The Backyard Astronomer Podcast

🌌 How many can you find?

October 10 brings us a New Moon and one of the darkest evenings of the month. That makes it the perfect night to step outside and explore the sky.

This month's Backyard Astronomer is a challenge: start with the Summer Triangle, Great Square of Pegasus and the Teapot, then follow the Milky Way, find the Big Dipper and Andromeda Galaxy, and work your way to Saturn, Titan, Neptune and the Pleiades.

No expensive equipment required. Just your eyes, a dark sky, and a little curiosity. Binoculars, a telescope and SkySafari can take you even farther.

So grab a chair, turn off the lights and see how many you can check off.

Clear skies and happy viewing! 🔭✨

#BackyardAstronomer #Astronomy #Stargazing #NightSky #DarkSky #YavapaiCounty #PrescottArizona #Astronomy #Space #STEM #Science #STEMEducation #NASA

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Before Hubble ever launched, Nancy Grace Roman was already fighting to make a space telescope a reality. As NASA's first Chief of Astronomy and its first female executive, Roman helped turn the ambitious idea of a telescope above Earth's atmosphere into what would become the Hubble Space Telescope. This September, we look back at the remarkable woman behind the "Mother of Hubble" nickname, and ahead to the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, scheduled to begin its own journey into deep space. A new telescope is about to carry her name into the future, and it may change the way we explore the universe all over again.

#Astronomy #Space #STEM #Science #STEMEducation #NASA

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Summer monsoon clouds may keep Arizona astronomers indoors, but when the skies finally clear, one of the greatest sights in the night sky returns. This month's Backyard Astronomer explores the Milky Way, our home galaxy, and why the hazy band stretching overhead is actually the combined light of hundreds of billions of distant stars. Grab a lawn chair, find a dark sky, and take a journey across the galaxy without ever leaving your backyard.

#Astronomy #Space #STEM #STEMEducation #NASA

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On the 250th anniversary of American independence, it is worth looking up and considering how small our place is in the scale of time. The Big Dipper offers an easy path outward to Arcturus and then Spica, where distance quietly overlaps with the long arc of our own history.

#Astronomy #Space #STEM #STEMEducation #NASA

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July brings monsoon storms on Earth... and storms in Space! When you have to cover your telescope and protect it from the elements, its a great opportunity to learn about space weather.

#Astronomy #Space #STEM #STEMEducation #NASA

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On Tuesday, June 30, an Arizona-based company will attempt a mission that could change the future of spaceflight. Katalyst Space Technologies, headquartered in Flagstaff, plans to launch a first-of-its-kind orbital servicing mission designed to rendezvous with NASA's aging Swift space telescope and potentially extend its operational life.

In this episode, we'll explore why satellites slowly lose altitude, how space debris affects the orbital environment, and why many experts believe satellite servicing may become one of the most important industries of the coming Space Age.

Could the future of spaceflight involve repairing and refueling spacecraft instead of replacing them? Join us as we take a closer look at Arizona's role in a historic mission that may give an aging scientific observatory a second chance.

#BackyardAstronomer #SpaceExploration #SwiftTelescope #KatalystSpace #ArizonaSpace #Astronomy #SpaceScience #OrbitalServicing #SpaceDebris #FlagstaffAZ

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Jupiter takes center stage this June 🌌
From ancient Roman mythology to NASA’s Juno spacecraft, humanity has been keeping an eye on the king of planets for centuries. This month, Jupiter meets Venus in a spectacular conjunction on June 8–9, joins the crescent Moon on June 16, and welcomes Mercury later in the month. Grab a pair of binoculars or a small telescope and watch the Galilean moons dance beside the Solar System’s giant.

#Astronomy #Space #STEM #STEMEducation #NASA

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Long before spacecraft visited the asteroid belt, astronomers searched the skies for the remnants of a lost planet. In May’s Backyard Astronomer, we explore the discovery of 4 Vesta—a massive protoplanet, survivor of the early Solar System, and one of the brightest asteroids visible from Earth. This month, Vesta rises alongside Saturn and Neptune in the pre-dawn sky, offering backyard astronomers a chance to track a world in motion.

