Astronomy Associates of Lawrence

July 20th, 1969 is a date that stands high in my life – it was the day that we, together as one people, achieved the greatest scientific and technological feat in human history. The specific role that Neil, Mike and I performed in the event was but one part of an immeasurably larger effort – not just for our nation, but for all mankind. As I look back on what we accomplished 55 years ago, I am still inspired by what we all saw and did – the best of America and the best of humanity. Thank you for the privilege and the honor of serving you, and for being part of this exciting and wonderous journey with me.

ON THIS DAY: In 1969 Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy in Florida on the first manned mission to the surface of the moon. https://abcnews.visitlink.me/NadipK

The greatest fireworks show of all time!

Happy Asteroid Day!

115 Years Ago: The Tunguska Asteroid Impact Event - NASA On June 30, 1908, an asteroid plunged into Earth’s atmosphere and exploded in the skies over Siberia. Local eyewitnesses in the sparsely populated region

AAL member David Kolb recently did a presentation for the Northeast Kansas Amateur Astronomer's League (NEKAAL) recent club meeting in Topeka. A copy of the presentation for those interested can be found here.
https://www.facebook.com/share/5vvtUkyU9JJWVmiM/

Presentations Presentations and AAL Activities

Happy Birthday Charles Messier!

Remember to look up to the skies on June 21, just after sunset, to see the Full Strawberry Moon! Since the full Moon is at its fullest on the day after the summer solstice on June 20, it will be the lowest in the sky because the sun is at its highest point of the year. Why is it called a Strawberry Moon? Some Native American tribes called it a Strawberry Moon because it signaled a time for harvesting ripened berries and other types of fruits.

Happy Summer Solstice!

If you can't tell by the temperatures, summer arrives this week.

Happy Flag Day!

This is an image of the Messier 101, the Pinwheel Galaxy (21 million light years away) captured last night by AAL member Parker Lessig. He stacked 110 30-second exposures using the live stacking option in his ZWO ASIAIR. This was his first full test of the ASIAIR, and overall he was very pleased. We agree!

Here are some pictures of the Sun taken by AAL member David Kolb with his Coronado solar telescope on Friday 6/7/2024. The image of the prominences is an edited version of the image of the solar disk, where he used PixInsight to bring out the details of the prominences and The Gimp to remove the disk.

The Sun earlier this afternoon.

From the Astronomical League!

If you're getting excited about next Monday's rare and spectacular "Parade of Planets" in the pre-dawn sky... take a deep breath and listen to reality.

This is yet another social (and other) media-created "special" celestial event which, as you might imagine, isn't all that special. Yes, many of the planets will be in alignment across the morning sky on Monday, June 3, but only Mars and Saturn (along with the crescent moon) will be visible to the unaided eye. Uranus and Neptune can be seen only with a telescope. And Mercury and Jupiter (which often are visible to the eye) will be much too close to the rising sun to see easily over its glare.

It'll be a pretty sight about an hour before sunrise, but nothing like the media and planetarium apps portray it.

"Now, wait," you say. "The planets are all in alignment... that's got to mean something!" Yes, it does. It means that the solar system is working as it should. From the Earth, the planets (and the moon) always appear along the ecliptic, which is the projection of their orbits across our sky. If ever they do not appear along this path, THAT would be a truly special event!

As always, please feel free to click "Share" so others may also learn the reality of next week's "amazing" planet parade.

Tomorrow's moon and 6 planets 🌘 🪐

Tomorrow morning, the lineup of 6 planets will find the waning crescent moon hanging between Saturn and Mars, and it’ll be close to the spot where Neptune lies. Just remember, Neptune will require optical aid and dark skies to spot. If you look later during morning twilight, Saturn and Mars could be difficult to see, but you might also glimpse Mercury, Jupiter and the spot where Uranus lies low on the horizon.

For more sky events, visit EarthSky’s night sky guide!

June is just around the corner.

Update from Voyager 1 in interstellar space:
The spacecraft has resumed returning science data from two of its four instruments for the first time since a computer issue arose in November 2023. The plasma wave subsystem and magnetometer instrument are now returning usable science data. As part of the effort to restore Voyager 1 to normal operations, the mission is continuing work on two other instruments. https://go.nasa.gov/3UUhI9v

Special thanks to AAL member Jerelyn and Paul Ramirez for helping out at Baker Wetlands Discovery Center for Family Fun Day. So very much appreciated!

We regret to announce that both Astronomy Day events scheduled for tomorrow at Baker Wetlands Discovery Center have been cancelled. Keep watching this page for updates on rescheduling dates. Apologies to everyone.

Thank you Brenda Culbertson for leading me to this post!

Incredible view of Friday night's historic aurora from NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite System. This is the view looking down over the North Pole. Stunnig!

From AAL member David Kolb, “Here are some images from yesterday (5/10/2024) showing the Sun. The white light image showcases AR3664 and was taken with my five inch refractor. The hydrogen alpha images were taken with my Coronado solar telescope. There was a huge prominence visible yesterday near AR3664 but I don't think there is any connection between them.” Great work as always David!

This panorama of the aurora was taken on the south side of Clinton lake along N 950 Road by AAL member David Kolb. He said it is a rather crude panorama but it gives one an idea of how extensive the aurorae were. I think it’s delightful!

This month, 46 years ago (January 1978)...the "Thirty Five New Guys" astronauts began to receive phone calls from Houston informing them they were selected for 1978's astronaut group. This group boasted the first women, African-American, and Asian-American astronaut candidates, as well as the University of Kansas' very own Steve Hawley. NASA photo.