Titan shadow on Saturn, Hubble Space Telescope, Courtesy NASA. It seems that discoveries across the Universe are announced almost daily. The Hubble Space Telescope, launched into low Earth orbit in 1990, has been a workhorse in this effort, capturing and analyzing light in multiple wavelengths to probe the unknown. A growing suite of other instrumentsContinueContinue reading “September 2025 – In the Shadow of Titan”
Tag Archives: stars
August 2025 – Early Risers
The early bird may get the worm, but the early astronomer gets the universe. August 2025 belongs to the early risers—when the Moon leads the dance and the planets shine their brightest in the hours before sunrise. Watch as our lunar guide sweeps across the sky, spotlighting celestial wonders along the way. Beginning around theContinueContinue reading “August 2025 – Early Risers”
July 2025 – Delta Aquariid Meteor Shower
As summer unfolds over Prescott, Arizona, July brings two celestial events that promise to captivate both seasoned astronomers and casual skywatchers alike: the New Moon on July 24 and the Delta Aquariid meteor shower, peaking around July 30. These occurrences offer ideal conditions for stargazing, with dark skies and minimal moonlight interference. The New MoonContinueContinue reading “July 2025 – Delta Aquariid Meteor Shower”
April 2025 – Clear Skies and Comet Tails
Astronomers love to get lucky. It’s a true art of patience, “waiting for the stars to align”, both metaphorically and physically speaking. Despite Arizona’s more than 300 days of Sun each year, a storm may roll over and obscure our view, as we experienced with the lunar eclipse in March, and also with the SolarContinueContinue reading “April 2025 – Clear Skies and Comet Tails”
January 2025 – The Pleiades: 7 Sisters From 6 Stars?
Pleiades, Courtesy NASA. Most everyone on Earth can pick out a few basic star clusters, constellations, or asterisms, despite their respective language, culture, or even level of education. Orion’s belt is probably the most common of these, with the three bright stars Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka forming a near perfect line in our Northern HemisphereContinueContinue reading “January 2025 – The Pleiades: 7 Sisters From 6 Stars?”
November 2024 – The Great Square of Pegasus
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”
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”
The Backyard Astronomer 