Latest News and Posts

  • Black Holes

    Young Astronomers Blog, Volume 28, Number 22. The 2020 Nobel prize in physics was recently awarded to three scientists, Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel, and Andrea Ghez, for their landmark work with Black Holes. Black Holes are probably one of the strangest and most interesting objects in the cosmos. Their density is so great that gravity…

  • Asteroids

    Young Astronomers Blog, Volume 28, Number 21. When we think of our solar system, we typically think of our Sun, eight planets, and five dwarf planets. We often forget about the objects circling the Sun in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. They are, of course, the asteroids. Most of the…

  • Water, Phosphine, and the possibility of life elsewhere in the Solar System

    Young Astronomers Blog, Volume 28, Number 20. Although many have dreamed about life on other worlds, so far, life has only been found on the Earth. The search for life has gone down one avenue as new “exoplanets” are found and we get closer to finding a planet like the Earth orbiting another star. This…

  • Rocks and Minerals

    Young Astronomers Blog, Volume 28, Number 19. Walk outside and look down. You might see a few rocks. A casual glance might reveal that the rocks around you are gray, or they might have a hint of color. A few might even sparkle in the sun. Although they look simple, rocks are hard! A more…

  • Jupiter

    Young Astronomers Blog, Volume 28, Number 18. If you look up in the night sky over the next few months you might see what looks like a bright star. However, it is not a star, it is the planet Jupiter. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, at 11 times the width of…

  • Meteors, Meteoroids, and Meteorites

    Young Astronomers Blog, Volume 28, Number 17. Have you ever gone out at night and looked up at the stars? From time to time you might see a streak of light stretch across the sky. Many people call these “shooting stars”. But they are not stars at all. They are meteors – small chunks of…

  • Journey to a Red Planet

    Young Astronomers Blog, Volume 28, Number 16. From time to time if you look up into the night sky, you might see an orangish/reddish object. This most likely is the planet Mars. As well-known as Mars is, it is not a great sight through a small telescope. A telescope with a relatively large aperture is…

  • FAS Comet Neowise Photos and Observation Tips

    A brave few FAS members went out early, 3 AM, Sunday, July 12, morning at our private viewing site near Pilot Mountain to try and catch comet Neowise in the predawn sky. An attempt was made the previous day but we were met with only clouds and a heavy dense fog. Sunday morning, though, did…

  • Dark Matter

    Young Astronomers Blog, Volume 28, Number 15. In a previous article, I explored the standard model of particle physics and discussed what ordinary matter is made of. All the matter that we can see and touch is composed of baryons (particles containing three quarks) and, as such, is referred to as baryonic matter. However, the…