Astronomy

© Zachary Singer

In March, we have a relatively quiet month for planets: Most of them are now early-morning objects, but they are at a greater angle from the Sun, allowing better observing. In the “Stars and Deep Sky” section, we’ll look at two stars in the constellation Cancer—the first is a wonderful binary, and the other, a lesser-known carbon star.… Continue reading.

More data has been received from the New Horizons spacecraft since its recent flyby of the Kuiper Belt object informally named Ultima Thule. One new result is that the larger of the object’s two lobes is not so much spherical, as thick-pancake-shaped.… Continue reading.

DAS members were out in droves for the January 2019 full lunar eclipse, and they sent in some of their images…   Here’s a selection of their work:

Have you thought about a leadership role in Denver Astronomical Society?… Continue reading.

by Zachary Singer

Some of our favorite planetary targets, Venus and Jupiter, are up in the pre-dawn sky this month, and Mercury appears in the evening, as we’ll see in “The Solar System,” below. In “Stars and Deep Sky,” we’ll take a look at two notable open clusters in Auriga, M36 and M37.… Continue reading.

by Don Lynn

On December 31st, New Horizons (Pluto spacecraft) flew by the Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69, since unofficially named Ultima Thule, at a distance of only 2200 miles, fervently taking images and other data.… Continue reading.

We’ve been fielding questions these last few days about whether the DAS is hosting any activities for the upcoming Sunday, January 20th lunar eclipse.

While DAS is not having an event, Mile High Astronomy, run by our own Sorin, is—they’re roping off their parking lot, and bringing out their telescopes (including some of their newest models), and eyepieces, too.… Continue reading.

by Zachary Singer

We start the first month of the New Year off with a splash—a total lunar eclipse on the night of January 20th. Along with that, we have planets and two targets in Eridanus—one is an important multiple-star system, and the other a striking planetary nebula.… Continue reading.

by Don Lynn

Since the first close-up images were taken of the Martian moon Phobos decades ago, scientists have argued about why there are long grooves on its surface. Leading theories were that the moon cracked from an impact or from tidal forces.… Continue reading.