#Astronomy #Space #STEM #STEMEducation #NASA

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More than 500 years ago, Leonardo da Vinci posited that the Earth could illuminate the Moon. Learn more about the Da Vinci Glow in this month's Backyard Astronomer.

#Astronomy #Space #STEM #STEMEducation #NASA

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Hydrogen is the smallest atom in existence, yet it shapes the entire universe. It fuels the Sun, forms the glowing clouds where new stars are born, and even powers the rockets carrying humans back to the Moon. In this episode of The Backyard Astronomer, we start with a stubborn hydrogen leak on the Artemis launchpad and trace element number one all the way back to the beginning of the cosmos.

#Astronomy #Space #STEM #STEMEducation #NASA

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Humans are going back to the Moon. 🌕🚀
After more than 50 years, a new crew prepares to orbit our lunar neighbor, marking the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth. This month’s Backyard Astronomer looks back at Apollo 8—and forward to the next giant leap. Clear skies and godspeed.

#Astronomy #Space #STEM #STEMEducation #Rocket #Moon #NASA

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January opens the year with fire in the sky. Before dawn on the 3rd, the Quadrantid meteor shower delivers one of the strongest displays of the year — streaking through crisp winter skies beneath a glowing Super Wolf Moon. Jupiter shines at its brightest, Orion returns to prominence, and the new Moon brings deep, dark nights perfect for exploration. Bundle up, step outside, and start the year by reconnecting with the night sky.

#Astronomy #Space #STEM #STEMEducation

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Imagine a football-field-sized spacecraft racing overhead at 17,500 miles per hour… one you can see with your naked eye. This month on The Backyard Astronomer, we’re celebrating 25 years of continuous human presence in space. From the first two modules joined in orbit to the sprawling station we know today, we’ll explore the story of the ISS, why it matters, and how you can spot it yourself from your own backyard. Step outside, look up, and join me as we “Occupy Space.”

#Astronomy #Space #STEM #STEMEducation

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Picture this — 4.5 billion years ago, Earth wasn’t alone. A Mars-sized neighbor named Theia was sharing the same orbit, until fate — or physics — brought them together in a collision that nearly destroyed our planet... and created our Moon.

In this episode, we’ll explore how that ancient impact shaped the skies we see tonight, from the tides and eclipses to the bright November supermoon. We’ll also look ahead to what’s happening overhead this month — the Beaver Moon, the Leonids, and even a glimpse of Uranus at its brightest.

#Astronomy #Space #STEM #STEMEducation

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Lions and Comets and Bears... no we aren't in Kansas, nor Oz. We are right here in Northern Arizona, and checking out what may be the best comet in decades! Learn how comets are discovered, and how you can discover it with your own binoculars in October in this month's Backyard Astronomer Podcast.

#Astronomy #Space #STEM #STEMEducation

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The transit method allows astronomers to study distant worlds and discover exoplanets as their orbit traverses the disc of their stars. We can make our own discovery this month when Titan transits Saturn.

#Astronomy #Space #STEM #STEMEducation

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The moon is our guide this month as we follow her path along the sky and she points out celestial wonders in the early mornings of August.

#Astronomy #STEM #STEMEducation

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The Delta Aquariids is a favorite amond metoer shower viewers, for the warmer summer months, and this year a new moon for ultra dark skies. Learn where you can find this is in the sky and when to look on this month's episode of The Backyard Astronomer.

#Astronomy #STEM #STEMEducation

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Stonehenge, Chichen Itza, Angkor Wat... These Monolithic sites were built to celebrate the Solar calendar, but even right here in Northern Arizona ancient cultures were documenting the movement of the Sun and changing of the seasons! Check out Solstice Mesa in this month's Backyard Astronomer.

#solstice #Prescott #arizona #indigenous #astronomy #STEM

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Let's get Edgy! This month we are talking about orbital collisions andsideways planets, and how they change the way we view the Solar System.

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