The FAS Astronomers Blog

  • Project Mercury

    FAS Astronomers Blog, Volume 30, Number 2. Sixty years ago this month (February 20, 1962), Astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. He did so as part of NASA’s Project Mercury. This is the story. On October 4, 1957, a small round ball called Sputnik was launched into orbit by the…

  • Dark Energy

    FAS Astronomers Blog, Volume 30, Number 1. In a previous article, I explored the Standard Model of Particle Physics and discussed what ordinary matter is made of. It can be a bit confusing because of the different ways to look at it. Matter is made up of atoms, which are composed of protons, neutrons, and…

  • Year End Summary 2021

    Young Astronomers Blog, Volume 29, Year End. I hope you enjoyed the Young Astronomers Blogs for 2021. Just in case you missed a few, below is a summary of the articles for the past two years. This year (2022) marks the 30th year for the Young Astronomers Newsletter. Although, over the past two years, the…

  • Reclassifying Pluto

    Young Astronomers Blog, Volume 29, Number 18. Remember Pluto? Yes, Pluto. It was a planet for a long time. Then it wasn’t a planet (and many people were not happy). Pluto was discovered in 1930 and for many years was thought to be the only object in the distant reaches of the Solar System. That…

  • Observing the Stars

    Young Astronomers Blog, Volume 29, Number 17. After becoming familiar with the Night Sky and observing the Moon and planets, you might try to find a few stars. You will notice that some stars can have several names. The brighter stars in the night sky usually have proper names such as Betelgeuse, Vega, Rigel, and…

  • Moons of the Solar System

    Young Astronomers Blog, Volume 29, Number 16. On many nights when you look up into the night sky you can see a bright object known simply as the Moon. It is Earth’s only natural satellite and is unusual in that it is one of the seven largest moons of the solar system. This is not…

  • The Sun

    Young Astronomers Blog, Volume 29, Number 15. If you travel far enough north (or south) and look up at the night sky, you might see some swirly patterns of light. These are the northern (or southern) lights, more correctly called Aurora Borealis (or Aurora Australis). Auroras start with the Sun. The Sun is huge ball…

  • Observing the Moon and Planets

    Young Astronomers Blog, Volume 29, Number 14. Saturday, October 16, 2021, is International Observe the Moon Night, so this is a great time to go outside, look up, and do some observing. Many amateur astronomers begin their tour of the night sky by viewing the constellations. For more on this, see the Night Sky. Once…

  • Unidentified Flying Objects (The Beginning)

    Young Astronomers Blog, Volume 29, Number 13. Unidentified Flying Objects … UFOs … Hmmm … I might be stretching things a bit with this article. Or am I a bit out on “the fringe” of things? … Hmmm … First, do unidentified flying objects exist? Probably yes. Any flying object that is unidentified is technically…