The Milky Way – Courtesy Andrew McCarthy, on X @AJamesMcCarthy Summer can be a frustrating time for Arizona astronomers. Afternoon thunderstorms roll across the high desert with little warning, and many evenings that begin with promise end beneath a blanket of clouds. Yet every so often, the storms move on, the air settles, and theContinue reading "August 2026 – The River of Light"
The (Star)Light of Independence
Arc To Arcturus, Spike To Spica: Tracing A Line Through The Stars And American History This Independence Day– A Backyard Astronomer Special The Declaration of Independence, John Trumbull. The Big Dipper is one of those patterns that seems almost permanent once you learn it. Tonight, it is easy to pick out from a backyard in Arizona.Continue reading "The (Star)Light of Independence"
July 2026 – Storm Season on Earth and in Space
Arizona Monsoon - Courtesy Wikimedia Commons. July is storm season in Arizona. Dark clouds gather over the Bradshaw Mountains, lightning flashes across the desert, and astronomers reluctantly cover their telescopes as another monsoon shower rolls through. While thunderstorms rage overhead, another kind of storm is raging 93 million miles away. On the surface of theContinue reading "July 2026 – Storm Season on Earth and in Space"
Arizona’s Orbital Tow Truck: Giving a Space Telescope a Second Chance – A Backyard Astronomer Special
On Saturday, June 27, a Flagstaff, AZ Startup Will Attempt Something Never Before Done in Space: Rescue an Aging Scientific Observatory Katalyst Space Technologies rendition of a servicing mission. Courtesy Katalyst Space Technologies Most of us who spend time under the night sky have watched a satellite drift overhead. Sometimes it's the International Space Station blazing acrossContinue reading "Arizona’s Orbital Tow Truck: Giving a Space Telescope a Second Chance – A Backyard Astronomer Special"
June 2026 – Keeping An Eye On Jupiter
Jupiter – Imaged by Hubble Space Telescope; Courtesy NASA. In Roman mythology, Jupiter was king of the gods, ruler of the heavens, and notorious for his wandering eye. His wife Juno knew this all too well. Often depicted beside a peacock whose feathers bore the “eyes” of the hundred-eyed giant Argus, Juno became a symbolContinue reading "June 2026 – Keeping An Eye On Jupiter"
May 2026 – A Fire in the Asteroid Belt
Vesta – Imaged by Dawn spacecraft 2011, Courtesy NASA. The dawn of the 19th century marked a boom in astronomical discovery. Telescope technology improved rapidly, revealing a new class of objects orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. In 1801, Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi discovered Ceres, the first and largest of these bodies. A year later, HeinrichContinue reading "May 2026 – A Fire in the Asteroid Belt"
April 2026 – Earthshine: The Da Vinci Glow
Earthshine - Courtesy Bautsch, Wikimedia Commons. Step outside on a clear evening and look for a thin crescent Moon hanging low in the twilight. If the sky is dark enough, you may notice something unexpected: the rest of the Moon faintly glowing. Not bright like the crescent itself, but softly illuminated, as if the entireContinue reading "April 2026 – Earthshine: The Da Vinci Glow"
March 2026 – Element One: From Rocket Leaks to Starlight
Artemis I pad rollout – Courtesy @JohnKrausPhotos During preparations for the Artemis II mission, engineers conducting a wet dress rehearsal encountered a familiar adversary: a hydrogen leak. The core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System is fueled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, super-cooled to hundreds of degrees below zero. The plumbing is intricate, theContinue reading "March 2026 – Element One: From Rocket Leaks to Starlight"
February 2026 – Back to the Moon
The Moon, taken by the Apollo 8 crew - Courtesy NASA, Wikimedia Commons. Outside of space enthusiasts, Apollo 8 is an almost forgotten mission. On December 21, 1968, three astronauts launched aboard a Saturn V rocket from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. Just 68 hours later, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders became the firstContinue reading "February 2026 – Back to the Moon"
January 2026 – A Winter Sky Worth Watching
The new year kicks off with cosmic fireworks as the Quadrantid Meteor Shower peaks in the early morning hours of January 3rd. Believed to originate from debris left behind by a long-lost comet noted by Asian astronomers more than 500 years ago, this short-lived but powerful shower radiates from the now-defunct constellation Quadrans Muralis. FrenchContinue reading "January 2026 – A Winter Sky Worth Watching"
The Backyard Astronomer 