December 2023

  • That’s a wrap! The LAST Public Observation at Kaleideum North on December 30, 2023

    That’s it! We had a great night at Kaleideum North for the LAST observation ever at this location. Kaleideum North closed on December 31st and a brand new Kaleideum will open downtown in the Spring of 2024. Several FAS members including President Justin Nichols, VP Bruce Gavett, Secretary Andrea Nichols, Tony Goebel, and Ken Lyons…

  • Asteroid 1, Dinosaurs 0

    FAS Astronomers Blog, Volume 31, Number 15. The dinosaurs ruled the Earth for millions of years. Despite their dominance, the dinosaurs disappeared. The commonly accepted theory is that a large asteroid hit the Earth, resulting in the extinction of over two thirds of the species on the planet. For more on dinosaurs, see three previous…

  • Earthrise

    Just recently the world was saddened to hear that former astronaut Frank Borman had passed away. Borman, along with Jim Lovell and Bill Anders traveled to the Moon and back in December 1968. Everyone remembers Apollo 11 and Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the Moon. Apollo 11 was actually NASA’s third manned trip to the…

  • The Case of the Brontosaurus

    FAS Astronomers Blog, Volume 31, Number 14b. When I was growing up, Brontosaurus was almost as famous as T. rex. However, Othniel Marsh made a mistake (maybe). In 1877, he discovered a dinosaur, which he named Apatosaurus ajax (Marsh 1877). Two years later, in 1879, he discovered another similar dinosaur, which he named Brontosaurus excelsus…

  • The Case of the Velociraptor

    FAS Astronomers Blog, Volume 31, Number 14a. The dinosaur in the movie Jurassic Park, called Velociraptor, was modeled after another dinosaur named Deinonychus. I guess the movie name sounded scarier and it was probably easier to pronounce. Although, Gregory S. Paul classified Deinonychus as a species of Velociraptor in his 1998 book Predatory Dinosaurs of…

  • Meet The Dinosaurs

    FAS Astronomers Blog, Volume 31, Number 14. In this article, we’ll focus on several individual dinosaurs and tell you a little more about them. As noted in An Introduction to Dinosaurs and The Classification of Dinosaurs, not all dinosaurs are the same. They came in all sizes and shapes. Some were meat-eaters (carnivores) and some…

  • Public Observation at Kaleideum North on Saturday, December 30, 2023

    WEATHER UPDATE: Saturday’s daytime clouds are forecasted to dissipate after sunset. The public observation at Kaleideum North will take place as scheduled. GOODBYE Kaleideum North! Kaleideum North will close on December 31, 2023.A brand new Kaleideum facility will open downtown on Third Street in the spring of 2024. To celebrate, the stars will be shining…

  • CANCELED – Public Observation at Kaleideum North on Saturday, December 16, 2023

    WEATHER UPDATE: This event is canceled due to forecasted clouds Saturday night. We will be saying GOODBYE to Kaleideum North, which will close on December 31, 2023. A brand new Kaleideum facility will open downtown on Third Street in the spring of 2024. To celebrate, the stars will be shining brightly in the night sky.…

  • Geminids Meteor Shower / December 13-14, 2023

    One of the year’s best meteor showers is coming up on the night of Wednesday, December 13 through the morning of Thursday, December 14. (Some sources say December 14 to December 15.) The Geminids radiate from around the constellation of Gemini and are remnants from the asteroid 3200 Phaethon. The meteor shower is best viewed…