David Dickinson
NGC 2419: Wayward Globular or the Milky Way’s Own?
Turns out, we may not know our extragalactic neighbors as well as we thought. One of the promises held forth…
Catch Jupiter Homing in on Venus Through June
Are you ready to hear an upswing in queries from friends/family and/or strangers on Twitter asking “what are those two…
Solved: The Riddle of the Nova of 1670
It is a 17th century astronomical enigma that has persisted right up until modern times. On June 20, 1670, a new…
First Looks at The Martian Revealed
Alert: mild spoilers lie ahead, as we’ll be discussing minor plot points of the book The Martian. What, you haven’t…
Getting Ready For International Space Station Observing Season
The summer season means long days and short nights, as observers in the northern hemisphere must stay up later each…
Moon Myths: Looking at Lunar Tall Tales
Turns out it’s all a big cosmic blame game. Over the centuries, humans have attempted to link the phases of…
Hunting LightSail in Orbit
The hunt is on in the satellite tracking community, as the U.S. Air Force’s super-secret X-37B space plane rocketed into…
Review: Annals of the Deep Sky by Jeff Kanipe & Dennis Webb
Any lover of the night sky knows the value of a good star atlas and an astronomical handbook to guide…
A Guide to Saturn Through Opposition 2015
The month of May generally means the end of star party season here in Florida, as schools let out in…
Tales (Tails?) of Two Comets: Prospects for Q1 PanSTARRS & G2 MASTER
Did you catch the performance of Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy earlier this year? Every year provides a few sure bets…