Yes, the other day in my post on the Latest Supernova site and in discussing supernova, I shared that SN 2026acd was at magnitude 14.3. Well tonight it has brighten to magnitude 13.6! If you image you should be able to get it and at this brightening it should be visually observable in large scopes and soon in smaller scopes of 8-10 inches or greater.
This is a Type Ia which means it will brighten quickly and then fade quickly. If you like observing supernova now is you chance to do so! NGC 4168 is in the constellation of Virgo and it rises about 10:30 pm MST and is best viewed right now from 3:00 am to 5:30 a.m. when it is at its highest point.
When most people think of Taurus, they think of bright stars —
Aldebaran glowing orange, the V-shaped Hyades, and the unmistakable shimmer of the Pleiades.
It’s one of the first winter constellations many learn to recognize,
and often one of the first we think we’ve “finished.”
But Taurus is far from finished.
This observing plan is built for 10 to 20 inch Dobsonian telescopes, and it’s designed to reveal Taurus as a nebula-rich, structure-filled deep-sky playground.This is not just a Messier tour. It’s a layered journey — from easy showpieces to
faint, low-contrast challenges hiding in the Taurus Molecular Cloud.
We’ll begin with foundation objects — bright clusters and nebulae that help calibrate your eye
and your expectations.
Then we’ll move into intermediate targets where structure, texture,
and contrast begin to matter more than brightness. And finally,
for those steady, transparent nights, we’ll push into advanced territory:
ghostly reflection nebulae, subtle dark lanes, and faint galaxies few people
associate with Taurus at all.
Take your time with this constellation. Taurus rewards wide fields, low power,
filters used sparingly, and patience.
Revisit objects. Sweep between them. Let the sky teach your eye what to look for.
Let’s begin with the foundation level — where Taurus first opens the door. That is the first video.
The second video will share the Intermediete Level of Objects, a bit more challenging
and then the third video, the Advance or more challenging objects as I mention above.
I am editing these on the fly as I record as I want you to see that one, I am still learning
and growing with you in the hobby.
I hope that gives someone hope that they can throughly enjoy this hobby as they want
and see that they can learn and grow. I tend to be pretty transparent
so if you want perfection, this isn't for you. I could take the time to make it picture perfect
but I like showing how I go about doing this as I feel it is more authentic.
It also gives you the viewer, a look into how I go about doing this. Enjoy and clear skies to you!
For the full program it is over at Eadsy Astronomy and you can get a LINK to the Google Doc and make a copy by going to File, Make a Copy and you'll have a digital copy on your Google Drive. Or you can get the PDF.
This week we review the coming Snow Full Moon on February 1st. Then the wanning Gibbious Moon and some key events related to the wanning moon and some interactions with the Beehive Cluster and Spica and Regulas this week.
We review planets, Jupiter of course is awesome right now. Saturn is quickly fading in the early evening in the west as both Venus and Mercury appear in the evening sky this week.
Then we review some wonderful deep sky objects that you can hunt down later in the week after February 3rd, and observe or image.
Next I share 6 wonderful double stars that you can hunt down anytime this week.
Finally we end with a recap of four major astronomical events from this laat week.
You can get a Google Doc version by going to the link at EadsyAstronomy and clicking Make a Copy and then have a digital copy on your Google Drive. Or the PDF is attached if you want it that way.
I'll share the videos here but there is a LOT more information over at EadsyAstronomy LINK. Please head over there to read the written text and get links for the articles and news releases I used for this week's main stories.
1. In this one we learn how scientists and astronomers are using tree rings to identify when a special Solar Storm called a Miyake event has occurred in the past and how often.
2. Gravitional Brawls in Star Clusters. How Massive O class Stars get sent packing out of their point of origin and the two ways this occurs.
3. Zeroing In on the Monster in Messier 87; No not the Black Hole
4. It's been since 1604 since people on Earth have with their own eyes, seen a visual supernova in the sky. Well, we are about to begin to see a LOT more supernovae that go off in our own backyard here in the Milky Way Galaxy thanks to the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
5. There has been a lot of discussion on Dyson Spheres and Bubbles, and other Alien Megastructures. One of the questions is can these megastructures really hold up and be stable? Well, this report says . . .
Besides the video there is a TON of content on this post over at EadsyAstronomy LINK. Head over and learn more about differing Types of Supernova and what they tell us about the birth, life and death of these stars!
As another item, we seem to always hear the talk about Betelgeuse going supernova. However we also have a second candidate that will one day go supernove or may just directly collapse into a Black Hole. The star is VY Canis Majoris, it is currently visual magnitude +8.93 and it is visible and observable easily in 10 inch telescopes or greater. Some have reported seeing material around the star in telescope larger than 15 inches or in imaging it. It is a double or binary star and the companion should be visible also at +10.34 visual magnitude. I share more about how to find this star over at EadsyAstronomy also.
This post is NOT to gross anyone out, but it is to discuss something that comes up when you are observing or imaging in the wilds of the world. I have had this happen to me several times over 25 years and I had someone I know recently go out and wasn't sure what to do. So the purpose of this post is to educate on what to do when nature calls when your in the wild.
Pop Up Pod - Privacy Shower Tent, Dressing Room, or Portable Toilet Stall with Carry Bag Amazon LINK $27.30.
Fancier Seat from Amazon: LINK $32.99 and folds down into a portable bag.
Okay, this is probably a most unusual post. I live in Utah and I spend probably 80% of my observing time out in the desert. In the summer, yes, I do head to the Uinta Mountains but not in the late fall, winter or spring. Not until the snow has melted. That means when I observe, I am out in the middle of no where in Utah’s Desert.
Many times in my former life and locations in California in the 1970’s and 1980’s, when I was backpacking, we would, if allowed, dig a Cat Hole 6-8 inches deep with a trowel and go number 2 and then cover it up. We’d have a zip lock bag to pack out the toilet paper as it takes too long to decompose and animals like bears, coyotes and racoons and deer are attracted to both the toilet paper and to human waste.
Now, in the desert of the western US it is a much different story. In some locations you can dig a Cat Hole and go number 2 and then pack out your toilet paper. However, the best practice is to use a WAG Bag and do your business, sealing the wag bag afterwards and when you leave, taking it with you and disposing of it in your garbage can or any landfill bound dumpster. It works much like disposing of a baby’s diaper.
Why? Because the arid climate lacks the moisture and organic soil bacteria necessary for rapid decomposition. Waste can persist for over a year, creating serious health risks, unsightly pollution, and contaminating water sources. The last thing I want to see or to leave for someone else to see is human poop.
So how to do this properly? I am sharing 3 recommendations and they are not the only ones and I share them as examples. I own all 3 and now will use the portable fold down toilet and the toilet stall which is also portable now.
Again, my purpose here is NOT to gross anyone out. It is to share a concern that can happen if you travel to dark sites to observe. Nature may call you there to observe but nature can also call on you to do what is natural. Please, PLEASE, PLEASE leave no trace behind so all of us can enjoy the outdoors for whatever we may venture to do!
Come learn or be reminded of the great efforts and contributions of Galileo Galilei and how despite being placed in difficult circumstances and to admit to something he knew was incorrect, how he perservered and contributed to our modern knowledge of the universe in which we live.
I went out looking for a piece of missing astronomy equipment which I could not find and had to reorder. The last thing to do was to head to my observing sites and see if, by chance I had left it there in its case and could get luck. Nope. Never found it and r eplacement is ordered. It was a filter, a 2" DGM NBP filter so expensive lesson learned. I remember putting it into a new case and now for the life of me, I cannot find it. Sometimes hitting 60 going on 61 isn't fun.
Anyway, I used the time wisely and headed out to my observing sites I currently use and I explored some new ones. I don't want to make a 2 to 3 hour video so I'll break them up into segements so viewers and look at all or the ones that interest them.
This video covers my observing at the Lakeside 2 observing site and Eight Mile Spring Road Observing Site 2.
The next video shows my drive down State Route 196 through the Goshute Skull Valley Reservation. I stayed on the road through here since I am a strong believer in respecting the Goshute Tribe members right to their land. I believe we should never venture onto their land without their permission.
