November 4, 2022 The Astronomical League is a group that is composed of over 240 amateur astronomical societies which aims to promote the science of astronomy through education, outreach, research and communication. For those looking to get started in backyard star gazing, this is a great place to begin as they are an excellent resource… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: November 3, 2022
November 3, 2022 Those getting into star gazing should get familiar with Universal Time (UT) as most astronomical events will be posted in UT. To convert to local St. Louis time, we are 5 hours behind UT during Daylight Saving Time and 6 hours behind when it is Daylight Standard Time. For example, a lunar… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: November 2, 2022
November 2, 2022 Tonight a double shadow transit will be visible on Jupiter. Once it is dark the shadow of Europa is already in transit and will visible east of the Great Red Spot which is near Jupiter’s western limb. At 6:40 pm, the moon Ganymede will pop into view on the western limb of… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: November 1, 2022
November 1, 2022 At 7 pm tonight, the Moon and Saturn are found in the southern sky appearing 4.5° apart. The Moon will exhibit a waxing gibbous phase with roughly 58% of the lunar disk illuminated. The sky as it will appear tonight at 7 pm. The Moon and Saturn are visible to the south.… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 31, 2022
October 31, 2022 The tradition of Halloween stems from our ancestors’ interests in tracking the seasons. Traditionally, Halloween marked the start of the dark half of the year in the northern hemisphere. This was seen as the start of winter. The day we call the winter solstice was originally considered mid-winter. Today Halloween is a… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 30, 2022
October 30, 2022 On this date in 1938, Orson Wells broadcasted “The War of the Worlds” over the radio and caused a panic as people believed Martians were invading. Looking to the east around 10 pm, you will see Mars in the constellation Taurus. The east-northeastern sky as it will appear tonight at 10 pm.… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 29, 2022
October 29, 2022 The Celtic tradition Samhain is the basis for the modern tradition of Halloween. Astronomically, Samhain occurred when the Pleiades star cluster was visible overhead at midnight. If you go outside tonight at midnight, you will find the Pleiades just about overhead. Due to precession, the timing has shifted but it is still… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 28, 2022
October 28, 2022 Tonight at 8:30 pm, you will find the planet Saturn in the constellation Capricornus. Capricornus is one of the 12/13 zodiac constellations that the planets wander through when viewed from Earth. Saturn takes roughly 29.5 year to wander through the zodiacal constellations. The southern sky as it will appear tonight at 8:30… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 27, 2022
October 27, 2022 Tonight at 8 pm, you can find the Pleiades star cluster rising in the east. Also called Messier 45, the Pleiades is an excellent open star cluster to look at through binoculars. With the unaided eye, most will see 6 or 7 bright stars. Through binoculars, you can see well over 40… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 26, 2022
October 26, 2022 Missouri born astronomer, Edwin Hubble categorized galaxies into 3 main types including: spiral, elliptical, and irregular. Our galaxy, the Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy. Neighboring galaxy Messier 31 is a spiral galaxy which can be found over head at 10 pm in the constellation Andromeda. These images show examples of… Continue reading