Stargazing Calendar for August 2023
Get ready for a celestial spectacle in August! This month promises a series of exciting events in the night sky, including many conjunctions, meteor showers, and oppositions of asteroids and Saturn. Whether you're a seasoned stargazer or a curious observer, there's plenty to look forward to in the awe-inspiring cosmic events unfolding above us.
Stargazing Calendar for July 2023
Get ready for a month filled with celestial wonders! In July, Mercury transitions in the sky, Venus and Mars dance closely, and comets reach perihelion and perigee. Don't miss the supermoon, many conjunctions, asteroid 15 Eunomia and Pluto at opposition, three meteor showers, and other breathtaking events. Grab your telescope and prepare for a dazzling show in the night sky throughout the month of July.
A Pulsar With Planets
Pulsars emit deadly radiation, disintegrating DNA and making them dangerous. Surprisingly, some have planets orbiting them, defying current theories.
Why Are Satellites So Important?
SpaceX has been launching 60 satellites at a time as part of their Starlink constellation. When complete, this network will provide high-speed, low-latency internet to the entire world. This project provides one example of a type of satellite orbiting at various heights above the planet’s surface. Why are satellites so essential?
Stargazing Calendar for June 2023
Hello fellow stargazers! June offers a range of astronomical events, including Mars and M44's close approach, many conjunctions, and asteroid Parthenope at opposition. Meteor showers like the Daytime Arietids and June Bootids also grace the sky. Don't miss them!
Top Mistakes Beginning Astronomers Make
Amateur astronomy is not for everybody, just like golf or football is not for everybody, but if you are sure that you want to take up the hobby of gazing at the Universe (or at least some of it) in your free time, you need to get the basics right. Getting it wrong, like so many other beginner amateurs have done, means that your expensive new equipment will almost certainly end up gathering dust in your garage - never to see starlight again.
Saturn’s Moon Mimas Looks Like Pac-Man In Infrared
In an earlier article we have showed you how Saturn's moon Mimas totally looks like the Death Star from the Star Wars movies. Now it seems that Mimas also looks like Pac-Man from the 1980s video game when seen in infrared.
Stargazing Calendar for May 2023
Hello fellow stargazers! This month the big event will be a penumbral lunar eclipse, but there are also two meteor showers, two comets at perihelion, many conjunctions, and one near-Earth object making a close approach to Earth.
Common Tools Used to Gather Data in Space
As a species, we're working on expanding our horizons — literally — by making our first forays into outer space. Despite this push toward space exploration, there is still a lot about the universe around us that we don't know, and a lot that we don't even know to ask about yet. On top of that, much of the data that we could be collecting from outer space is invisible to the human eye. What tools are scientists using to gather data in space?
How Beginners Can Safely Observe Solar Prominences, Filaments and Flares
Use solar filters for safe Sun observation. Smartphones can enhance views when attached to telescopes, but protect your eyes and adjust camera settings.
Stargazing Calendar for April 2023
Hello fellow stargazers! This month the big event will be a rare hybrid solar eclipse, but unfortunately it will be visible to only a few small areas of the world. For the rest of us, we have two large objects at opposition: dwarf planet Haumea as well as large asteroid Iris. There will also be two meteor showers as well as many conjunctions.
A Good Time to Observe Dwarf Planet Makemake
On March 29, we have a great opportunity to observe the dwarf planet Makemake. It will be at opposition, which means it will reach the highest point in the sky at around midnight and be opposite to the Sun. At around the same time Makemake will also reach its closest point to the Earth (perigee) at a distance of 51.77 AU. Its peak brightness will be an apparent magnitude of 17.1, which makes it the brightest trans-Neptunian object after Pluto.
A Good Time to Observe Dwarf Planet Ceres
On March 21, we have a great opportunity to observe the dwarf planet Ceres. It will be at opposition, which means it will reach the highest point in the sky at around midnight and opposite to the Sun. At the same time Ceres will be closest to the Earth (perigee) at a distance of 1.59 AU. At this time it will be the brightest, with an apparent magnitude of 6.9. Look in the constellation of Coma Berenices with binoculars or a telescope.
Stargazing Calendar for March 2023
Hello fellow stargazers! This month we only have one small meteor shower, but instead we can look forward to a comet visiting the inner solar system (just barely) and more interestingly two dwarf planets at opposition - Ceres and Makemake.
Mimas and Iapetus, Two Odd Moons of Saturn
Saturn has a lot of moons. Two of them are really odd, and bear a striking resemblance to the Death Star from the Star Wars movies. Mimas has a crater of approximately the same scale as the one on the Death Star. Iapetus also has large craters, but the resemblance lies in its equatorial ridge.
Did You Know? The Space Shuttle Ran On Only One Megabyte Of RAM!
It's true! NASA's space shuttle was controlled by a computer running on only one megabyte of RAM. How was this possible? Since the space shuttle and all its hardware was over 30 years old during its last flight in 2011, so was its computer.
Stargazing Calendar for February 2023
This month of February 2023 we will be able to witness two comets visiting us in the inner solar system, a meteor shower, as well as various conjunctions and close approaches of celestial bodies.
Stargazing Calendar for January 2023
In this first month of the new year, aside from the celebratory fireworks, we can also witness some beautiful astronomical events such as the Quadrantid meteor shower, two comets and two large asteroids at opposition.
Stargazing Calendar for December 2022
This month of December 2022, we will be visited by an interesting comet from the depths of the Oort cloud, we will be showered by up to 120 meteors per hour during the Geminid meteor shower peak, and we will be able to observe Mars and Mercury under great conditions.
Artemis I Launch a Great Success, According to NASA Engineer Kristine Ramos
Despite some delays, the highly anticipated kick-off to NASA's Artemis program finally debuted with the launch of Artemis I. This unmanned mission to orbit the Moon is the first test of the Orion spacecraft carried by a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
