My Observing Setup on September 14th, 2026 in Puddle Valley, Utah West Desert

 

Went observing last night and the clouds went away after sunset! Wonderful night and can I say that SN 2026 aaiv in NGC 7331 visually is AMAZING in my 17.5"! Look for my report in the next couple of days over at Eadsy Astronomy! 

Video on the Belt of Venus with Grand Tetons in Background with Explanation; Observing with Sketches September 7th and 9th, 2026 and SeeStar Images

 

 just show my recap of my observing from September 7th, 2026 near Ashton Idaho (north of there) in SQM skies of 21.8 to 21.9.  I show the Milky Way and my sketches and SeeStar Images from two nights (September 7th and September 9th, 2026 for the SeeStar).  

To read and watch all the material head over to Eadsy Astronomy and please join our community there to get first notice and my indepth articles on my observing and other information there! LINK. 

Lightning Can Strike Twice! A second Type Ia Supernova in NGC 7331 in 14 months!

 

The unbarred spiral galaxy NGC 7331 in Pegasus—often referred to as "the Milky Way’s twin"—has offered observers a rare occurrence. Between July 2025 and September 2026, the galaxy hosted two consecutive Type Ia supernovae. 

Let me share that this is significantly rare. Extragalactic supernovae typically erupt once per galaxy every few centuries, making back-to-back "supernova siblings" within ~14 months in a single target a fascinating cosmic coincidence.

SN 2025rbs (Discovered July 14, 2025)

Classification: Type Ia

Discovery Team: Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) survey

Discovery Magnitude: m 17.0

Peak Magnitude: m 12.0 - 13.5

SN 2026aaiv 

Classification: Type Ia

Discovery Team: Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey

Discovery Magnitude: m 17.3

Peak/Current Magnitude: m 12.5-13.0

For my full article head over to Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK and to see images of last year's and this year's supernova there and my sketches of NGC 7331. 

Weather for the New Moon Week in Utah and the Intermountain West September 4th to the 14th 2026

 

Forecast of rain in Utah from September 4th to September 12th, 2026. Not a ton in northern Utah but some and with that rain will come clouds 

My video and Chris Tomer's are both over at Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK.  I encourage you to head over and watch Chris'! My video here simply highlights his and if you want the indepth version, please watch his. I am not affliated with Chris, I just really apprecaite his work. Also, if you're into skiing and snow sports that is why he does his channel. Just goes to say it helps with our hobby as well!

Eadsy Astronomy Newsletter Week of September 6th to 15th, 2026

This is a really basic newsletter as I am getting ready to head for Island Park in Idaho and Yellowstone. My wife's birthday is next week and she has chosen this year to take the family with us and visit Yellowstone. I've been before, she hasn't. I am taking a scope, a refrator and stuff and my SeeStar S50. The forecast is for clouds and rain with maybe one or two nights so we'll see what we can see! 

Anyway, I include the Moon Progression, a Crater a Day to observe, 3 double stars to observe per day, a comet 10p Tempel 2 and 20 Eye Candy Deep Sky objects and 15 more challenging ones. Combine them, do them daily, however you want to use the info! Most importantly, keep looking up and enjoying the night sky above and all that is up there! It is truly a marvel! 

As always the link for the Google Doc and/or the PDF is over at Eadsy Astronomy so head over to get your copy!  LINK

13 Wolf-Rayet Shell Nebula to Observe or Image with 1 Cool Planetary Nebula to make it a 14 list object (No Unlucky Numbers here!)

NGC 2359 Thor's Helmet, Emission Nebula in Canis Major; February 4th, 2016, 9:10pm MST; FR006 Site 1; Antoniadi I, clear, cold, 17 degrees F; 17.5" Dob; 5mm, 7mm, 10mm, 14mm 20mm Pentax XW; 24mm Explore Scientific 82 degrees, 27mm Panoptic; Type II Paracorr; OIII Filter.   

