Celestial events have long been associated as harbingers of doom. In the past, comet sightings were associated with change or seen as a bad omen. Today, we know that comets are left over from the formation of our solar system. Short period comets that have orbits less than 200 years originate from the Kuiper Belt, just outside of Neptune. Long period comets, which may come around once every thousands to millions of years originate from the Oort Cloud, 100 A.U. from the Sun. Recent sample missions have found that materials in these comets are similar to material found in the inner solar system but have been preserved in these frozen objects from the outer fringes of our solar system. (Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine) NAA member and veteran observer, Ron Ziss, will review current comets that may be observed and highlight the “devil comet” 12P/ Pons-Brooks, which may also be visible during the eclipse on April 8, 2024. Comets are exciting objects to view, but it may take practice to learn to “star hop” to locate them. If you are looking to add comet observing to your routine, or are simply interested in comets, you may want to check out Ron’s April fundamentals presentation. Our April Fundamentals Program will be held on April 16th at 7:30 pm, at the Naperville Municipal Center, located in downtown Naperville, at Aurora Ave. & Eagle St. The location is downstairs, in Meeting Room B. The public is welcome to attend, free of charge.
May ’25 — Rick’s Picks
Transient Events That Can Give Us a Good Enough Reason to Get Outside and Do a Little Observing All month: the planets continue their exodus from the evening sky this month. Uranus is now lost in the solar glare – it will reach conjunction on May 17 and return as a...
Astronomy Fundamentals: A Look at the History of Alvan Clark Telescopes
In the 19th century, Alvan Graham Clark was one of the premier lens makers for telescopes. His craftsmanship was sought after and many observatories in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were built to house his refractor telescopes. In fact, smaller Alvan Clark...
The Cosmologist’s Puzzle: The Age and Expansion Rate of the Universe.
We are confused about how old the Universe is. Until recently, astronomers estimated that the Big Bang occurred between 12 and 14 billion years ago. Astronomers can place a lower limit to the age of the universe by studying globular clusters. Globular clusters are a...
April ’25 – Rick’s Picks
Transient Events That Can Give Us a Good Enough Reason to Get Outside and Do a Little ObservingAll month: the solar system balances morning and evening targets this month as Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Neptune move into the predawn sky, while Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus...