Several members and guests got together last night out on Chapman Ranch. It turned out to be a pretty awesome spot for dark skies. Southeast skies were the best. We still had some issues with the lights from CC in the northwest. There was a little side road where we stopped and I think next time we will go a little further down that road. Traffic was non-existent. I think our guests had a good time. I know Richard did! Joey had to work, but he came out towards the end of our stay. He was a little upset he wasn't able to come out with the 10". Maybe next time!!
If anyone was able to get shots of the Lyrids Meteor shower, please send us some copies to post on our website!!!

Thanks to Maria and Mike for helping the guests last night!!

Clear Skies All!!

You live here, so we figure you ought to be well grounded in Earth facts. But you might find these questions a little tough and tricky. Good luck!Read More

The 2012 Lyrid meteor shower peaks overnight between late Saturday, April 21, and early Sunday, April 22. The meteors will appear to radiate outward from the constellation Lyra and the best time to see them will be between midnight and sunrise on Sunday morning.

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If you look south tonight around 9pm...you just might catch a glimpse of Mars sitting right next to Regulus, the Heart of Leo the Lion!!

If you get any pics, send them over and we'll put them up on the website.

Happy Stargazing!!

A stunning new photo from the Hubble Space Telescope has captured an unprecedented panoramic view of the Tarantula nebula, revealing its bright heart of massive stars.

The photo is actually a colossal mosaic — one of the largest ever built from Hubble images — and shows an intense star-forming hotspot called 30 Doradus. Hubble's science team unveiled the image today (April 17) ahead of the 22nd anniversary of the iconic space telescope's launch on April 24, 1990

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When amateur astronomers reflect on the most memorable sights of their lifetimes, their first view of Saturn through a telescope usually ranks high. And this weekend offers a prime chance to see the ringed planet in the southern night sky.

I can still vividly remember my first reaction, even though it was nearly 55 years ago: "Wow—it really has rings!" Like everyone, I had seen many pictures of Saturn, but nothing prepared me for actually seeing a planet with rings with my own eyes. I've since shown Saturn to hundreds of people, and the most common reaction is total disbelief: "Is that a picture of Saturn you’ve got stuck inside your telescope?"
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It turns out Earth's single giant moon might not be the only one floating around out there. In fact, at any given time, there may be at least one other "minimoon" orbiting our planet as well.

A moon doesn't have to be gigantic -- our minimoons can be as small as one meter across. But they are definitely orbiting us, sometimes for a year or more.

Mikael Granvik (formerly at University of Hawaii at Manoa and now at Helsinki), Jeremie Vaubaillon (Paris Observatory) and Robert Jedicke (UH Manoa) have been simulating these minimoons and determined the Earth definitely has more than one moon at any given time.

While the typical minimoon might hang around for around nine months, some might orbit for decades.

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In 2011 the bright moon overshadowed visibility for many meteor showers, but now Lady Luna has decided to share the stellar stage. For the 2012 Lyrids meteor shower, a new moon will set darker skies that are ideal for meteor watching.

If you're looking for a fun way to spend an early spring weekend, make plans to stay "up all night" with NASA experts to watch the Lyrids brighten the skies. On Saturday, April 21, from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. EDT -- convert to your local time here -- meteor experts Dr. Bill Cooke, Danielle Moser and Rhiannon Blaauw from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center will answer your questions about the Lyrids via a live Web chat.

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Not only are there diamonds in the sky, some of them are emerald-cut sparklers, according to astronomers who've found an unusual rectangular galaxy.

The cosmic oddball, dubbed LEDA 074886, is a dwarf galaxy 70 million light-years away in the constellation Eridanus, the River.

Most galaxies exist in one of three forms: a disk with spiral arms (such as our Milky Way), a football-shaped ellipsoid, or an irregular, lumpy blob.

But LEDA 074886 is a remarkably symmetrical rectangle, akin to an emerald-cut gem.

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Infrared and X-ray observations from two space telescopes have been combined to create a unique look at violent events within the giant galaxy Centaurus A. The observations strengthen the view that the galaxy may have been created by the cataclysmic collision of two older galaxies.

The infrared light was captured by the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory, a mission with important NASA contributions. The X-ray observations were made by the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton space telescope.

Centaurus A is the closest giant elliptical galaxy to Earth, at a distance of around 12 million light-years. It stands out because it harbors a massive black hole at its core and emits intense blasts of radio waves.

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