 Here's the Wolf-Rayet Star and Nebula Program I said I was doing. It has 13 of those objects and I included the Fetus Nebula in Cygnus which also has a high speed stellar wind but the main star is a white dwarf that is pushing the outer layers away and it looks cool! That gives us 14 objects and like Bilbo in the Hobbit, that gives us 14 which is not an unlucky number 😉

Head over to Eadsy Astronomy for the program and to get the Google Doc copy or the PDF! LINK

Cosmic Engines: What Is a Wolf-Rayet Star

James Webb Space Telescope Image of Wolf-Rayet Star WR 125

So I made this video and created an article on What is a Wolf-Rayet Star over at Eadsy Astronomy and uploaded it here.  Why? Well one of the things I try to do is educate on the objects that I post observing/imaging programs for.  

I have a small program for Wolf-Rayet stars and the shells that surround them. I think it enhances the experience of observing or imaging  them if we understand what we are seeing and imaging! 

As always, I have a full article on this over at Eadsy Astronomy LINK so head on over and take a look! Thanks!  

Observing at Wolf Creek Pass, Duchesne Ridge: August 16th-17th, 2026

 

In this video I share my full post over at Eadsy Astronomy on my observing trip out to Wolf Creek Pass, Duchesne Ridge on the night of August 16th and 17th, 2026.  I usually am too busy on a Sunday to head out, but I finished all my needed things that day and it was the one window I had in August. 

So I had considered doing Top View/Toon Rd but the forecast went south and Wolf Creek opened up. I absolutely LOVE this site so anytime I can go there I will.  I had planned in July to do several nights there but the weather didn't cooperate! Go figure. 

So here I share what you'll see if you head over to Eadsy Astronomy. Probably my favorite observing and sketches that I share are Sharpless 2-91, that OTHER Supernova Remnant in Cygnus. Thanks to my good friend Shane I was able to observer for the first time Sharpless 2-94 and 2-96! I also got some planetary nebula so this observing trip has fit right in with some of my posts lately! 

For the full report, including additional video of how to get there and of the site with images and my sketches and SeeStar images, please head over to Eadsy Astronomy! LINK

Here is a list of the sketches over at Eadsy Astronomy: 

NGC 5907

NGC 6343

NGC 6171 

NGC 6638

NGC 6642

Sharpless 2-91 

Sharpless 2-94

Sharpless 2-96

M-1-92 wide field and with magnification 

NGC 6543

NGC 6826 The Blinking Planetary Nebula 

NGC 6309 The Box Planetary Nebula 

NGC 6884 

NGC 3310

Hubble Solves Merger Mystery from Milky Way's Early Years Using Globular Clusters

 

LKH and Milky Way Merging 11.8 BY ago 

This is a fun summary of the article that shows that the Milky Way hasn't just undergone two mergers with dwarf galaxies; the Sagitarrius Dwarf Galaxy that started over 6 billion years ago and is still ongoing and the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus merger  that occurred 10 billion years ago. 

Guess what, they now have found a third merger that occurred 11.8 billion years ago which is only 2 billion years after the Big Bang! Come learn more about that merger and how they found it! 

My summary article and images are available over at Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK along with a link to the release and my highlights of the article. 

Lion Nebula or NGC 2392 in Gemini Roars to Life in James Webb

 

Yesterday, I posted a LOT about planetary nebula. I discovered this article/news release from the James Webb Space Telescope Website on NGC 2392 the Lion Nebula.  Here they use the NIRCam and MIRI instruments/cameras on the James Webb to image it.  The article discusses how all this is being caused by the white dwarf star seen in the center!

Head over to Eadsy Astronomy LINK to see the images from Webb and a link to the news release! 

SwRI Led Modeling Identifies New Scenerios for the Formation of our Moon!

 

Real cool article on possible ways the moon formed. In the image above (and in their video I shared) they show how the Moon may have formed when a Mars size object that formed relatively close to the Earth in the protoplanetary disc, so they had the similar composition, resulted in material being blasted around the Earth that later formed into the Moon. OR if the protoEarth and the Theia object were of the same temperture basically, the Moon could have formed within hours of the impact! Cool! More to learn and more for our astronomers and scientists to study and learn!

To see the simulation that SwRI put out on YouTube and get a quick snapshot of this video, head over to Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK. You can also go and see the article for yourself! 

NGC 2392, the Clown Face or Lion Nebula in Gemini; My Sketch from winter of 2017. 

My purpose here is  to get more of you looking up and observing Planetary Nebula. They are some of the most beautiful objects in our night sky and they represent the end stages of a main sequence star like our Sun, one that is between 0.4 to 8 solar masses and is at the end stage of life. I guess I love them for a couple of reasons. They are the opposite of my other favorite objects, Supernova Remnant which is the leftover of a massive star that went supernova and basically destroyed itself, leaving in most of their cases, a neutron star. 

So I'll show you what I have done here. I broke the Astronomical League's Program into seasons. It is NOT perfect. Some objects probably need to go in another season or could. If you find such, please let me know by making recommendations in comments or by contacting me. I'm not the type that is set on anything and will always make adjustments if the logic is good and sound. 

I've also included my own observation, or as most show, Steve Gottlieb's 

Anyway, they are in both a Google Sheet and Doc format. I"ll include them both in the links below. I'll also attach as either a PDF or a Excel Doc also if that helps.  

To get the full copy of the Google Doc, Sheet or the PDF or Excel version, please head over to Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK. The links and attachements are at the bottom of the post. 

Observing Planetary Nebula: A Seasonal Approach in 3 Tiers

 Messier 57 The Ring Nebula Planetary Nebula in Lyra; August 30th, 2016: 2:15am MDT; Antoniadi II, mild; 17.5" Truss Dob f/4.4, Star Catcher; 22mm Nagler T4, 10mm & 7mm Pentax XW; FarPoint UHC 1 1/4 Filter.  

It's been awhile but it is the Ring Nebula.  The outer edge has varying levels of brightness and the inner region is even surface brightness with some hint of varyness at higher magnifications.  Central Star visible with averted and direct vision. 

So besides Supernova Remnants, one of my favorite Deep Sky Objects to observe are Planetary Nebula. I love them because of what the represent, a main squence star that is from 0.4 to 8 solar masses that has lived its life and is now in the end stage.  I also find them challenging to see how much detail I can pull out whether I am imaging them or observing and sketching them, or both!  Finally I am constantly amazed at how our Universe recycles materials and uses that material to create even more stars, planets, solar systems and continues on. 

So I've done several things that I am going to share in this post and the next post. First, I made a Planetary Nebula Observing Prorgram by season and have included images, sketches and descriptions of most of the objects.  That's in this video. I'll share the Google Doc and PDF's below and the program. The list is also in XLS formation for Excel. 

In the next video, well, you have to watch that one to see what that is! 

As always, I REALLY encourage you  to head over to Eadsy Astronomy to see the program, get a copy of it and to admire the many wonderful observations, images and sketches done of this wonderful objects! Please hit subscribe and like here, and thank you if you do or have already done so. It really helps a niche site like mine.  

Also, please join Eadsy Astronomy. You can join as free member, my content is always free or you can, if you find value in what I do, become a contributing member at the $3 or $5 a month value. It just goes to offset the cost of some of the apps and materials I use to bring the content to you. I'll keep doing it and I won't get rich, it just offsets some of my time and my costs and is deeply appreciated! 

As always, I REALLY encourage you on this one to head over to Eadsy Astronomy. There you can get the program, see the sketches and images of the objects, and read observations done by many who have observed or imaged these! Here is the LINK! 

The Cosmic Recycling Plant: The Life Cycle of Low Mass Stars from Main Sequence to Red Giant to Planetary Nebula and White Dwarf!

 

I've spent a lot of time lately discussing super massive stars, their explosive ending as supernova and shared a program for seeing their remenants, ie supernovae remnants.  

Now we'll take a look at the opposite side of the coin. Here we discuss main sequence stars that are from 0.4 to 8 solar masses (stars similar to our own Sun) and discuss their lifecyle and how they end up as planetary nebula with white dwarf stars. 

The video is long, and I share my notes that I have created on this from my Astronomy Class way back in college many, many years ago.  I've tried to update it.  Anyway, this is to prepare to share a Planetary Nebula Observing/Imaging Program.

For the full article and additional items and movies, head over to Eadsy Astronomy LINK. Please hit subscribe and like on YouTube and join our Community at Eadsy Astronomy! I always post there first so you can have immediate access to the material from there! 

Weather Apps and Sites I use for Astronomical Imaging and Observing

 

This is a recap of the sites I use to make a weather forecast to determine if I want to drive out to a dark site for 1 1/2 to 2 hours and observe.  I've shared parts of this before, and I've added a few items also now.  

For the complete set of videos and the article with all the links to the sites I use, head over to Eadsy Astronomy at the this LINK. You can do the same as I do by using these sites or do a search for similar sites in your area. I do strongly believe that if you really want to ultiilze a dark site, it helps to become an amateur weather forecaster for your region and locations you observe. 

Please hit the like and the subscribe button and  thanks if you have or do! It helps a niche site like mine a lot! Also join our community over at Eadsy Astronomy! 

 

Over 70% of massive stars are born in binary systems, but after mass transfers, mergers, or supernova explosions separate them, surviving stars often appear solitary. Until now, astronomers struggled to trace whether a single star had a violent binary past.

A new study published in Nature Astronomy by researchers at the University of Bonn and the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics introduces a novel, model-independent method to uncover these hidden histories. Come learn more in the video and over at Eadsy Astronomy below! 

For my article and the LINK to the original head over to Eadsy Astronomy LINK. 

Eadsy Astronomy Newsletter: August 30th to September 5th (really the 12th) 2026

 

Here is the Eadsy Astronomy Newsletter for next week, August 30th to September 5th. Really this needs to work through September 12th as the week of the September 6th I will be in Yellowstone for a family vacation.  

Here are the segements if you just choose to watch those portions. 

00:00 to 4:03 is Intro; Lunar Phases by Day and Craters and Features to Observe 

4:04 to 7:03 Planetary Items and Double Stars 

7:04 to 9:10 Comets 

9:10 to 10:07 Deep Sky Targets/Objects 

As always head over to Eadsy Astronomy for the full article/newsletter! LINK. 

New Classical Nova in the Constellation of Sagitta: V488 Sagittea

 

Nova Sagittae 2026 or V488 Sagittae (N Sge 2026 / PNV J19450648+1822422) erupted on August 25, 2026, making it one of the most accessible Milky Way transients of the year due to its high altitude in the summer sky.

What it is: A classical nova caused by a thermonuclear explosion on the surface of a white dwarf that is actively pulling in material from a companion star in a close binary system.

Prior to the outburst, the progenitor star was a faint speck down around magnitude 19 to 21, but it rapidly flared up by tens of thousands of times in brightness. Because it is sitting right around 7th magnitude, it is easily reachable with standard binoculars, even from urban or suburban backyards, though it remains just below the threshold of naked-eye visibility

For the full article and finderchart head over to Eadsy Astonomy LINK and join the community there! I have had this up for several days over there now. 

My Experience with the Lunar Eclipse on August 27th, 2026

 

Life is sometimes definetly like a box of chocolates and sometimes you just have to roll the dice to see what comes up.  Last night was one of those. I wanted to experience this partial Lunar Eclipse and the forecast went from bad to horrible. However, I foudn a window at a place called Five Mile Pass, about 35 minutes from my home so I went there. 

I posted the video shorts here on this channel but over at Eadsy Astronomy and I shared the images I took, the videos are all in one place and it covers what I experienced. Was it a perfect session? Nope, I missed the main event but I did maximize my opporutnity and sometimes in life, that is what we have to do.  

To get my article, see all the images and videos head over to Eadsy Astronomy LINK.  You can join the community there and get first notice of all my posts as they up there first. Thanks for watching! 

Partial Lunar Eclipse; Thursday, August 27th, 2026 with 96.2% of the Moon Covered!

 

Tomorrow, Thursday, August 27th, 2026 from 9:24p.m. EDT to 3:01 a.m. on Friday, August 28th, 2026 EDT we have an almost full lunar eclispe. Maximum will occur at 12:12 am EDT (August 28th) when 96.2% of the Moon will be covered. This is a wonderful event that you can just look up with your eyes, or with binoculars or telescope to view.

As  always I have the full article over at Eadsy Astronomy LINK and I include the weather forecast as of this morning (Wednesday) for various locations here along the Wasatch Front area.  Head on over to take a look. 

