In this News Roundup we'll review the rebranding of Messier 35, the Sun released a X1.5 class solar flare with some of the CME targeting Earth and what it means for the Artemis II launch tomorrow. We'll see how the JWST has added to our knowledge of W51 a star forming region in Aquilla (a summer time constellation and observation); and the fact that a new study shows the Earth is composed of material that formed only from the inner solar system. For the full articles head over to Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK.
On November 13th, I went observing out at the N. Alkaline Rd Site. The site is about 1 hour and 15 minutes west of Salt Lake City. It's dark, I usually get SQM readings of 21.5 to 21.65 out there depending on time of year. There was a lot of low level haze which impacted the views this night.
In this video I review the report and cover what you will see if you head over to Eadsy Astronomy for the full report. I observed and sketched open clusters this night in Cassiopeia and I share why I love and enjoy observing open clusters. I also had my SeeStar S50 with me and I share those images and some info on them as well.
If you want to see the entire report, see the videos on how I make my counterweights and how I load up my Subaru Ascent for observing, and my thoughts on heading out, head over to Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK.
Are you into imaging and/or observing the night sky? Are you aware that the Astronomical League has a tremendous amount of programs that will help you to develop your skills and enhance them as you learn more about the night sky? LINK to their alphabetical listing of programs.
Post is also available at this LINK at Eadsy Astronomy.
Fifty years ago, human footprints first marked the lunar surface. Today, we stand on the precipice of our next giant leap. NASA's ambitious Artemis program is poised to return astronauts to the Moon, but this time, the mission is fundamentally different.
While inevitable comparisons arise, Artemis is not a sequel to Apollo – it's an entirely new chapter. Let's delve into the details that distinguish these two monumental lunar endeavors.
The complete article is over at EadsyAstronomy LINK.
For decades, Saturn has been a bit of a rebel in our solar system. Unlike Jupiter, whose radio pulses act like a perfect clock for its internal rotation, Saturn’s "heartbeat" (its magnetospheric rotation) changes over time. Scientists have long suspected the atmosphere was the culprit, but the planet was too faint to see in detail—until now.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team led by Tom Stallard has finally captured high-resolution maps of Saturn’s upper atmosphere, revealing the "engine" driving this strange behavior.
For the full article head over to Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK.
I am curious as I want to make sure my readers here and at Eadsy Astronomy are getting the content they want with the Weekly Newsletter. I have asked a variety of some questions and if you have suggestions on what you'd like to see, please add it as a comment to the survey. Sorry, I have to do this over at Eadsy Astronomy since I am not sure how to do a poll here on Blogger except using Google Forms and I don't pay for Google Forms so I can't really use that method as I have in the past.
You can take the survey over at Eadsy Astronomy LINK.
In this issue of the Weekly Newletter we discuss why the Full Moon this week is called "The Pink Moon" and it has nothing to do with the moon itself! We review a variety of lunar craters that are worth your time observing. Double stars are in the mix and some eye candy deep sky and challenging deep sky objects are in the newsletter for latter in the week also.
If you want to read the newsletter or get a copy as a Google Doc or download as a PDF, head over to Eadsy Astronomy at the LINK.
If you find value in what we are striving to do here, membership at EadsyAstronomy is free or you can contribute at the $3.00 or $5.00 level. It just goes to offset some of the equipment and time and resources used to put this together. Also, you get notified via email when I post over there (which I post here on YouTube as well). So consider becoming a member be it free or as a contributing members. Thanks to all our free members and to Andy Witt for being a contributing member!
So I have for the last 26 years, used several of the Astronomical League's programs to enhance my observing pleasure. I have completed 12 of them using the online data information and downloaind their information and converting them over to Google Sheets.
At some point I need to submit them I guess and get my Master's Certification Award (LINK to that program). I'll probably try to put that together over the next several months!
I finally did something I have always wanted to do, purchase some of their observing guides. I purchased the following:
Carpe Lunam: Observing the Moon: A Guide for the Astronomical League's Lunar Observing Programs
Carbon Stars: A Guide to the Carbon Star Observing Program
Planetary Nebula: A Guide to the Planetary Nebula Observing Program
Galaxy Groups and Clusters:Visual and CCD Observing Guide
Herschel 400: A guide to 400 deep-sky objects
Herschel II Observing Program
Look for me to review each of these guides over the coming couple of week!
