FrontPage – Rochester Astronomy Club

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)

October 17, 2024 Josef Chlachula Comments Off

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 […]

Root River Park 2024

June 11, 2024 Josef Chlachula Comments Off

Root River Park is located south of Rochester and is owned by Olmstead County. It is a small but pretty park adjacent to the North branch of the Root river. Rochester residents don’t use this park much and that’s a shame. However, this park is beneficial to amateur astronomers. The sky is dark enough to observe faint objects on a […]

Aurora on May 10, 2024

May 20, 2024 Josef Chlachula Comments Off

The night of Friday, May 10, was the first night for club members under the dark skies of Eagle Bluff after a long winter. To our surprise, it wasn’t even dark yet and already we saw something very special – the Northern Lights, and even in the south. A few minutes later, while it was still dusk, the International Space […]

Total Eclipse 2024

April 18, 2024 Josef Chlachula Comments Off

Did you observe the last total solar eclipse on April 8? Do you have valuable photos, video or notes? Perhaps they are suitable for submission and certification by the Astronomical League. Here is the information you need for submission: Location of the observer’s site, including longitude and latitude* Date and time of the observations (either UT or local time)* Instrument […]

Newsletter Spring 2024

February 12, 2024 John Martin Comments Off

Issue #34 of the Rochester Astronomy Club Newsletters has been published. In this issue: Feature Story Conferences Spring Messier Members Honored Astrophotography Aprils Eclipse Astrolabe Rochester’s Sky Astronomy Puzzle You can download this issue in color HERE You can download this issue in Black and White HERE

Cedar River Club meeting in Austin

February 9, 2024 Josef Chlachula Comments Off

The Cedar River Astronomy Club in Austin, MN has meeting on Friday 2/9/24 on 7 PM. See more at https://www.hormelnaturecenter.org/upcoming-programs-and-events.html The Cedar River Astronomy Club‘s mission is to connect people with interest in astronomy and give hands on experience exploring the night sky while helping with outreach at the Sola Fide Observatory. In 1993, the Cedar River Astronomy Club was […]

Winter 2023 Newsletter has been published!

October 28, 2023 John Martin Comments Off

Issue #33 of the Rochester Astronomy Club Newsletters has been published. In this issue: Winter Outlook Winter Messier Astrophotography September Meeting Partial Eclipse Astrolabe Feature Article Rochester’s Sky Astronomy Puzzle You can download this issue HERE

Frontenac Summer

July 30, 2023 Josef Chlachula Comments Off

On Saturday, July 29, a long-planned astronomical observation took place in Frontenac State Park. Fortunately, the weather was nice and clear. People can especially enjoy walking the various trails in the park. For example, the Lower Bluffside Trail Loop takes you all the way down to the Mississippi River here called Lake Pepin. Members of the Rochester Astronomy Club arrived […]

Supernova in M101

May 29, 2023 Josef Chlachula Comments Off

Japanese astronomer Koichi Itagaki on May 18 2023 discovered supernova in the Galaxy M101 Pinwheel. Supernova was designated with name SN 2023ixf and it is about 21 million light years distant. Galaxy Messier 101 is well known to the amateur astronomers and it’s easy to find it close to the handle of Big Dipper. Now it’s passing every evening local […]

March Northern lights

March 24, 2023 Josef Chlachula Comments Off

On the evening of March 23, NOAA predicted increased auroral activity in the auroral ring over Greenland and Canada. This activity was expected to affect Minnesota at a lower intensity. The aurora was clearly visible to the naked eye even from light-polluted Rochester. One could even suspect that the streaks and clouds had some color tint. The color stands out […]