Astronomy Sites Of The Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest has a lot of beautiful scenery, which means that there are a plethora of unique astronomy sites. The map above shows all of the locations, and if there is one that is…
Read More
Messier 72
Messier 72 is a globular star cluster located in the constellation Aquarius, the Water Bearer. Pierre Méchain, a French astronomer and colleague of Charles Messier, discovered the globular cluster M72 in 1780. It was the first of…
Top 5 Easiest Open Clusters To View
When looking in the sky, there are several easy and well known open cluster objects that are visible from the Pacific Northwest and other Northern Hemisphere observing locations. An open cluster is a type of star…
Top 5 Astronomy Objects For All Skill Levels
What are some classic astronomy objects and targets that one can view and photograph that astronomers of all skill levels can rely upon all year round and look forward to? The goal is how one…
Former Constellations: Brief Overview
After spending much time discussing their visibility for amateur astronomers in the Pacific Northwest, it makes sense to discuss constellations that are no longer around in the sky today. Prior to standardization efforts, many of…
Moons Of Neptune
Neptune has 14 known moons, which are named for minor water deities in Greek mythology. By far the largest of them is Triton, discovered by William Lassell on October 10, 1846, 17 days after the discovery of Neptune itself; over a century passed…
Messier 71
Ever since it was discovered in 1746 by the Swiss astronomer Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux, the nature of Messier 71 has been the subject of some questioning. Over the centuries, it has been classified as…
Can’t Miss Astronomical Events Of 2022
Here is the list of the 2022 Astronomical Events that will be visible in the Pacific Northwest! There are some items that we have left off such as the annual solar eclipse if the event…
Observation Of Neptune
Neptune is not visible to the unaided eye and is the only planet in the Solar System found by mathematical prediction rather than by empirical observation. Unexpected changes in the orbit of Uranus led Alexis Bouvard to deduce…
Messier 70
Messier 70 (M70) is a globular cluster located inside the Teapot asterism in the southern constellation Sagittarius. M70 was discovered by Charles Messier in 1780. It is located 30,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius….
Observation Of Uranus
Like the classical planets, Uranus is visible to the naked eye, but it was never recognized as a planet by ancient observers because of its dimness and slow orbit.[1] Viewing Uranus can be done using a…