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Rochester, Minnesota


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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 […]
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Root River Park 2024

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 […]
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Aurora on May 10, 2024

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 […]
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Total Eclipse 2024

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 […]

Submitted Photos

Forums RAC Main Forum General Discussion Observing tonight? Re: Observing tonight?

#11054
Dean Johnson
Participant

    I might get out after I get done tending bar tonight. My scope is set up on the deck and I really need to check my Lunar II list, but I can't travel anywhere. Last night, I nailed down Rima Hippalus and crater Tycho near Lunar midday. Two hours, plus a great observation of Jupiter. There are quite a few background stars around the King of Planets right now.

    Right now I'm reliving the agony of finishing up the Lunar 100. If you don't get a certain target on a certain night, an observer has to either try by catching it on the Lunar waning phase and that means sometimes getting up in the middle of the night to do it, or wait until the next month when the next opportunity happens, WEATHER permitting.

    The Moon is so cool, but it can be real frustrating, too. I am SO CLOSE, but I am not sure if I can finish Lunar II this month or not. After September, then we have one more month. When November comes around, things usually get pretty bad.

    Wish us ALL luck. Looking forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday.