back xD Our bus' scheduled departure for Manila was during the afternoon, so we already went back to our hotel to pack up.

We used some of our remaining time to go around the area to buy some souvenirs and local delicacies to bring home. We went to this famous store in Baler: Nanay Pacing Homemade Products,



And that's basically how our last day in Baler was spent! I was really glad we were able to push through this vacation.

So long, Baler! I'll be conquering your waves when I get back. :D

The supermoon of March 2011

Heavenly clouds. I love this pic.

I first encountered this "award" on one blog site that I follow and I found out that it's like a chain award that you pass around fellow bloggers with the aim of getting to know more of each fellow writer and discovering their sites.




But what does liebster actually mean?

According to http://www.dict.cc/,

Liebster is a German word which means darling, beloved.

Apparently, this award is given to bloggers with less than 200 followers. Receiving this award is like a boost to your blogging reputation.

Shoutouts to bluetsukky for nominating my humble blog for this award. :D

It was such a magical experience reliving the movies that comprised my childhood. I felt so nostalgic, which is just the perfect mood to watch the Return to Hogwarts special next year. I relistened to the movie review episodes of Binge: Harry Potter for added sprinkles of magic. ✨ There's the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy video game, as well as the third movie of the Fantastic Beasts series so I think we still have a lot of HP content to look forward to.

I can't explain this warm fuzzy feeling that I felt watching the movies, and even writing this post. One thing's for sure: Hogwarts is real (it's inside my head!) and it will always be my home. 🪄