Mercury

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…


Uranus Discovery Of Uranus

Discovery Of Uranus: Paving The Way Forward

In honor of the 240th anniversary of the discovery of Uranus, we decided to take a look at the discovery and what it meant for science. Although there is a strong case to be made…


Messier 35

Messier 35

Messier 35 is a large open star cluster located in the northern constellation Gemini. The cluster consists of several hundred stars, of which 120 are brighter than magnitude 13. M35 has the size equivalent to…


Galaxy Cluster Apparent Magnitude

Galaxy Clusters and Superclusters

Previously we have talked about the different galaxy types, and it got us thinking about structures that could be larger than the single galaxy? The answer is galaxy clusters and superclusters. Galaxy Clusters A galaxy…


Mercury

Mercury: A Brief Overview

Mercury is the smallest and innermost planet in the Solar System. Its orbit around the Sun takes 87.97 days, the shortest of all the planets in the Solar System. It is named after the Roman…


Andromeda Constellation

Andromeda Constellation

The Andromeda Constellation is one of the modern 88 constellations as defined by the IAU. One of the earliest recordings of the Andromeda Constellation was the the 2nd-century Greco-Roman astronomer Ptolemy Located north of the celestial equator, the constellation is named…



COVID-19 Member at Astronomy Club Event Stargazing COVID19 Amateur Astronomy Coronavirus Oregon State Parks Idaho State Parks Star Party Volunteering Covid-19 Kids Star Party cybersecurity telescope

Post-COVID-19 Star Party Improvements

As COVID-19 vaccines start to get administered to the general public, it will take some time for star parties to get up and running. Every club and group will have their own ways of determining…


Messier 34

Messier 34 (M34) is a bright, large open cluster located in the northern constellation Perseus. Messier 34 is one of the nearest Messier objects to Earth, with only 6 deep sky objects in the Messier…


The History Of Reusable Rockets SpaceX

The History Of Reusable Rockets

The history of reusable rockets has been one that has evolved from a design on paper to now being a main driver in the new space economy. Having a reusable rocket allows companies to reduce…