I post a lot of news updates and other information but the heart of what I want from this channel is to share my actual observing. I need to post the remained of my deep sky trips. However, here I share my lunar observing and sketches from February 27th, March 20th, and March 25th, 2026. To see the full article and sketches head over to Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK.
I found this site over at NASA and just thought it was really cool to share. It is called The Universe of Sound.
From the website it states the following:
Much of our Universe is too distant for anyone to visit in person, but we can still explore it. Telescopes give us a chance to understand what objects in our Universe are like in different types of light. By translating the inherently digital data (in the form of ones and zeroes) captured by telescopes in space into images, astronomers can create visual representations of what would otherwise be invisible to us.
But what about experiencing these data with other senses, like hearing? Sonification is the process that translates data into sound. Our new project brings parts of our Milky Way galaxy, and of the greater Universe beyond it, to listeners for the first time.
To get the links for the NASA sonifications of some more popular objects shown above and/or to get the link to learn how to do sonification with your own images head over to Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK.
Astronomers have long used Type Ia supernovae as "standard candles" to measure the universe, but the exact identity of the "companion star" that triggers these explosions is still a major mystery. This research investigates whether a low-mass M-dwarf (a cool, red star) could survive being hit by a supernova and what it would look like thousands of years later.
As always, the full article and LINK to the research paper are over at this LINK at Eadsy Astronomy.
Imagine a clear night is forecasted, you can head to your favorite dark site or backyard, you set up your imaging rig or your telescope to visually observe and when you look, this is what you see. Think it won't happen? I'd think again.
The stars have always been a universal heritage, but according to a recent editorial in Nature Astronomy, LINK that view is being obstructed—both by the technology above us and the policies below.
As we move further into 2026, the scientific community is sounding the alarm: astronomy is no longer just about looking up; it’s about fighting to keep the windows open. Here is a breakdown of the dual threats currently facing the field.
We’ve all seen the movies: a brave crew lands on a desert planet or a lush jungle world orbiting a twin sun. We’ve spent decades looking for "Earth 2.0"—a rocky planet just like ours.
But what if we’ve been looking in all the wrong places? It reminds me of the 1980 song called Looking for Love. In the song the chorus states: "I was lookin' for love in all the wrong places." Well, in a paper by Gibor Basri we may rewrite those lyrics to say "We were lookin for life, in all the wrong places."
For the article and link to the paper head over to Eadsy Astronomy LINK.
In a stroke of cosmic luck that has astronomers scratching their heads (and celebrating their luck), the Hubble Space Telescope just caught a front-row seat to a celestial breakup.
Here is an in-depth breakdown of this accidental discovery capturing the "right place, right time" energy of the object Comet C/2025 K1 Atlas.
The full article and link to the Hubble NASA News Release are over at Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK.
It's galaxy season for this month and the next couple of months. So an article on a galaxy cluster is, I think, appropriate! We usually think of galaxy clusters as static collections of stars, but new data from the MeerKAT telescope reveals they are more like living, "breathing" organisms. A recent study featured on Astrobites LINK has mapped the Fornax cluster in unprecedented detail, giving us the densest grid of magnetic field measurements ever recorded—roughly 500 individual points of data.
For the full article and link to the paper head over to Eadsy Astronomy LINK.
I’ve spent plenty of nights staring at the stars, but it’s not often the stars—or rather, the rocks they left behind—stare back with the very blueprints of our existence.
Today, a massive study published in Nature Astronomy Today LINK confirmed something that has been an ongoing question by astronomers. Can we find the elements needed for life on an asteroid ? What was discovered? All five fundamental nucleobases of the genetic code have been found inside samples from the asteroid Ryugu.
In this report I share the difference based on my N. Alkaline Rd Observing site with a low 21.6 mpas and my S. Government Creek Rd Site 1 observing site which has a low 21.8 mpas.
Does the extra fifty minute drive REALLY make a differnece? I show both with formula and with images that yes, it does make a differnece. Come take a look.