Reaction to Ed Ting's Let's Overreact!!! Smart Scopes Take Over? Chinese Products are the Best? Astronomy is Dead!?

 

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. 

Backyard Observing: Thursday, August 20th, 2026

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.   

Eadsy Astronomy Newsletter for August 19th to August 29th, 2026

 

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! 

Bortle Scale, Naked Eye Limiting Magnitude or NELM, SQM or SQM L and Why You don't Use one to determine the Other

 

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 Sunshine Protection Act How It will Impact My Enjoyment of the Hobby of Astronomy Observing and Imaging

 

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.

Supernova and Their Remnants in the Milky Way, a Visual Journey via Images!

 

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! 

Supernovae Remnants in the Milky Way Galaxy to Observer or Image: Update to the Supernovae Remnant Challenge; August 12th, 2026

 

I first created my Visual Supernova Remnant challenge I believe back in 2014. I've updated it multiple times and today I am releasing the newest version over at Eadsy Astronomy. I'm calling it Supernova Remnants of the Milky Way Galaxy. I've updated it with sketches I've done and including information of observations and findercharts from R. Vogel, Steve Gottlieb and sketches from Mel Bartels to go along with my own. Huge KUDOS to each of them for making me excited to chase these objects down! 

The goal here is for those that want to view supernova remnants in our Milky Way Galaxy and/or image them. I also include two new imaging only challenges that are for serious imagers. They are SNR G107.5-5.2 The Nereides Nebula and Sh2-224 The Rice Hat Nebula, both SNR's found recently by Amaetur Astronomers! 

To get the PDF and the FULL report with findercharts, head over to Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK. 

What to Do when Conditions Prohibit you from Observing or Imaging?

 

Well this is USUALLY the week I don't post much because I am heading out with either my 14' or my 17.5" dobsonian telescope to observe.  Well conditions, weather ie monsoon and fires, smoke from major fires out here are going to prohibit and limit my visual enjoyment of the hobby this week. 

So, I could be negative and down about it, but I have PLENTY to do and share this week so I'll take advantage of the downtime from the field and show what I do both in the video here and in my article over at Eadsy Astronomy on what I will be doing! 

For the full article head on over to Eadsy Astronomy LINK. Please join the community there if you want to be notified when I post a video and an article as it goes there first now. 

Eadsy Astronomy Weekly Newsletter for the Week of August 9th to the 15th, 2026

 

No videos today. I'll be doing them as individual videos for each of the items in the newsletter. I wanted to get the newsletter out so IF you want to see it or get a copy, head over to Eadsy Astronomy LINK.  Again, if you are a member there whether free or contributing, you get the article and videos as I post them there. Thanks for looking and clear skies! 

Lunar Progression 

Chasing the Winged Horse A Stargazers Guide to the Pegasus Constellation

Look up at the autumn sky, and you will find Pegasus, one of the largest and most captivating constellations in the night sky.  I've actually compiled two observing lists. One for a 100mm to 102mm refractor and then the other for 14" to 18" dobs, though I'm sure a 12" dob could give these a go also. Here they are.   Both lists can be used for either imaging or visual observing. 

Please head over to Eadsy Astronomy LINK for the full program, list of targets and a PDF or Google Doc version.   

Observing or Imaging Challenge Hunting Hidden Planetary Nebula in Messier 7 with a Globular Cluster

 

I've shared this before back in 2012 but I feel it is time for me to revisit this challenge (if the weather and conditions allow) so I've updated my post on it. 

As always the full program is available over at Eadsy Astronomy LINK with findercharts and sketches. Head on over and join the community there to get first access to the content! 

Vera Rubin catches Supernova From Wolf Rayet Star without a Jet The Discovery of SN 2026gzf

Astronomers have captured an unprecedented view of a stellar explosion that bridges the gap between typical core-collapse supernovae and the universe’s most extreme gamma-ray bursts. A massive Wolf-Rayet Star explosed as a Type Ic Supernova and it the shockwave was captured bursting thorugh the star which is only the second time this has been observed and captured! Come learn more! 

