In response to a request that was originally received via the DAS Facebook page, DAS members Ron Hranac and Dena McClung joined members of the Rocky Mountain Islamic Center on the eastern edge of Sloan’s Lake on the evening of March 21 to attempt to spot the tiniest sliver of the newborn moon.… Continue reading.
By Daniel Acker
According to Egyptian records from about 2,000 BC, Cancer the Crab, as we know it today, was described as Scarabaeus, the sacred emblem of immortality. Much later, in Greek mythology, Cancer is associated with Hercules and Hydra, when Hercules was doing battle with the multi-headed Hydra and Hera, the disgruntled wife of Zeus, sent Cancer, the giant crab to help Hydra kill Hercules.… Continue reading.
By Daniel Acker
The 1988 movie and now cult classic, Beetlejuice, is where most people will recognize this name from. However, the origin of the name is quite a bit older, and derives from the Arabic term bat al-jawzā, or “the giant’s shoulder”.… Continue reading.
By Dena McClung
The Denver Astronomical Society is pleased to announce that it is partnering with Douglas County’s Open Space and Natural Resources department for a members-only program at Sandstone Ranch on Saturday, October 19. The event will show off the dark skies at the ranch, as well as help train and encourage members to get involved in future DAS public events.… Continue reading.
by Zachary Singer
My Friends,
It’s been four years since I came on as the Denver Observer’s editor and (soon after) writer of the “Monthly Skies” column. When I started, we were still putting out an eight-page PDF—it was accompanied by a printed black-and-white edition.… Continue reading.
by Jeff Kanipe
This month, we have a wonderful surprise for you—a tour of the southern sky, as seen from Chile, by Jeff Kanipe, author of the highly regarded series, Annals of the Deep Sky.… Continue reading.
by Zachary Singer
Along with the planets this month, we’ve got two targets in the constellation Canes Venatici—one is a sun-like star, and the other a bright spiral galaxy. Let’s get going…
The Solar SystemMercury starts May as a morning object, technically speaking—it’s very low on the horizon before dawn, and moving closer to the Sun daily.… Continue reading.
by Zachary Singer
For April, we’re looking at a beautiful binary in Leo, and some galaxies in a tight grouping—but perhaps not the one you’re guessing! First, though, we have the planets….
The Solar SystemTechnically, Mercury will be up before the Sun in early April, but even at greatest elongation on the 11th (when the planet appears farthest from the Sun on this orbit), it will remain very low over the horizon, less than half an hour before sunrise.… Continue reading.
by Don Lynn
Asteroid SampledHayabusa2 (a Japanese spacecraft) has touched down on its target, the asteroid Ryugu, and completed a procedure to fire a projectile into it and collect the debris blown off. Another sample will be taken from inside a fresh impact crater to find out what the inside of the asteroid is made of.… Continue reading.