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”