This month, Mars remains in the southwest at dusk this month as it pulls away from Saturn. Mars continues to fade a little each night as Earth continues to leave it farther behind. Mars is near Antares in Scorpius by the end of the month. Saturn is now lower in the southwest at dusk. It […]
Editor’s note: This post is part three of our three-part series on how you helped us save our telescope at the George Observatory. Read part one here, and part two here. In our Save Our ‘Scope (S.O.S.) campaign, much of our focus was on replacing the mirror in the telescope. This was the first and most obvious […]
When you visit the George Observatory, you’ll notice signs that say, “Please no white lights.” You’ll also see that all our outside lights are red. The reason we do this is to fight light pollution and create a dark-sky-friendly environment (or at least as dark as we can this close to Houston). Despite our best […]
Don’t forget: there’s a lunar eclipse tonight! The eclipse will begin shortly before midnight and continue until 4:30 in the morning on April 15. You’ll be able to see the eclipse from just about everywhere in Houston, but especially well at the George Observatory, where you can watch through telescopes away from city lights. We’ve […]
A total eclipse of the Moon will occur very early Tuesday morning, April 15. Houstonians will be able to see the whole event, which begins just before 1 a.m. You’ll be able to see the evening’s cosmic events unfold even under city lights, but if you’d like a more detailed (and dare I say captivating) […]
Editor’s note: Press play on the SoundCloud track to really get in the Mars mood while you read. April is the best month in 2014 to see our blushing cosmic neighbor, Mars! And you’ll definitely want to make a trip out to the George Observatory this Saturday for a Mars Viewing Party from 3 p.m. to […]
ATTENTION FUTURE SPACE EXPLORERS: NASA has just discovered 715 new planets for you to study and learn. But let’s back up a second. Launched in 2009, the Kepler space observatory has been scanning the heavens for earth-like exoplanets — planets existing outside our solar system. The observatory has been able to detect strong possibilities of […]
If you didn’t already know, we’re in the process of raising money to repair the Gueymard telescope at the George Observatory in the Save Our ‘Scope campaign. And thanks to you, we’ve raised over $65,000 of our $80,000 goal through donations ranging from $1 to $5,000 — and we’re grateful for every last one of ’em. But what’s […]
Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes to you from Rebecca Johnson, Editor of the StarDate Magazine at the McDonald Observatory. A year-long celebration is underway to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the University of Texas at Austin’s McDonald Observatory, with the first event of 2014 being held at HMNS on Tues., Jan. 14 with a public […]
So you want to be an amateur astronomer? Well there’s never been a better time to explore the heavens — from right here on Earth. Enter the telescope. Telescopes have been around for quite some time. Invented in 1608 in the Netherlands, the first major discoveries came from Galileo Galilei — using an instrument he […]
