Astronomy

The May Eta Aquariids

Each May, the Eta Aquariid meteor shower puts on a show in the early morning sky. These meteors get their name because they appear to radiate from the constellation Aquarius, near the star Eta Aquarii. The Eta Aquariids are known for their fast, bright meteors and are especially exciting because they are connected to one of the most famous comets in history—Halley’s Comet.… Continue reading.

Here’s a brief look at what’s going on in the Mile High City this week.

April 20: 🪐 Check out Mercury, Mars and Saturn within 1.7° of each other, low in the western sky in the constellation just before sunrise. April 21: 👀 Look for the waxing crescent Pink Moon near M35, the open star cluster in Gemini also known as the Shoe Buckle Cluster high in the western sky around 9:00 PM.… Continue reading.

Every April, the night sky lights up with a dazzling display of shooting stars during the Lyrid meteor shower. The Lyrids get their name because they seem to radiate from the constellation Lyra, which contains the bright star Vega. The Lyrids are one of the oldest recorded meteor showers, with observations dating back to at least 687 BCE by Chinese astronomers.… Continue reading.

Here’s a brief look at what’s going on in the Mile High City this week.

April 13 (International Dark Sky Week continues through April 19!): DAS General Meeting: A Supernova With Broken Symmetry: Evidence from Polarized Light with Chris Pickens:  Free.… Continue reading.

Here’s a brief look at what’s going on in the Mile High City this week.

April 6 (Easter Monday):  Look for the waning gibbous Pink Moon next to Antares, the red heart of the scorpion in the constellation Scorpious low in the southeastern sky around 1:30AM April 7:  The waning gibbous Pink Moon reaches apogee, its farthest distance from Earth at 404,970km: 2:00 AM April 8: Colorado Springs Star Party: Free in-person event at Pikes Peak State College Rampart (North) Campus: 8:00 PM April 9: NASA’s Lucy Mission: Updates and Mainbelt Encounters with Dr.… Continue reading.

Here’s a brief look at what’s going on in the Mile High City this week.

March 30: The waxing gibbous Pink Moon reaches Descending Node, when it moves from north of the ecliptic to south of it, crossing the plane of Earth’s orbit around the Sun: 4:34 AM March 31: Check out the transit of Io’s shadow across the face of Jupiter, looking at Jupiter right as the sun is setting, Io is just finishing it’s transit in front of the gas giant high overhead in the constellation Gemini, but it shadow will remain on its face from sunset until about 9:00 PM April 1 (April Fool’s Day): NASA Artemis II scheduled rocket launch to send humans around the Moon from Kennedy Space Center in Florida: Free livestream via YouTube: 4:24 PM DAS Astrophotography Special Interest Group (ASIG) – General & Beginner Meeting: Monthly online member-only meeting via Zoom (check Slack or membership email for details: 7:00 PM Full Pink Moon: 8:11 PM – Qudba offers free chips and queso whenever there is a full moon in 2026.… Continue reading.

On April 1, 2026—yes, really, April Fool’s Day—NASA is scheduled to launch astronauts toward the Moon for the first time in 54 years.

The last time humans left low Earth orbit was during Apollo 17 in 1972. Since then, we’ve built space stations, launched telescopes, and sent robots across the solar system—but we haven’t sent people back to deep space.… Continue reading.

Here’s a brief look at what’s going on in the Mile High City this week.

March 23: Look for the waxing crescent Pink Moon above to the Pleiades and Aldebaran: see the bright open cluster (M45) along with red eye of the bull alpha star and the ice giant Uranus in the constellation Taurus in the west around 10:00 PM.… Continue reading.

Here’s a brief look at what’s going on in the Mile High City this week.

March 16: The Moon reaches perihelion: The moon’s closest point to the Sun in its orbit around earth at a distance of 0.9810 AU:. 2:07 AM March 17 (St Patrick’s Day): Look for a tiny sliver of a waning crescent Snow Moon next to Mercury to the east in the morning sky in the constellation Aquarius just before sunrise: 6:40 AM March 18: Boulder OSMP Dark Skies & Deep Space: Spring Prelude, Venus & The Crescent Moon: Free in-person stargazing at Beech Shelter (registration required): 7:00 PM SCStI The Solar System Cookbook: What Is Webb Revealing about How Solar Systems Like Ours Come To Be?:… Continue reading.

Colorado’s list of places protecting the night sky continues to grow. The rural community of Old Snowmass has officially been designated an International Dark Sky Community by DarkSky International, recognizing years of local work to reduce light pollution and preserve the natural beauty of the night.… Continue reading.