The Astronomical Society of Rowan County

Archive for the ‘Observing’ Category

One of the worlds most beloved astronomers has passed away, Jack Horkheimer also known as the “Star Hustler” and host of the weekly PBS series called “Star Gazer” passed away on Friday August 20, 2010. Jack touched the lives of millions of people around the globe and he will be dearly missed by all. For more information please visit the following link: NBC Miami.

In honor of his memory please “Keep Looking Up” !

GLOBE at Night is an annual 2-week campaign in March. People all over the world record the brightness of their night sky by matching its appearance toward the constellation Orion with star maps of progressively fainter stars. They submit their measurements on-line and a few weeks later, organizers release a map of light-pollution levels worldwide. Over the last four GLOBE at Night campaigns, volunteers from over 100 nations have contributed 35,000 measurements…Learn How to Participate

MP3/Podcast with Constance Walker

Horsehead Nebula
by Tom Davis

I thought many of you may enjoy the following image taken by Tom Davis from Rowan County NC.

The image covers a pretty wide field in the belt of Orion near the star Alnitak, thats the bright one on the left, and contains most notably the famous Horsehead and Flame Nebula which are about 1500 light years from here. Tom used a TMB100/800 Refractor with a .75x AP focal reducer, and a Astronomik CLS filter to help reduce Light Pollution, he combined all that with a Canon XS DSLR camera to produce this image. (Click Image To Enlarge)

If you would like to see more of Mr. Davis’ work please visit his online photo gallery on Flickr. (Click Here)

Google has a cool, free application for the “Android” phone called Sky Maps and I thought a few of you may be interested. It shows you what should be visible even when Light Pollution keeps you from seeing the real thing. Enjoy and remember to keep looking up, the real stars may return one night! Herb

Click Here To View Video