However as I drove I saw something I haven't seen for a while, Buffalo! SR 196 comes out near the entrance to Dugway and you can see that in the pictures. I continued down Erickson Pass Road heading down to the Corral there and then I wanted to do some explorering of some other possible sites and some I haven't seen in over 12 to 15 years!
his next video will show my adventure off of Erickson Pass Road. As you head to the Corral on Erickson Pass Road where I observe, there is an old animal pen. There were two possible observing areas to the east and I listened to Google Maps which led me astray! Instead of taking me down to Little Valley Rd East, it lead me to TC03004 which wa a horrible road! I bottomed out and luckily did not hurt the Ascent. Both sites turned out as a definetly no, but I wanted to explore up Little Valley so I headed on up. Join me on this fun journey!
For the rest and several new observing sites I found from here on out, please head over to Eadsy Astronomy LINK to take a look! Remember you can join EadsyAstronomy for free and get notified of all my new posts from there! Also, if you find value in what I am sharing you can become a contributing member for $3.00 a month or $36.00 a year. The money goes to pay for things like gas and other items I use when I make these videos.
I made two movies for the Astronomer of the Week series I am doing. This week it is on Tycho Brahe. In there I also discuss SN1572A and show from Stellarium what the brighttening would have looked like.
This video is from October 26th to November 8th, 1572 and shows how the SN brightened in the night sky.
This one will show you how it brigthened from October 27th, 28th, 31st, November 4th and November 17th, 1572. I picked the 17th of November as it is estimated that the SN reached peak brightness around the 16th of November 1572. Then I show how it remained bright on the 17th of each month from December 1573 through February 1574 when it disappears from naked eye views.
Finally here is the LINK for the Astronomer of the Week: Tycho Brahe which started me down this rabbit hole!
News round up over at EadsyAstronomy. Come learn how Messier 57 The Ring Nebula also has an Iron Bar in its center. We discuss a supernova that was discovered that went off only 1 billion years after the Big Bang! We examine a Super Massive Black Hole that woke up after Eon's of time! Finally, did you know the star Betelegeuse in Orion has a braclet? Come learn more! I'll share the videos here and as always, the text and article links are over at EadsyAstronomy.
How would you like to possibly look up into the sky later this year and see this both at night AND during the day? This is Comet C/1965 S1 Ikeya-Seki which is a Kreutz Family comet and was discovered on September 18th, 1965. Well, we MAY and that is key, MAY have an opportunity for the same in 2026! Comet Candidate 6AC4721 is 2 AU or 186 million miles from the Sun and is coming from the same direction that Kreutz Family come from and is 144 degrees from the plane of the Solar System, which is common for Kreutz family comets. No Kreutz family comet has been discovered that far out so IF it is confirmed and IF it survives it's encounter on April 5th, 2026 with the Sun, we may, again MAY have a Great Comet in 2026 to observe! For more info head on over to EadsyAstronomy for more info.
Here is the video for the weekly EadsyAstronomy Newsletter. Text is over at EadsyAstronomy LINK. From there you can get a PDF copy or view the Google Doc and go to File, Make a Copy and have your own digital versino on your Google Drive.
I've been out observing the last two nights so sorry the newsletter is a little late. MORE on that to come!!! including last night as we saw some very interesting sights out over the Dugway Testing Range last night!
Here are some pics from the observing trip and a video of the drive out. The full report including my visual observation of Cassiopeia A SNR is over at Eadsy Astronomy. Head over there for the report, my sketches and my images from my SeeStar from that night.
Head over to Eadsy Astronomy to learn more about our search for life in the universe and how we are going about that. What the James Webb Space Telescope has revealed to astronomers answering questions about black holes. How Mars was a water world and has had an influence on Earth's Climatic Cycles including two Ice Ages. And how a white dwarf is causing a bow shock when it shouldn't be.
The images are from my observing trip out to a new site I found on August 1st, while exploring Skull Valley. After our observing night at Horseshoe Knoll, both Shane and I felt we should look for a new observing area in Skull Valley so I went out looking. I looked at three and settled on two of them. The video above shows that venture through images embedded into a video and narrarted by myself.
To see the full report, read it, listen to it and to another video of the observing site, with my sketches and my SeeStar S50 images, head over to Eadsy Astronomy for the full report!
I have shared over at Eadsy Astronomy my observing report from last July 28th and 29th, 2025. Shane and I went out to Skull Valley for a quick evening. The site was very good and no one was there during this weeknight except for a couple in a trailer that were living there for some time. They were there over the next two months whenever we went out to Skull Valley.