As always my article with the link to the press release, images and video of the shock breakout and more into are available over at Eadsy Astronomy LINK.  Please subscribe on YouTube and join the community at Eadsy Astornomy for first access to the info I share! 

Hunting the Sh2 91 The OTHER SNR in southern Cygnus or mini Veil Nebula

 

Sh2-91 is part of a supernova remnant that is in the southern portion of Cygnus, just above the double star Albireo. I've observed this object several times but it has been several years.  It is on my lsit for this month or next month IF I can get out due to smoke and monsoon. It is my personal challenge object for August/September. 

Anyway, this a both a challenge visually and imaging so it isn't for the faint of heart. I hope that you enjoy the images and sketches I've included here, and know that it takes patience and skill to observe or image this object, but I think it is worth it.  The supernova remnant is G65.3+5.7 and the giant star that went supernova blew about 27500 years ago or so! 

My updated article is available over at Eadsy Astronomy LINK.  Please head over and take a look and join our community there. I post there first before YouTube or the Blog here now so if you want first dibs on what I am posting on, head over and join the community. Membership is free and gives you first access to my content and when I do a live session, you can join me for that. If you find value in my blog or my information, feel free to become a contributing members. It just helps to offset the cost of apps and materials I use to bring this content to you and is really appreciated. Thanks Andrew Witt for being a contributing member! 

New Observing Site: Lakeside, Jedediah Smith Rd Corral Site

 I went out to the Lakeside Mountains to look at some possible observing sites off the valley floor. The North Alkaline Rd Site is a wonderful site but in the fall and spring, dew can easily form on the valley floor.  The valley floor is an ancient lake bed which explains why dew in these seasons can easily form in the right conditions. 

As I drove down Puddle Valley Rd. I found a dirt road that went off to the northeast. I passed it and  then  I turned around on Puddle Valley Rd, drove south and turned left onto the dirt road. 

I followed it out and ended up at guess what, a corral. The corral was newer, set up with newer wire and boards.  I REALLY like observing at corral sites. This had flat areas and was up off the valley floor.  The corral would be used to gather cattle that graze out on the BLM land in April and May, then are gathered up in early June. 

These videos show the site and it will be where I observe this week.

The Milky Way's Latest Supernova We Missed G1.9+0 3 in Sagitarrius

 

Around the year 1900, as astronomers on Earth were refining photographic plates and cataloging stars through visual refractors, a star died near the heart of the Milky Way.

It was not a subtle death. A white dwarf star in a binary system exceeded its structural limits and detonated in a thermonuclear Type Ia explosion. The blast unleashed an incomprehensible quantity of energy, hurling heavy elements outward at thousands of kilometers per second.

Yet, if you look through historical astronomical journals from 1900, you will find no mention of it. No visual observer pointed a refractor at Sagittarius and saw a brilliant new star flare into naked-eye visibility. The event passed in complete silence.

How could the youngest supernova in our entire galaxy go completely unnoticed?

As always the full article is available over at Eadsy Astronomy LINK. Please head over to take a look and join our community there! 

Wide Field Spring Campagin/Observing Guide for 4 inch telescopes with wide field eyepieces

 So I have shared my summer, fall and winter wide field program. Spring is a little different here. There are some definite wide field targets here, but on several of these I move down to the 16.5mm Pentax XW or even the 7mm and 4mm Delite. So with not a lot of fan fare since spring is SO far off from now, here is my wide field list for next spring.

Again, I'll be adding to this and updating it as I do some more research but this is a decent start I feel.

The full program is available over at Eadsy Astronomy LINK.  Please hit subscribe on YouTube and join our community at Eadsy Astronomy if you want to get the items I share as they go there first! Thanks! 

The Day a Star Exploded Near the Earth: The Short Story of SN 1987A

 

On February 23, 1987, the night sky gifted modern astrophysics its most significant event in over 380 years. Located just 168,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)—a dwarf satellite galaxy of our Milky Way—SN 1987A exploded into view. Come watch and learn more about the nearest observable supernova in recent history.

For the article and to see more images and info, head over to Eadsy Astronomy LINK and join our community there to get first notice of new posts. 

