The future of Amateur Astonomy? Could this be what going to a dark site looks like in the future?
First, Ed's Video:
My thoughts:
As always I have a full article over at Eadsy Astronomy and encourage you to head on over there and take a look LINK. You can join the community there and get first notice of all my posts as they go there first.
The Waxing Gibbous Moon with faint Antares up in the upper right corner
So last night at sunset, the sky was just wonderful. Since the sky was so promising, I decided to head out since the 57% waxing Moon was close to Antares in the constellation of Scorpius and I wanted to give my Eadsy Astronomy Newsletter objects a go.
So I did my usual. I pulled out my backyard old 4 foot long Lifetime table. It fits perfectly in my shed and is easy to pull out. Then I got my Tripod and then the Skywatcher Evostar 100mm ED refractor. My friend Shane and I had recently gotten the old finderscope out, the set screw was broken off when I got it and so it had to me removed. I put in the 8x50 right angle finder I have for it, and a red dot finder.
As always, the full article, images and videos are all over at Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK.
In this newsletter I share Lunar Progress, Lunar craters to observe, 1 a night. I go through the planetary lineup with Saturn now coming up in the late evening and early morning sky and Venus moving from a gibbous stage to a crescent stage. Mars is up in the early morning hours and Jupiter is making its way to the morning sky also.
I give you four double stars and three deep sky eye candy objects to also observe or image each night of this waxing Moon phase!
For the full newsletter head over to Eadsy Astronomy and know that I've added a few videos of objects to go after there!
In the article and in the video I share a pet peeve of mine. Amateur Astronomers who use a SQM or SQM L reading to determine the Bortle Scale rating of their observing or imaging site. The bottom line is you SHOULD NOT do this. Here is review what the Bortle Scale is, what NELM is and the SQM and SQM L and which should be used to determine sky darkness. I also explain why you have to understand the reading your taking, the time of year and impacts to the reading. For example did you know that the summer Milky Way on a SQM or SQM L reading will reduce that rating by .3 to .5? Did you know when we are in solar maximum that that will also reduce the reading by .2 to .4?
I also discuss the 3 ratings I believe you must include in an imaging or visual observing session IF you wish to communicate how your observing location was for THAT observing session. They are the darkness reading, the transparency of the sky and the seeing in the sky. So come learn and I hope this helps to clarify why you must use the Bortle Scale, the NELM and the SQM readings separately and the pro's and con's of each.
I highly recommend that you read the full article over at Eadsy Astronomy, LINK. There is a LOT of information in the video and the article.
The House of Representatives just passed the Sunshine Protection Act on July 14th, 2026 by a 308-117 vote. Its predicted outcome in the Senate is uncertain and faces a murky road. While President Trump is pushing for a quick Senate approval, the bill faces opposition from senators concerned about dark winter mornings and limited floor time before the session ends. In addition it is not high up on President Trump's list of priorities so it really could get pushed to 2028 for a 2029 implementation IF it clears and the bills in both chambers can be reconciled.
So I did something fun. I came up with how this bill, if PASSED would impact my observing here in northern Utah.
I share some of the reasons it is facing opposition in the Senate and review how in 1973/74 the United States Actually tried doing this and it was repealed quickly. Basically people thought they'd love it but after school childrent tragically losing lives in the darkness and no real impact on energy savings or retail sales, the public support plumented and it was repealed in late 1974.
I also go through the pros and cons of both astronomy and in general if this passes. I share an article from KSL News, a local news outlet on the impact it could have on the Utah Ski Industry which I found insightful. I can adjust easily either way so I am not so set on this. I do share my personal preference which is to stay on standard time year round.
Anyway, head over to Eadsy Astronomy for the full article and I'd love to hear which you would prefer and why in the comments. Please keep comments on task and friendly, we can agree or disagree civily and if not, I will remove comments that are not civil in nature as a FYI.
Did you knnow that there are 310 cataloged supernova remnants (SNRs) in the Milky Way (compiled in Green’s Catalogue of Galactic Supernova Remnants), with dozens more unconfirmed candidates identified in recent radio and X-ray surveys?
Because the vast majority were hidden behind dense interstellar dust in the Galactic plane and discovered only via modern radio, infrared, and X-ray astronomy, they are divided into:
Historically Documented Supernovae (observed visually by naked-eye astronomers).
Young / Famous Modernly Discovered Galactic Supernovae & Remnants (unseen visually when they occurred or discovered via multi-wavelength surveys).
Major Prehistoric / Long-Known Supernova Remnants (visible to modern telescopes).
Both in the video and more importantly in the article over at Eadsy Astronomy I go into each of these SNR's that fit into these 3 groups! So come along and for the FULL artricle, and I mean FULL, head over to Eadsy Astronomy and take a look at how wonderful these SNR's are!
