Messier 38 Starfish Cluster
Messier 38 (M38), also known as the Starfish Cluster, is an open star cluster located in the northern constellation Auriga. The best way to observe Messier 38 is in small or medium-sized telescopes at low…
Articles by Mike R
Venus: A Brief Overview
Venus is the second planet from the Sun and our closest planetary neighbor. Similar in structure and size to Earth, Venus spins slowly in the opposite direction from most planets. Its thick atmosphere traps heat…
Planetary Conjunctions Of 2021
As there are differing number of conjunctions between planets and a moon and two planets, we are splitting these types into 2 separate articles to make it easier to review. To learn more about what…
Messier 37
Messier 37 is an open cluster in the constellation Auriga Messier 37 is the brightest, richest and largest of the three open clusters in this constellation that were catalogued by Messier. Interestingly, Messier 37 lies in…
Mercury: Scientific Missions And Contributions
Mercury is the least explored inner planet, and has had only 3 probes explore thee planet. Interest in Mercury in regards to sending spacecraft has always been low, but the unexpected results from Mariner 10…
Messier 36 Pinwheel Cluster
Messier 36, also known as the Pinwheel Cluster, is an open cluster located in the northern constellation Auriga, the Charioteer. Messier 36 is one of the most distant open clusters catalogued by Messier and about…
Gamma Ray Burst: An Introduction
A gamma-ray burst, often abbreviated as GRB, is extremely energetic explosion that is observed in distant galaxies and are the brightest electromagnetic events in the universe. The length of a GRB can vary, with some…
Observing Planets With A Telescope
Some of the first questions that amateur astronomers have when first observing planets is when to can each planet be observed and how large of a telescope is required to see them. NEVER look at…
Opposition
In positional astronomy, two astronomical objects are said to be in opposition when they are on opposite sides of the celestial sphere, as observed from a given body (usually Earth). A planet, asteroid, or comet…
Observation Of Mercury
At its brightest, Mercury can reach magnitude -1.9, a little brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. However, it more normally hovers at around magnitude 0, becoming roughly the fifth brightest object in…