The Explosive Mystery Inside Andromeda: SN 1885A

 

Simulation of SN 1885A or S Andromedae 

On the night of August 19/20, 1885, Irish amateur astronomer Isaac Ward noticed something unusual while gazing through his telescope at the heart of the Great Andromeda Nebula. A tiny, reddish star was flickering just 16 arcseconds from the brilliant nucleus. It's brightest was estimated an close to -6 magnitude (quite bright and almost naked eye visible) and it outshown the nebula's core. See, in 1885 Astronomers didn't know that Messier 31 was its own Island Universe or separate galaxy. They thought it was a star forming region creating another solar system. Then in 1923 Hubble proved them wrong! Come learn more about the only supernova we've yet to visually see in Messier 31! 

For the full article and to get full access when I post, head over to Eadsy Astronomy LINK and join our community there! 

Wide Field Winter Campaign/Observing Program for 4 inch Refractor and Wide Field Eyepieces

 

I shared my the Fall Campaign Observing Program that I made for my TeleVue NP101 with the 31mm Nagler (and have included the 22mm Nagler and could use the 26mm Nagler). I am sharing today the Wide Field Winter Campaign from December through February (sooner if you are up later in the night in the fall) since I have it ready. Spring is also done minus the image from LiveSky which I'll do either Sunday or Monday.

Please realize I am sketching each so I don't have as many objects as I could here. I'll add more as time goes by and I get done with these.

The Object is listed and underline and under the image is the FOV by the specific eyepiece. Hope that helps! I look forward to this! If you have suggestions I'd love to hear them in the comments and I'll add them in!

As always, you can get the full program over at Eadsy Astronomy LINK.  Please join the community there to get notified when I post news, observing programs/reports and other astro related stuff as it goes there first! If you can support us with a small donation of $3 to $5 it is really appreciated! Thanks to Andrew Witt for being a contributing member! 

We FINALLY Photographed Betel Buddy or Betelgeuse B, Betgelgeuse's Hidden Companion

 

For as long as humans have looked up into the winter sky, Orion’s right shoulder has held our gaze. Betelgeuse (alpha Orionis) is a monster of a red supergiant—a celestial light bulb so massive that if you dropped it into the center of our solar system, its outer atmosphere would swallow Jupiter. But behind its dramatic dimming events and swirling convective surface, Betelgeuse has been keeping a secrets. We'll now we have seen it! 

For the full article head over to Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK. 

Wide Field Observing Program: Fall Campaign (September – November); (for use with my TeleVue NP101 and 31mm or 22mm Naglers).

 

Okay, I am having so much fun observing wide field summer objects in my TeleVue NP101 and using my 22mm, 26mm and 31mm Naglers, that I decided to extend the program into Fall, Winter and Spring.

Now don't think I am giving up on my 17.5" or my 14" dobs, I'm not. This is an additional observing program to use another piece of equipment in dark skies here in northern Utah to view objects that are wonderful to view in a very large field. Basically, it is using the NP101 for what I feel it is incredible at, wide field deep sky observing.

Also, I'm being selfish as I'll be up in Yellowstone in September for a family vacation and I will have the NP101 and the TeleVue's with me for observing during the late wanning crescent and New Moon phase so I want something I can observe using the NP101 and my SeeStar S50 and to do some observing that week up there with.

Don't have a TeleVue NP101 or the Naglers? I could also probably do this in another 4 inch refractor that is similar in f/ratio to the NP101 and with other eyepieces like the UWA 28mm 2 inch eyepiece. I just have the NP101 and the wide field Naglers so here I go!

I'll be sharing the winter and the spring program soon so look forward to those!

The full observing program with PDF or Google Doc is over at Eadsy Astronomy LINK so head over there to get the full program! Please hit subscribe on YouTube and join our community at Eadsy Astronomy to get notified when I post things first! Thanks for watching! 

Eadsy Astronomy Newsletter for July 28th to August 8th, 2026

 

Here is the Eadsy Astronomy Newslette for Tuesday, July 28th to Saturday, August 8th, 2026. We move from the full Buck Moon tongiht, names because anterl animals like Elk, Deer, Moose etc. the males have grown out their antlers so July's Full Moon is named the Buck Moon. 

