This is an update to an earlier post about reading astronomy magazines for free. You may be aware that you can read books online from your local library, but you may not know that you can also read a few astronomy magazines as well. And many more. It took me a while to figure out … Read more
Intermission Beer Company enjoys us setting up in a field next to the brewery. The crowd displays unusual interest–I’m guessing because it seems so incongruous to see telescopes being set up in a party atmosphere. The sky prediction was iffy, but we showed anyway, and we had great luck-the skies cleared, just as it got … Read more
RAS hosted a skywatch at Camp Brady Saunders (Goochland), and I have to say, this is one of the most gorgeous camp sites I’ve ever seen. They built an amphitheater on the shore of the lake, where they can hold Scout ceremonies, and with bonfires down front, it’s very impressive. I set up my scope … Read more
At last night’s skywatch, at Charles City, we were treated to pizza, chips, soft drinks, and Girl Scout cookies. At the one last month, hosted by Henrico County we had bonfires, s’mores and hot chocolate. I like these “perks” we’ve gotten lately. The city park at Charles City really jazzed it up–in addition to the … Read more
Did we have astronomy this year? Since RAS presents monetary awards to science fair winners, how did this year’s edition work out? As you might expect, this year’s Metro Richmond STEM Fair, was held virtually. But, it still took place. Alas, gone are the crowds of students proudly standing in front of their project presentations. … Read more
With the complication of the virus lockdown, RAS has altered the way we host skywatches. Telescopes are out, due to the impracticality of cleaning the eyepiece between viewings. So, we’re now offering two alternatives: a remote Zoom session, or people bring their own binocular, and we provide a guide to point out objects in the … Read more
RAS made a few people happy about their telescopes the other night–we fixed them. The Science Museum of Virginia hosted a workshop on Feb. 3, and invited RAS members in to help attendees with their telescopes. One lady brought in one that had sat in her attic for 20 years, unused. Volunteers were Joe Racette, … Read more
Madhup Rathi had this picture of the Dumbbell Nebula (M27) featured in Astronomy Magazine’s Picture of the Day. The magazine article shows a beautiful image that Madhup took over about 10.5 hours (Luminance 38 images of 10 minutes each & 9 RGB images each of 10 minutes).
John Beyer, RTD Meteorologist, wrote a nice article about RAS helping with the Mercury Transit on Monday, 11/11, at the Science Museum of Virginia.
Who knows what we turned off last night. We arrived at the Freeman High School practice field last night to find that the stadium lights were on. When asked, one of the students went over to a gray box, opened the access door, and started turning off switches. He finally found the right one. I … Read more