How will it all end? In fire or ice? With a bang or a whimper? For our little world that we live on, the answer is fire, definitely fire. As our sun continues its inevitable progression towards the red giant phase of a star, it will become hotter. The earth will eventually be charred into […]
NAKED EYE
Naked eye — Take advantage of summer darkness when it comes
By David Ward As we climb towards the summer solstice, the days get longer and the nights get shorter, making stargazing more difficult. There is just not very much darkness this time of the year. There are a couple of interesting things up there to see, although the timing is not necessarily convenient. Two alignments […]
Naked eye —Voyagers are on a long cosmic journey
Back in 1977, two identical spacecraft known as the Voyagers were launched from earth to explore the outer regions of our solar system. About the size and weight of a small car, they are traveling at about 38,000 miles per hour away from us and have photographed the most-distant planets. Now they have passed a […]
Naked eye — Watch winter skies while you still can
If you have not had the chance to check out the stars this winter, be sure to do so. The brightest stars in the sky all year long are on full display up there, but they will not be around much longer. As our little ball of rock careens around the solar system, the winter […]
Naked Eye — When the end comes, it won’t be pretty
By David Ward How will it all end? It is easy to take our perch on this little planet for granted. Space is a lethal place and our bubble of protection that we live in may be more precarious than we would like to admit. Aside from the usual worries like climate change and nuclear […]
The universe is not standing still
On Saturday (Jan. 2), the earth will reach the point on its orbit known as perihelion, our closest approach to the sun. Now wait a minute, you might be thinking. Why is it so cold outside and there is snow on the ground if we are actually closer to the sun? The seasons are caused […]
Saturn, Jupiter are ready for their close-up in December
Just after it gets dark, check out the two planets hanging in the southwest twilight glow. The bright one is Jupiter and its dimmer companion to the left is Saturn. If you look at the night sky a lot like I do, you might notice that over the past few months, they have been getting […]
Fall nights offer universe of options
Welcome to fall and the beautiful crisp clear nights it brings. If you are wondering about that bright red object in the east just after it gets dark, that is Mars. We are extra-close to it now so it appears quite luminous. Over the next month, it will dim as we pull away from the […]
If you’re seeing red, it must be Mars
Have you seen that bright red object low in the east just after it gets dark? If not, go outside and check it out. That is Mars! You might think its unusual color is due to the smoke in our skies, but it really is red. Every two years and 50 days we catch up […]
Naked Eye: June 24, 2020 – Summer is looking up for eager stargazers
Welcome to summer and a beautiful night sky filled with stars, four bright planets, the Milky Way, and even shooting stars. If only we could stay up long enough for it to get dark! Here at the summer solstice, the sun does not set until 9 p.m. and it does not get really dark until […]
