AVON PARK — This Wednesday evening provides Floridians with the last total eclipse of the Moon that will be visible from our part of the world until Dec. 20-21, 2010. If the weather cooperates, Wednesday's eclipse should be a spectacular event. An "Eclipse Star Party" will be held from 8:30-11 p.m. at the Avon Park Middle School for all students, their families and faculty. Six telescopes will be set up and binoculars will also be available. A total lunar eclipse occurs because the sun, the Earth and the Moon are aligned in a straight line, with the Earth taking the in-between position. As sunlight passes the Earth, the shadow of the Earth is cast on the Moon. The shadow will slowly move across the disc of the Moon, almost but not quite hiding the Moon's surface features. Through the telescopes, because of the magnification, one can see the shadow slowly moving across the surface feature, such as a crater or mountain. This actually is the Moon moving in space, in its orbit around the Earth. ...more

February 19, 2008

Seventy-five years ago, aviator Charles Lindbergh turned the controls of his pontoon plane over to his co-pilot, wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh, while flying above Iceland. He thrust a makeshift metal arm holding a sticky glass plate from the cockpit. He wanted to see if the winds high aloft the Earth were as clean as they seemed. ...more

February 9, 2008

Researchers in New York think they have solved one of the great mysteries of the flu: Why does the infection spread primarily in the winter months? ...more

December 9, 2007

Hurricane season ends Friday, and barring any unusual events, it was a quiet one for Florida: A strong area of high pressure kept the two most ferocious storms of 2007 pinned well to the south. ...more

November 26, 2007

A View From Above Regarding 'Gore '08? Nobel Adds Speculation' (front page, Oct. 13): ...more

October 19, 2007

WASHINGTON - Florida's humidity is hard to bear. Scientists say it might get worse, thanks to global warming. ...more

October 11, 2007