Author – The Durango Herald

Absolute magnitude allows us to compare luminosity of different stars

Greetings, Stargazers. Stars come in all colors and sizes. But our eyes limit us to seeing very few of those colors. And the range of apparent magnitudes of stars we can see with ...

DATE: Apr 12, 2019 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Variable stars help us measure distance in space

Greetings, Stargazers. Spring is galaxy season. If you have a small telescope, this is a good time of year to get it out to find galaxies in the sky. Because most will appear as ...

DATE: Mar 9, 2019 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Find Perseus, the classic Greek hero in the night sky

Greetings, Stargazers. There are lots of bright stars and constellations in a clear winter sky, but somehow, I haven’t written a column about the constellation Perseus. Maybe tha...

DATE: Feb 9, 2019 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

This asterism is a highlight of the winter sky

Greetings, Stargazers. I have to say that comet 46P/Wirtanen last month exceeded my expectations. By that, I simply mean I could see it with my naked eye, even if it was just bare...

DATE: Jan 12, 2019 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Mars landing a remarkable feat of space flight

Greetings, Stargazers. NASA’s Mars InSight lander is designed to study the interior of Mars. InSight stands for interior exploration using seismic investigations, geodesy and heat...

DATE: Dec 8, 2018 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Get away from blue light to see the Pleiades

Greetings, Stargazers. Last weekend was another day rolling the clocks back and another chance for me to complain about it. And a reminder for me to wish for some wonderful time...

DATE: Nov 10, 2018 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Binoculars let the light in on the night sky

Greetings, Stargazers. Last month, I started a tour of the evening sky by describing the astronomical objects I would point out as it was getting dark. I hope you got to go outsid...

DATE: Oct 13, 2018 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Go out at dusk and watch the night sky reveal itself

Greetings, Stargazers. September is a great time of year to stargaze. I enjoy the crisp weather and the fact that it is getting dark a bit earlier than it was only a few weeks ago...

DATE: Sep 8, 2018 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Meteor shower to streak across our night sky

Greetings, Stargazers. Every 133 years, comet Swift-Tuttle completes another orbit. When it returns to the inner solar system and is heated by the sun, enough gas and water vapo...

DATE: Aug 11, 2018 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Find Antares in the heart of Scorpius

Greetings, Stargazers. The 416 Fire has made it challenging for many of us to get outside to see the night sky. I have enjoyed breathing clean air again this week. Now that the sm...

DATE: Jul 14, 2018 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Planets offer easy, enjoyable viewing targets

Greetings, Stargazers. This will be a good summer for planet watching. At most star parties, the planets are considered dusk objects because they can successfully be seen before i...

DATE: Jun 10, 2018 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

High hopes for Durango’s rocket teams

Greetings, Stargazers. Someone looking up in the Four Corners skies recently might have seen rockets. Yes, this is usually a column about astronomy, but I grew up a few minutes ...

DATE: May 12, 2018 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies