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“M35 is an excellent object for any small telescope; while particularly effective with a 6 or 8-inch glass with low power, something of its beauty can be appreciated in even a 2-inch instrument.   Curving rows of bright stars give an impression of rows of glittering lamps on a chain; fainter stars form a sparkling background … March 2019 Feature – Messier 35, An Open Star Cluster in Gemini

Oftentimes you will hear that “the Sun is an average star”. But that really isn’t meant to be taken in the strict mathematical sense of “average”.   For example, the most abundant stars within our galaxy are what’s known as “red dwarfs”. These are stars that are far less massive than the Sun. They range from … April 2019 Feature – Cor Caroli, The Heart of Charles

        • MARCH 1 – Look for a waning crescent moon next to the planet Saturn in the dawn sky.                 In 1982, Soviet spacecraft Venera 13 returns the first color photographs of the surface of Venus.             • MARCH … Highlights of the March Sky 2019

    Tim Hill is the principal hydrologist, director of environmental services and Vice President at Atoka, Inc. an engineering and environmental consulting firm in Hot Springs, Arkansas. In this lecture he shares the results of a hypothetical study on the impact of a chemical tank leak.  The results of the study will help companies … EARTHtalk! – Tim Hill

Imagine yourself in a spaceship, far “above” the solar system. Looking “down” from your ship’s viewport, you would see the Sun and its eight planets orbiting around it, all, more or less, within the same level plane.   From the surface of the Earth, we too can see this orbital plane of the planets around the … February 2019 Feature – When Worlds Align: Two Planetary Conjunctions

    • FEB 2 – Get outside just before dawn and look to the SE to see a thin waning crescent moon about 2 degrees below the planet Saturn.             • FEB 4 –  Moon is at new phase. Clyde Tombaugh, the man who discovered Pluto, was born this … Highlights of the February Sky 2019

    One of 2019’s best night sky event occurs during its first month, a total lunar eclipse that will be seen across all of the Americas. It’s been almost four years since we last saw a total lunar eclipse in its entirety here in Arkansas, and on the night of January 20th, we will … January 2019 Feature – Night of the Red Moon

  • JAN 2 Earth is at perihelion, its closest distance to the Sun at 91.4 million miles. Prolific science fiction author and polymath, Isaac Asimov was born this day in 1920. National Science Fiction Day marks the occasion of his birth. • JAN 3 The Quadrantid Meteor Shower peaks tonight. It’s a generally reliable … Highlights of the January Sky 2019

What would December’s holiday season be without festive light displays? Well, with the exception of a few Scrooges and Grinches, most of us would say not very festive at all. I guess you could say that we are rather fortunate this year since an otherwise uncaring universe is bestowing upon us, not one, but two … December 2018 Feature – Cosmic Lights for Holiday Nights

        • DEC 1 –  Venus, now a morning object, is at its brightest, shining at magnitude -4.9.               • DEC 3 –  A waning crescent moon will be just above brilliant Venus in the morning sky. This will be a beautiful sight to behold so … Highlights of the December Sky 2018