David J. Eicher, Author at Astronomy.com https://www.astronomy.com/author/david-j-eicher/ Astronomy news, photos, observing events, and space missions. Tue, 10 Dec 2024 20:26:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.4 https://www.astronomy.com/uploads/2024/10/cropped-favicon-32x32.jpg David J. Eicher, Author at Astronomy.com https://www.astronomy.com/author/david-j-eicher/ 32 32 This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: the Geminid meteor shower https://www.astronomy.com/observing/this-week-in-astronomy-with-dave-eicher-the-geminid-meteor-shower/ Mon, 09 Dec 2024 16:20:21 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=155947// In this episode, Dave Eicher invites you to observe the Geminid meteor shower, which will peak during the early morning hours of December 14. The best time to view them is after midnight, but you may see some in the evening hours as well. Get comfortable and look straight overhead for fast moving (and quicklyContinue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: the Geminid meteor shower"

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]]> The Moon passes Saturn: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher https://www.astronomy.com/observing/the-moon-passes-saturn-this-week-in-astronomy-with-dave-eicher/ Mon, 02 Dec 2024 16:52:50 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=155685// In this episode, Dave Eicher invites you to observe the Moon passing by Saturn on the evening of December 7. Both objects at the time will be in the constellation Aquarius the Water-bearer. The Moon will be 43 percent illuminated, or nearly at its First Quarter phase. The Ringed Planet will lie 4 degrees toContinue reading "The Moon passes Saturn: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher"

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]]> Firecrown opens revolutionary Space Store in Chattanooga https://www.astronomy.com/observing/firecrown-opens-revolutionary-space-store-in-chattanooga/ Fri, 29 Nov 2024 16:25:08 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=155584// Chattanooga, Tennessee, is a favorite city of mine. Not only is it an incredibly beautiful place, with Moccasin Bend in the Tennessee River tucked near the downtown area, but breathtaking views of the whole region await from the towering plateaus of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, arranged neatly around the city’s perimeter. Moreover, for aContinue reading "Firecrown opens revolutionary Space Store in Chattanooga"

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]]> Lowell Observatory celebrates a monumental renewal https://www.astronomy.com/observing/lowell-observatory-celebrates-a-monumental-renewal/ Tue, 19 Nov 2024 15:50:25 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=154991// On Saturday, Nov. 16, in Flagstaff, Arizona, the astronomy world changed a bit.  Lowell Observatory has long been a beacon of history in the cosmic universe. Here, Boston Brahmin Percival Lowell founded an institution to study the heavens from the far west in 1894. Here he famously studied Mars, an early obsession, believing it toContinue reading "Lowell Observatory celebrates a monumental renewal"

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]]> What is dark energy? https://www.astronomy.com/science/what-is-dark-energy/ Tue, 12 Nov 2024 16:37:57 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=154860// In a 1998 research breakthrough, Saul Perlmutter of the University of California, Berkeley, and his colleagues in the Supernova Cosmology Project found the expansion rate of the universe is accelerating. Perlmutter and his team made the discovery by observing distant type Ia supernovae, whose brightnesses are well known, at different distances. His team made observationsContinue reading "What is dark energy?"

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]]> The Leonid meteor shower: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher https://www.astronomy.com/observing/the-leonid-meteor-shower-this-week-in-astronomy-with-dave-eicher/ Mon, 11 Nov 2024 16:22:01 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=154824// In this episode, Dave Eicher invites you to observe the what happens when our planet, during its journey around the Sun, runs into a stream of particles in its orbit. Such an event is called a meteor shower, and because the streaks of light from these meteors seem to all come from a point in theContinue reading "The Leonid meteor shower: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher"

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]]> Universe, Discovered: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS still a naked eye object — barely https://www.astronomy.com/newsletters/universe-discovered-comet-tsuchinshan-atlas-still-a-naked-eye-object-barely/ Tue, 05 Nov 2024 11:00:00 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=154606// Stellar Stories Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS now a faint naked-eye object Moving across the constellation Ophiuchus in the evening sky, Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS continues to fade as it moves farther away from Earth and the Sun. The comet now glows at 6th magnitude, keeping it as a faint naked-eye object under a very dark sky. ButContinue reading "Universe, Discovered: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS still a naked eye object — barely"

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]]> Universe, Discovered: Hera launches to asteroid crash scene https://www.astronomy.com/newsletters/universe-discovered-hera-launches-to-asteroid-crash-scene/ Tue, 05 Nov 2024 08:16:53 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=154576// Stellar Stories Hera spacecraft launched The European Space Agency’s Hxera spacecraft launched on October 7, initiating an exciting exploration of an unusual asteroid. The solar system contains many thousands of small asteroid bodies, but the target here — 65803 Didymos, is a binary object spanning some 850 meters (about half a mile). The accompanying imageContinue reading "Universe, Discovered: Hera launches to asteroid crash scene"

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]]> The Moon meets Saturn: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher https://www.astronomy.com/observing/the-moon-meets-saturn-this-week-in-astronomy-with-dave-eicher-3/ Mon, 04 Nov 2024 23:12:49 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=154544// In this episode, Dave Eicher invites you to observe the Moon as it closely passes the Ringed Planet on the evening of November 10. Our natural satellite will be just past its First Quarter phase, while Saturn will glow nicely at magnitude 0.8. If you have a telescope and point it at Saturn, you’ll seeContinue reading "The Moon meets Saturn: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher"

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]]> Universe, Discovered: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS fades https://www.astronomy.com/newsletters/universe-discovered-comet-tsuchinshan-atlas-fades/ Tue, 29 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=154588// Stellar Stories A bright comet fades  The brightest comet of recent times, C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, continues to be an impressive object in our skies but has faded as it moves away from both Earth and the Sun. The comet remains a naked-eye object, at about magnitude 5.2, but is now about 113 million kilometers (70Continue reading "Universe, Discovered: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS fades"

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