Zodiacal Light from N. Alkaline Rd Site: March 19th, 2026 Puddy Valley Utah
Lot's going on this week! As of today, March 20th, it is the Spring Equinox so our days in the Northern Hemisphere are now longer than the nights! Means staying up later to image or observe but the weather is warmer!
So come on over to Eadsy Astonomy LINK and get a copy in Google Doc or PDF format or to read it. Learn what Lunar Craters are great to image or observe this week, what double stars are fun and challenging also! Are there deep sky targets for telescope 4 to 8 inches and greater than 10 inches to observe? Yep. Finally, some eye candy for imagers and some somewhat challenging objects for imagers as well. I look forward to seeing you over at Eadsy Astronomy for the weekly newsletter!
Astronomer of the Week: Williamina Fleming: The Woman Who Mapped the Stars
Welcome to another installment of the Astronomy of the Week series! Today, we’re diving into the incredible life of a woman who went from being a domestic maid to one of the most prolific astronomers in history.
Williamina Fleming (1857–1911)
"The Woman Who Mapped the Stars"
Williamina Fleming wasn’t just a "human computer"—she was a pioneer who fundamentally changed how we categorize the universe. During her career, she discovered hundreds of celestial objects and developed the bedrock for modern stellar classification.
For the article it is over at EadsyAstronomy: LINK.
Here I review some of the Light Pollution Sites and give you a look at
them and share what I like about them and the limitations I see on them.
I review
DarkSkySites, DLorenz (David Lorenz Light Pollution Map),
LightPollutionMapInfo, LightPollutionMapApp, LightPollutionMap, and
GAIA's premium Light Pollution Layer.
To read the full article head over to Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK. I really recommend you do that to gain a full flavor of the reviews.
I just want to share that 7 months ago I created a Reddit site for those interested in Astronomy and specifically, Astronomy in Utah. This is a place for amateur astronomers in Utah or outside of Utah for that matter, be they visual or imaging or a mixture of both, to come and talk and discuss astronomy in Utah, the west and in general.
You may post items for sale but only one post per person per month please. Please limit for sale all items to that one post and list what you are selling in that post. This site is mainly for discussion on imaging and observing and for anyone who may sketch. Here is the LINK. I grow tired of all the ads on Facebook and use Reddit for some things, so I figured this would be a good place to gather. Also, I know many of the younger generation (younger than me at 61) that tend to use Reddit more than Facebook so I figure we can gather more people using this site.
Welcome to the "North Galactic Pole." While the constellation of Coma Berenices may appear faint to the naked eye, it serves as a window out of our own Milky Way galaxy and into the deep universe beyond. This roadmap is designed to guide you through the "Tresses of Berenice," a region of sky uniquely rich in extragalactic wonders.
Because this constellation sits far from the obscuring dust of our own galactic plane, it offers an unobstructed view of two massive cosmic structures: the Melotte 111 open cluster and the northern reaches of the Virgo-Coma Supercluster.
This program is organized into four levels of increasing difficulty:
Beginner: Bright Messier objects and naked-eye star clusters perfect for any equipment.
Intermediate: Deep-sky targets that reveal structural details like bars and dust lanes in mid-sized telescopes.
Advanced: Elusive objects including "metal-poor" globulars and galaxies with faint tidal streams.
Challenging: The extreme frontier, focusing on the dense "swarm" of the Abell 1656 cluster and ultra-diffuse dark matter galaxies.
Here is the video on the guide:
If you want to get a copy of the free guide either as a Google Doc (it is a link, you click on it, go to file and make a copy to get your own copy) or download the PDF head over to EadsyAstronomy at this LINK.
Images from my observing night on March 11th, 2026 at N. Alkaline Observing Site; N Alkaline Rd, Puddle Valley, Utah (some call it the Lakeside area).
The Constellation of Orion: Above: About 9:20 pm. Below: Astronomical Twilight: 8:20 pm.
My 17.5" f/4.4 Star Catcher Set up and ready to go in both images. It was cloudy when I got there but as forecasted, at sunset the clouds dispersed!
My good friend Shane's 17.5" f/5 rebuilt Discovery Dob
My 17.5" f/4.4 Star Catcher with my picnic tarp and rubber mat.
View to the east when I got to the site at 5:30 p.m.
Not really an observing report, however over at Eadsy Astronomy LINK I do have a full report minus my sketches which I haven't processed yet. I do include the SeeStar S50 raw images I captured that night and talk about my aligning process, how I align the Telrad to the Finderscope to the Eyepiece so it all lines up so I can star hop! I share about SQM L readings and Light Pollution Sites I am currently evaluating. So head on over and see the full report there!
Research led by Anastasios (Andy) Tzanidakis at the University of Washington has identified a rare astronomical event: the likely collision of two planets orbiting the star Gaia20ehk (also referred to as Gaia-GIC-1). This discovery, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letter (Link below), provides a rare real-time look at the chaotic process of solar system formation.
My summary article and link to the paper over at Eadsy Astronomy LINK.
For a long time, we’ve viewed our Sun as a bit of a homebody—a stable star sitting quietly in a suburban arm of the Milky Way. But groundbreaking new research suggests our origin story is much more "action movie" than "slice of life."
According to a massive study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics (see links below), our Sun didn't start its life here. It was part of a mass migration of stellar "twins" that fled the chaotic center of the galaxy billions of years ago.
Article with links to the 2 articles that are summarized are over at EadsyAstronomy LINK.
For our first news story today, we’re diving into a story that sounds like science fiction but is happening right now beneath the mountains of Japan. We are on the verge of detecting "ghosts" from the very beginning of time—particles from stars that exploded before Earth even existed.
This week marks a major seasonal transition as we approach the Vernal Equinox. With the New Moon occurring mid-week, the sky will be at its darkest, making it the premier window for the annual Messier Marathon which I shared at this LINK. During this week, the evening sky remains active with brilliant planetary appearances from Venus and Jupiter. We are now fully into "Galaxy Season" with the moon leaving the early evening sky, so make sure you get out and enjoy the galaxies in Leo, Virgo, Coma Bernices, Ursa Major!
For the PDF or Google Doc, please head over to Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK.
Nearly deaf and working in a field dominated entirely by men, Annie Jump Cannon had every reason to stay in the shadows of history. Instead, she revolutionized astrophysics. Known as one of the "Harvard Computers," she possessed a near-superhuman ability to see patterns in light where others saw chaos. O, B, A, F, G, K, M: to most people today, these are just a string of letters. However, to astronomers, this is the DNA of the universe.
For the full article and more, head over to Eadsy Astronomy at this LINK.
The Messier Marathon is a race against the rotation of the Earth. In late March, the Sun is positioned in a "gap" in the Messier catalog, making it theoretically possible to see every single object—from the Andromeda Galaxy to the M30 globular cluster—between dusk and dawn.The following list is made for those around 40-41 degrees North Latitude. This is a great year to give this a try! New Moon is on Wednesday, March 18th and the position of the Sun is great to really give this a try if you want. I last did this for the third time in March of 2012 and I haven't done it since. I won't, as it is not how I like to observe. However, it is worth trying a couple of times to see how many you can get. I sucessfully did it three times and tried it five times. I learned from the first two times trying it. Here is the video on it.
To get the recommended list and order of objects in either PDF or as a Google Doc (go to File, Make a Copy to get your own Google Doc copy) head over to EadsyAstronomy at this LINK.
Here are some photo's I took of my good friend Shane's rebuild of his 17.5" Discovery Truss he purchased in 2025.
First light was Jupiter!
So yesterday, My very good friend Shane brought over his Discover 17.5" dobsonian/truss scope that he had purchased in 2025. Shane has spent the last six months rebuilding it, and he has done an outstanding job. He has spent hours getting the scope updated and ready to go. He still has a few things to work on, but it was ready to assemble, being collimated and given a first light.
We spent the afternoon using my Catseye System to get the secondary positioned and aligned with the primary. We then used my Howie Glatter Holographic to refine the centering and verify it. Then finally, after a dinner break, we finished the collimation using the Howie Glatter Laser and TuPlug. The end result was the scope was collimated and we pulled or rolled it out into my driveway for first light. Here are the additional videos and images from yesterday. Shane now has a very solid and excellent dob with what is a Terry O mirror in it for observing!
To see the report and ALL the video's, please head over to EadsyAstronomy at this LINK.
