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Rochester, Minnesota
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StarBQ 2026: A glorious night for Astronomy
August 18, 2026
Josef Chlachula
FrontPage, Members Blog
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This year, the club once again hosted StarBQ (spelled Star-B-Q: a Star Party and Barbeque) for its members. The original plan was for Friday and Saturday, August 14-16, but the weather didn’t cooperate. The weather was looking better for Sunday, August 16, so Plan B was activated. The afternoon started with sun-gazing at DJMOF (Dean Johnson Memorial Observing Field), followed […]
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Falcon 9 Upper Stage lunar impact
July 24, 2026
Josef Chlachula
FrontPage, Members Blog
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On August 5, 2026 at 1:35 a.m. CDT, the Moon will be approximately at the last quarter and more than 20 degrees above the eastern horizon in the North Central Region. At that time, the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket will impact on its illuminated part on the left edge. In a telescope, impact of the 4000kg heavy […]
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RAC at RochesterFest 2026
Solar Observing at RochesterFest The Rochester Astronomy Club marked another successful community outreach event on Saturday, June 27, celebrating its second annual appearance at RochesterFest. To combat the summer heat, club members Randy and Lynn thoughtfully provided a sturdy yellow canopy shelter, offering a much-needed reprieve from the blazing sun. Once settled in the shade, visitors were treated to an […]
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Observe Titan shadow transits
This year 2025, we still have a unique opportunity to observe Titan’s shadow passing across Saturn’s disk as we learned at the last members’ meeting from Bob Fealey. Below is an adapted table taken from Sky and Telescope. For mid transits, there are links to Saturn in stellarium-web.org , opens in new tab. Upcoming Titan shadow transits (UT/CDT) Date DoW […]
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Sun at RochesterFest
A public observation of the Sun at RochesterFest was planned for Tuesday 6/24 and for Saturday 6/28. Tuesday 6/24 we planned a public observation of the Sun at RochesterFest from 5 to 7 p.m. Actually, 2025 was the first year that RAC participated in RochesterFest. We were pleasantly surprised by the organizers, who provided transportation for our telescopes and other […]
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Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) has indeed become very observable with the naked eye after all. It can be photographed quite well with smartphones. Of course, a camera with a larger aperture provides a better image, not to mention the quality lenses. How to find the comet in the sky is described quite well in the Sky and Telescope article Comet […]
