The ancients clearly had two things going for them: wonderfully dark skies and fantastic imaginations. It can often be difficult for the modern backyard astronomer to pick out constellations and imagine a Great Bear, a Hunter, or a horse with wings, just by connecting the twinkling dots in the sky. Light pollution certainly has anContinueContinue reading “November 2024 – The Great Square of Pegasus”
Tag Archives: Astronomy
October 2024 – Wandering Stars, The Oort Cloud and Comets
In space, everything is in motion. From a spacecraft orbiting the Earth, to moons dancing around planets, or star systems on an epic voyage across our galaxy, nothing ever truly “stops” moving. We find patterns in these movements, such as the ecliptic, or great highway on which the Sun moves across the sky, and theContinueContinue reading “October 2024 – Wandering Stars, The Oort Cloud and Comets”
Sept/Oct 2024 – Aliens!
Earth is a cool place. It has oceans, forests, and mountains galore. These different environments serve as host to millions of different types of animal and plant life, including us, humans. Earth is the perfect size (24,901 miles around), perfect distance from the Sun (93 million miles!), and has the perfect combination of elements likeContinueContinue reading “Sept/Oct 2024 – Aliens!”
September 2024 – The History of Saturn
Ringed Planets – James Webb Space Telescope, Courtesy NASA. September gives us prime viewing of two of our Solar System’s four ringed planets. Yes, you read that correctly; our Solar System has four planets with rings. You’re certainly familiar with Saturn, which we have known for its rings for nearly 400 years. However, as ourContinueContinue reading “September 2024 – The History of Saturn”
May 2024 – The Sombrero Galaxy
M104 Sombrero Galaxy, courtesy Joel Cohen, Prescott Astronomy Club. Taken from Prescott Valley, AZ with Astro-Physics Starfire 178 7-inch f/9 APO. 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 allowed forContinueContinue reading “May 2024 – The Sombrero Galaxy”
April 2024 – Solar Cycles and Sunspots
Our Sun, courtesy Mark Johnston, Phoenix Astronomical Society @AZAstroGuy Nearly 3,000 years ago, The Chinese Yi Jing or “Book of Changes” documented small, irregular concealments in the surface of the Sun. By 300 BC, both Eastern and Western cultures were documenting their changing views of our star, and the patterns that would grow and thenContinueContinue reading “April 2024 – Solar Cycles and Sunspots”
Unicorns and Roses
Rosette Nebula, Courtesy N.A Sharp, NOIRLab, Wikimedia Commons. A lesser-known and relatively modern constellation occupies the void between Orion, Canis Major, Hydra and Gemini, though the stars are difficult to see with the naked eye due to modern light pollution. Monoceros – mono meaning “one” and ceros meaning “horn” – the Unicorn is a simpleContinueContinue reading “Unicorns and Roses”
December 2023 – Geminids Meteor Shower
Meteor showers are generally produced when the Earth passes through the remnant tail of a comet, often long after it has visited our inner Solar System. July’s Perseids are a gift from Comet Swift Tuttle (last close approach in 1995), the Eta Aquariids in May and Orionids in October come from the path Halley’s CometContinueContinue reading “December 2023 – Geminids Meteor Shower”
The Backyard Astronomer 