Anyway, come on over and gather around the telescope virtually and come see the globulars and planetary nebula I observe. It was also my first night using my PiFinder so I share a little bit about that experience also. The video above is over there as is a longer one and the full written report. Thanks for joining me!
Heading into next week we have the faint and ever growing fainter wanning crescent leading to New Moon on Sunday, January 18th! This is a fantastic week to get out to a dark site and do visual observing or imaging and really go after some of winter's wonders! Head over to my Weekly Newsletter over at EadsyAstronomy to learn more, get or read the text and get the info on the video.
This release features a ten second silent video of Kepler’s expanding Supernova Remnant, located in our own galaxy, about 17,000 light-years from Earth. The video was created using X-ray data gathered in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2014, and 2025. Those distinct datasets were turned into highly-detailed visuals, creating a 25-year timelapse-style video of the growing remnant.
Kepler’s Supernova Remnant was once a white dwarf star that exploded when it exceeded its critical mass. Here, in X-ray light, the remnant resembles a cloudy neon blue ring with a diagonal cross line stretching from our upper right down to our lower left. The ring appears thinner and wispier at the bottom, with a band of white arching across the top.
As the video plays, cycling through the 5 datasets, the ring subtly, but clearly, expands, like a slowly inflating balloon. In the video, this sequence is replayed several times with dates included at our lower right, to give sighted learners time to absorb the visual information. Upon close inspection, researchers have determined that the bottom of the remnant is expanding fastest; about 13.8 million miles per hour, or 2% of the speed of light. The top of the ring appears to be expanding the slowest; about 4 million miles per hour, or 0.5% of the speed of light. The large difference in speed is because the gas that the remnant is plowing into towards the top of the image is denser than the gas towards the bottom.
We discuss this as an article in my Weekly News Round Up, see below.
In my Weekly News Roundup, I discuss articles from Scientists at the New Jersey Institute of Technology have identified a previously hidden source of intense gamma-ray radiation produced during massive solar flares — something researchers have been trying to pinpoint for years.
Next we go deep into the aftermath of a cosmic explosion, — not just with words, but with over 25 years of star-blast footage that’s finally letting astronomers see time itself unfold across the Supernova remains of Kepler's Supernova of 1604!
After that we take a deep dive into one of the weirdest cosmic finds NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has pulled out of the early universe, a cosmic platypus, yes, a PLATYPUS out in space! Not a real platypus but a set of galaxies so strange that astronomers affectionately call them “astronomy’s platypus
Then we peek into the hidden history of our own galaxy’s central black hole — Sagittarius A*. We know it hasn't always been quiet in the cosmic past and it has had explosive outbursts. However, new observations suggest that this usually sleepy monster wasn’t always so quiet and may have blasted out X-rays like a cosmic flare gun just a few hundred to a thousand years ago.
Last, are you like me and are fascinated by supernova? Our last story uncovers a fascinating twist in how stars live and die — not in the crowded heart of star-forming clouds like we often imagine, but off the beaten path.
Imagine a galaxy not unlike our own — a swirling spiral of stars, gas, and dust. Now imagine that the giant, massive stars in that galaxy end their lives not where they were born, but out in the less-dense, quieter outskirts of star-forming regions. That’s exactly what a new study of the nearby galaxy M33 has revealed and shares why that is so important to expanding our own knowledge on the formation and evolution of galaxies.
As always, you can read the scripts over at EadsyAstronomy, see the movie on Kepler's Supernova and I've supplied links to the articles I discuss here.
In addition to discussing Auriga as a whole in my last video, and sharing introductory level objects, intermediete level and challenging level objects, I want to share the two challenge objects I think offer a great opportunity to both challenge yourself if you're a visual observer, and if you image, to see what you can bring out of them in an image.
Even more importantly they offer a contrast in the Stellar Lifecycle, one where stars may eventual form and one where a star has died and is sending back to the interstellar medium the elements it created during its life. It's that classic story of birth, evolution, death and renewal!
Come and find out why I LOVE this hobby and am so interested in Astronomy and learn more about not only observing or imaging these, but in learning more about them!
The text to the video and LINKS and PDF as always are available over at Eadsy Astronomy.
I want to start sharing a constellation to observe in or image in on a regular basis. So let’s spend some time in Auriga. This is one of those constellations that doesn’t always get the spotlight, but once you start working it—especially visually or with imaging—it just keeps giving. Whether you’re out with binoculars, a small scope, or pushing aperture under dark skies or seeking to image, Auriga has something for you.
