Greetings from Harris County, Georgia! My name is Michael Riffle and I am an amateur astronomer and radio operator (KC8MZM), aviation enthusiast, and weather observer from Cataula. This goal of this site is to provide information on astronomical, aviation, and weather events that can be seen from Harris County.

Blog: Information on upcoming and recent events along with how-to articles
Astronomy: Ephemeris and planetary visibility tables along with a gallery of my images
ISS: See when the space station will be visible along with my photos of the ISS
Radiosonde Recoveries: Information about National Weather Service radiosondes
Rocket Launch Viewing Guide: My comprehensive guide to viewing rocket launches from Harris County
Weather: Data from my personal weather station and a gallery of weather events I have photographed

If you have any questions or comments I can be reached at

Curious about the images used at the top of the page?

Partial solar eclipse – West Point – 23 October 2014
Thunderstorm – Cataula- 21 July 2017
Total lunar eclipse – Cataula – 20 January 2019
Thunderstorm – Cataula – 2 July 2019
United Launch Alliance Atlas rocket launch – Dowdell’s Knob, FDR State Park – 20 December 2019
Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars – Cataula – 2020
The Horsehead Nebula – Cataula – 2020
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch – Callaway Gardens Country Store – 6 January 2020
International Space Station solar transit – Cataula – 29 February 2020
International Space Station lunar transit – Cataula – 30 December 2020

The background graphic is from the Cartes du Ciel (SkyChart) planetarium application.