Dark Sky News

Saturn is in Pisces and should be in prime viewing location for the next 3 months. Watch for Saturn’s rings to start getting brighter as they begin to open up again after disappearing in March! Also, constellations Pegasus and Andromeda are coming up, hosting a number of beautiful galaxies!

The Taurids is a minor meteor shower producing only about 5-10 meteors per hour. It is unusual in that it consists of two separate streams. The first is produced by dust grains left behind by Asteroid 2004 TG10. The second stream is produced by debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke.  Unfortunately the glare form the full moon will hide most of the meteors this year. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Taurus, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Beaver Moon because this was the time of year to set the beaver traps before the swamps and rivers froze.  This is also the second of three supermoons for 2025. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.

The Leonids is an average shower, producing up to 15 meteors per hour at its peak. This shower is unique in that it has a cyclonic peak about every 33 years where hundreds of meteors per hour can be seen. That last of these occurred in 2001 (when I proposed to my wife oh so many years ago under the stars at Mohonk mountain!) The Leonids is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tempel-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1865. With only a thin crescent moon, it should be an excellent year for the Leonids.  Meteors will radiate from the constellation Leo, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

Dark skies are here again! Nights are long, and the sky is dark – perfect time for viewing (and imaging) some deep sky objects!

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