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February Skies 2019

by Zachary Singer

Some of our favorite planetary targets, Venus and Jupiter, are up in the pre-dawn sky this month, and Mercury appears in the evening, as we’ll see in “The Solar System,” below. In “Stars and Deep Sky,” we’ll take a look at two notable open clusters in Auriga, M36 and M37.

The Solar System

Mercury starts off February still lost in the solar glare, but begins to reappear after the first week of the month. It’s still difficult on the 10th, but the party is just beginning—just a few days later, on Valentine’s Day, you’ll see Mercury glowing at magnitude -1.2; look for it low in the west, Continue reading “February Skies 2019”

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Thoughts on the 2019 Women’s March

by Zachary Singer

Women’s March, Denver Colorado, 2018.

The Women’s March will take place tomorrow morning—and if it’s anything like the first two years, millions of women and men all across our country and around the globe will turn out. My lady friend and I will be there, too.

Women’s March, Denver Colorado, 2018.

In our politically divided country, we’re increasingly on one “side” or the other for every issue, and I’m sure that regardless of your political stripe, you’ve heard the arguments for and against the Women’s Marches—including discussion of some of the rougher language. Let me suggest the following, as a bit of common ground for all of us: Continue reading “Thoughts on the 2019 Women’s March”