I'm including the YouTube Video here if you want to watch it. If you want the LINKS to the Google Docs or the PDF for the Observing List and Findercharts head over to EadsyAstronomy for those or to read the text.
The Constellation of Orion by Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi
Today, we’re traveling way back — over a thousand years — to meet one of the unsung heroes of observational astronomy: Ê¿Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi. If your eyes ever wandered across the night sky and wondered how we first learned to map those pinpricks of light, you’re gonna love this story. So head over to EadsyAstronomy for the rest of the story!
So, I would like to focus once or twice a week on a planet that is up in the night sky and is currently visible. So with that in mind, let's take a peek at the King of the Planets, even Jupiter. Jupiter is positioned this year for some great viewing! It is up in the early evening right now and remains up all night long. It is the brightest object in the night sky except for the Moon. We'll begin our journey to the largest planet in our solar system — Jupiter — a gas giant so immense and strange that even scientists are still unlocking its secrets.
Let’s dive into some astonishing facts about this cosmic heavyweight over at EadsyAstronomy
There is an article over at Phys.org LINK by Mark Thompson of Universe Today called "When Stars Fail to Explode." I've read the article, also the Chandra site and a couple of papers and want to share about this amazing object. When we think about how stars die, we usually imagine something dramatic — a massive explosion, a supernova bright enough to outshine entire galaxies. But what if some stars don’t go out with a bang? What if they hesitate… stumble… and leave behind something stranger?
If you want to learn more about Pa 30 or SNR 1181 and it's story, head over to Eadsy Astronomy
I know I always read about how Betelgeuse is going to go Supernova and it is. However it is a short time in cosmic time scales, but sometime in the next several centuries according to some, or as most astronomers say, sometime in the next100,000 years.
However, there is a stellar firework that will go off much sooner. It is V Sagittae. Come learn about how this Red Nova will be seen so bright in our night sky!
This is Part 2 of my explorations out in the West Desert over at Eadsy Astronomy. Here I meet some wild mustangs on my drive back, check out two great observing locations just west of Lookout Pass as you come down from it to the Pony Express Road. I also remeet up with a large herd of sheep and find two more observing sites east of Lookout Pass on the Pony Express Road between Faust and Lookout Pass.
Overall a great day out and thanks for coming along and sharing in the adventure of this day! It's not observing but I promise you'll be seeing me post observing reports from these areas in the future!
I recently went out exploring further south down Erickson Pass Rd in Utah's West Desert. This video over at Eadsy Astronomy shows my journey from Faust, the Pony Express Road out to Erickson Pass. I explore several sites, evaluating them and share that with you. If nothing else you get a feel for what the West Desert is like with road conditons. This is the first of two videos as both are about a half hour long. Thanks for looking!
Is the weather getting you missing imaging or observing? Well, I just posted my video and post on my observing trip on July 24th and 25th out to Cedar Mountain Wildnerness. It was great thearpy for me since I can't observe right now. Come join me and learn about this marvelous place with a bit of history, ie the Hastings Cutoff and Hastings Pass ie the Donner Party and other immigrants to California; wild Mustangs, and just dark, dark skies. It's over at Eadsy Astronomy with my sketches, observations and my SeeStar Images from my S50. The sketches and the images are raw. Here's the LINK.
I then did a quick post explaining in brief terms the Astronomical Magnitude Scale. LINK. If you have ever been confused or wondered how astronomers and amateurs compute magntiude of stars then head over for a quick lesson.
Finally, I posted the Weekly EadsyAstronomy Newsletter over there also for January 4th to January 10th, 2026. LINK
Lots of stuff so please if something interests you please head on over. Remember membership is free or if you find that you like what I am doing, feel free to become a contributing member! The cost offsets some of my expenses in bringing this to you.
At about 13:15 UTC time on December 31st, 2025, Sunspot region AR4324 released a M7.1 solar flare. NOAA has reported 3 CME's or Coronal Mass Ejections with this flare, with 2 probably causing a glancing blow and 1 a direct hit. As a result NOAA SpaceWeather has issued a G1 or G2 alert.
Don't worry, a G1 or G2 doesn't mean the world is ending, it could mean it's time to look up for Auroras! Images and links over at EadsyAstronomy.
