Astro Update

Asteroids are space rocks that orbit the Sun, just like planets. Some come close to Earth, and astronomers want to track them to make sure they don’t pose a danger. Professional astronomers use powerful telescopes to discover and monitor asteroids, while amateur astronomers can also help by watching the night sky.… Continue reading.

Not to be confused with Beetlejuice, the Michael Keaton character from the 1988 cult comedy-horror classic, Betelgeuse is one of the biggest and brightest stars in the night sky. It is a red supergiant, a type of star that is near the end of its life.… Continue reading.

What’s this about a planet parade? On Feb 28, up until about 6:28 pm MT, all of the planets in our solar system will align on the same side of the Sun above the horizon, possibly giving some lucky viewers a chance to see all of them simultaneously.… Continue reading.

June 19: Astrophotography Special Interest Group (ASIG) https://www.denverastro.org/events/astrophotography-special-interest-group-asig-meeting-2-of-2-6/?occurrence=2024-06-19

June 20: Summer Solstice (longest day and shortest night of the year for Earth’s northern hemisphere)

June 21: Full Strawberry Moon – This is the lowest full moon of the year, appearing extremely low on the horizon.… Continue reading.

The attached image from Stellarium-web.org shows the expected sky at 10:00 p.m. on Friday, June 14, as seen from Chamberlin Observatory (39.67605 -104.95297).… Continue reading.

May 28: Webinar: Brief History of Everything with Dr. Patrick C. Breysse

May 29: MakerSig Meeting

June 3-4: Six Planets Walk the Line

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eDWcUUg-5YI?feature=share

DAS Stargazing Forecast

ChamberlinObservatory Weather/Visibility Chart

Kline-Dodge Dark Site Weather/Visibility Chart

Viewing Resources

Night Sky Networks June Viewing Companion (Cepheus, Draco, Ursa Major, Herschel’s Garnet Star, Cat’s Eye Nebula)

Earth and Sky

Sky & Telescope Observing Notes

Sky Maps for June 2024

SLS Launch Further Delayed – Following previous technical delays, the first Space Launch System (SLS) rocket returned to the safety of NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building before the landfall of Hurricane Ian. After confirming that it suffered no damage, NASA announced they’re likely to make another launch attempt in November.… Continue reading.

New JWST Images – James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) astronomers have continued to release new images. Among them is a mosaic covering an area about eight times the size of Webb’s First Deep Field released in July. The mosaic was made for the CEERS program, which is surveying a fraction of one square degree of sky with JWST in various infrared wavelengths.… Continue reading.

Webb Observations Released – NASA released the first full-color images and spectra taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, that weren’t alignment or test images. The telescope operates in infrared, so for humans to be able to see Webb images, the wavelengths detected are shifted to visible light wavelengths such that they appear to be color images.… Continue reading.

JWST Survives Micrometeoroid – NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) team revealed that a micrometeoroid hit one segment of its primary mirror, causing a very slight degradation in its image. The impacting object was roughly the size of a dust particle, but still a bit larger than pre-launch estimates predicted should hit the mirror during the lifetime of the telescope.… Continue reading.