After tonight we move into the Waning Gibbous Stage where the Moon is still bright. We share some lunar craters and features to observe by period of days this time, trying something new. The Moon will moving into its waxing crescent stage after August 2nd's last quarter stage. This becomes primar territory for Deep Sky Observing. Hopefully the nice summer monsoon we've been having in Utah will be out so I can get out for multiple nights, especially up in the Unita Mountains I hope!  

Comet 10P/Tempel 2 is up right now and reaches perihelion on August 2nd. It's a late night/early morning comet right now. 

Venus is fading now lower into the West so that is our evening planet right now. Saturn rises around 11:30 pm as does nearby Neptune so look for those. Mars is an early morning planet still, after 3:00 a.m .with Uranus. 

 Finally, with most of this period being pretty bright with the Moon I am recommended eye candy objects for Deep Sky work right now. The next newsletter will be heaving on summer Deep Sky Objects,  and I'll be sharing some more obsecure ones that are fun! 

To read or get a copy of this newsletter, head over to Eadsy Astronomy LINK and take a look there! Please join the community there as all my info now is posted there first! 

Observing Report: Lunar and Double Stars, July 23rd, 2026: Herriman Utah

 

The evening of July 23rd was great so I set up in the backyard to focus on some Lunar and Double Star observing. Here is the report. 

For the full report, sketches and images, head over to Eadsy Astronomy LINK. Please join our community there to get notifications of anything I post over there. I appreciate you doing that and looking here! Clear skies! 

Wide Field Observing Report from July 19th-20th, 2026, N. Alkaline Rd, Tooele Co. West Desert, Utah

 

You can get the full report and see the sketches over at Eadsy Astronomy LINK. Please join the community there and hit subscribe on the YouTube Video. It really helps a niche like mine and I appreciate it. 

Takahasi vs Baader vs. University HD Orthoscoptic Shootout Results and mention of 4mm & 7mm TeleVue Delites

 

For the full article please head over to Eadsy Astronomy and read it there. Plesae join our community there to get first notification of astronomy news, equipment reviews, observing sessions and reports, and the Astronomer of the Week and the Weekly Newsletter first! 

Astronomer of the Week: Clyde William Tombaugh

 

Clyde William Tombaugh was one of the most famous observational astronomers of the 20th century. Best known as the self-taught farm boy who discovered Pluto at age 24, his career spanned over six decades, contributing significantly to planetary science, deep-sky cataloging, optical design, military ballistics, and university education. 

For the full article head over to Eadsy Astronomy LINK.  Please join our community there to get access to all news, reports, reviews and observing projects and other astronomy relatred materials when they are published! Thanks for joining me! 

Eadsy Astronomy Newsletter for July 19th to 25th, 2026

 The newsletter has been up over at Eadsy Astronomy LINK since last night. I just had time to record the video this morning. Please join the community at Eadsy Astronomy to get the newsletter, my observing reports, live events and news before I post here or on my YouTube channel.  I also have included video and an image I took from my observing session Sunday night using my TeleVue NP101 with a 6mm Takahashi Orthoscoptic eyepiece and a 10mm UWA eyepiece. So head on over for the view newsletter! 

 

Well, I have a window tonight to do some observing. So I have wanted to do this for a while and I put together a wide field observing program for a 4 inch refractor (basically my TeleVue NP101) using my 31mm Nagler. If you don't have a 31mm Nagler you could use a 28mm UWA or a 35mm Panoptic or other similar eyepieces. My goal is to do three things with them: 

1. Observe them 

2. Sketch them 

3. Using Mosiac see what the SeeStar S50 can capture though I suspect the S30 Pro would be better for these. 

If you want to see the full program head and get a PDF copy of it, over to Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK. 

Also, I will be doing a Live Event out there when I get there and it will be free for those who free or contributing members. So if you want to see my location, the setup I put up tonight and see me observe, join the community at Eadsy Astronomy! You also get notified of all the articles and other items I post there which include these videos. 

Clear skies and keep looking up! Oh, I also be doing some lunar observing tonight and sketching and will show that, and do a couple of shorts.  See you later!