Ethos

The moon is an exciting object to undertake a study of. When someone looks at the moon, they often get lost in its shape and brightness. However, once you aim a telescope at it, a whole new world opens up. It is as if there is a world within a world. Each object has been meticulously analyzed and named. There are oceans (extended low lying areas), seas (similar but smaller), mountains, valleys, plateaus, peaks, and plains. There are craters, big and small, and there are lava created mountain ranges. Besides its gray-white drab, the moon is a interesting object. One that is second to none in our solar system. It is also the easiest rock based object for a backyard astronomer to analyze.

The moon can be broken down into many quadrants. In fact, there are whole books and maps made for the assisting observers of the moon. Today, I’m only going to talk about some fun objects that I came across the other night. We’re 16 days into the lunar cycle, which means we’re at a full moon. (more…)

The moon came up late last night. So, I had a chance to run out and do some double star observing. Double stars are interesting items in the nighttime sky. They aren’t quite as rare as deep sky objects. However, they do represent a very interesting commonality across the universe.

When observing double stars you will initially notice the distinct close proximity of two stars. Just because they are close, doesn’t mean that they are true binary stars. There are two types of double stars: visual and optical. Visual double stars are true binary systems. This means that the systems share an attraction, sometimes exchanging gases like Sheliak does in Lyra. Contrary, in optical doubles, the stars just look close. They may not share a similar history or even be close in distance.
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Last night, the DVAA trekked out to a small park near Skippack, PA. This was my second time to Towamencin, and the result was the same! Another great outing! Something has to be said for the quality of people that come out to these events. They are always interested and with a near endless thirst for astronomical knowledge!

I offered up some pretty good sights for those lucky folks who took a glance through my scope. Such sights included the double double, the coathanger, and Jupiter. We were also treated to a very bright and slow ISS pass. So, all in all it was a good night! (more…)

Ah, nothing better than lunar observing on a bright, moonlit night with temperatures hovering in the 70s. You can’t beat that!

Last night, I began my Lunar I certificate tour. The Lunar I certificate is a checklist of items to gaze compiled by an organization known as the Astronomical League.

If you have never heard of the Astronomical League, the AL is a great resource for all backyard gazers. The AL publishes challenging lists of what to see in the nighttime sky. They put the lists together for you so that all you need to do is observe! What more can you ask for? (more…)