Arizona Astronomy
August 2026 – The River of Light
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.…
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 Big Dipper is one of those patterns that seems almost…
July 2026 – Storm Season on Earth and in Space
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…
May 2024 – The Sombrero Galaxy
The late 18th Century was a golden age of astronomical discoveries. After Galileo famously pointed his early invention at the heavens in 1609, Dutch glassmakers spent decades perfecting the lens technology that…
Stories in the Stars
By Adam England, the Backyard Astronomer The Greeks coined the term planetes – meaning “wanderer” – to describe the objects they saw in the sky that regularly moved against the background of…
Scorpions and Rabbits
By Adam England, The Backyard Astronomer One of my personal favorite constellations is Scorpius. It is very easy to identify in the summer months when it rises in the Southeast and sways…
NameExoWorlds2022 Winning Submissions Press Release
IAU Selects Names for 20 Exoplanetary Systems — The NameExoWorlds global contest names the next set of exoplanets and host stars The International Astronomical Union’s NameExoWorlds 2022 contest has selected 20 pairs…
Eclipsing Independence
What’s Up? by Adam England On July 4 we celebrate the Declaration of Independence of the United States from the monarchy of Britain. Traditional ceremonies include community parades, neighborhood barbecues, fireworks, and…