Members Blog – Page 3 – Rochester Astronomy Club

Winter Sky above Oxbow

February 28, 2020 Josef Chlachula Comments Off

On Friday February 28 the Rochester Astronomy Club hosted Public Sky Observing at Oxbow Park. It was a nice winter day, that turned into beautiful evening for observing. This public event started at 6:30 PM and several RAC members provided telescopes. Tables and chairs were also setup inside the visitor center so observers could warm up and see presentations by […]

Evening Mercury

February 7, 2020 Josef Chlachula Comments Off

The first three weeks of February 2020 there is good chance to spot elusive planet Mercury on the evening sky. Mercury is the innermost planet and doesn’t go far from Sun. This time of year Mercury can be seen on the evening sky about half hour after sunset. High above southwest horizon, there is also visible much brighter planet Venus. […]

Moon at ZooDazzle

December 7, 2019 Josef Chlachula Comments Off

Friday December 6 was again night of the Public Sky Observing. This time was at Oxbow Park also ZooDazzle, hosted by a non-profit organization the Friends of Oxbow. It is a fundraiser for Zollman Zoo. This annual event is designed to get families out to the zoo at evening to see about 200,000 lights, which Park is decorated with, animals, […]

Mercury transit observed

November 30, 2019 Josef Chlachula Comments Off

The innermost planet Mercury was on November 11, 2019 transiting in front of the Sun. Many club member prepared for this rare event at Mayo High School. They were hoping, that weather would allow to observe dark silhouette of the Mercury against bright Sun. Event started at 6:35 AM and ended at 12:05 PM. Observers experienced all kind of weather […]

July 20, 1969: One Giant Leap For Mankind

July 11, 2019 John Martin Comments Off

Apollo 11 Lunar Module Credits: NASA On the morning of July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins are strapped into the capsule of a 363-foot Saturn V rocket. Soon its 7.5 million pounds of thrust will propel them to the Moon. In 4 days, July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin will enter the lunar […]

Jupiter rising

June 3, 2019 Josef Chlachula Comments Off

Warm summer nights beckon many of us outside to observe the celestial wonders that appear above us in the starry skies. Long summer days and short nights may disappoint many amateur astronomers, yet summer skies dazzle us with some of the grandest objects in the sky. Jupiter rises just as the summer sun is setting. With its great Red Spot […]

Nice May night

May 14, 2019 Josef Chlachula Comments Off

RAC outreach program continues already the third year. Public observing is about once a month after dusk, when Moon is in about the first quarter. It’s mostly conducted from the Watson soccer field. This Winter we found, that soccer field parking would not be plowed, so we could not safely use it for observing, especially in such snowy Winter. Fortunately […]

An evening with the lunar eclipse

January 26, 2019 Mike C:\ Comments Off

January 21, 2019 at 9:00 PM dozens of members of the Rochester community join the RAC to brave the cold and enjoy the total lunar eclipse. The temperature dropped to a chilling -5. With the light breeze that accompanied the clear night, making it feel even colder. Although the air was cold, the skies were clear. With the Moon bright […]

Total Lunar Eclipse on Sunday January 20

January 11, 2019 Josef Chlachula Comments Off

Rochester Astronomy Club is planing public observing event from 9 PM at History Center of Olmstead County, see https://rochesterskies.org/event/total-lunar-eclipse-observing-2019-01-20/ The first full moon of 2019 will be a great opportunity for observing a total lunar eclipse. The Moon will almost be at its closest distance to the Earth, close to the perigeum, which means it will be slightly bigger, and such […]

Earthrise from Apollo 8

December 5, 2018 Josef Chlachula Comments Off

In December of 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 became the first people to leave our planet and travel to another body in space, to the Moon. Crew members Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders could see for the first time Earth rising above Moon. Now is obvious, that astronaut Williams Anders took that historic picture. Ernie Wright is […]