Most planets are easy to spot in the night sky, but have you spotted Mercury? Nicknamed the Messenger for its speed across the sky, Mercury is also the closest planet to the Sun. Its swift movements close to our Sun accorded it special importance to ancient observers, while also making detailed study difficult. However, recent missions to Mercury have resulted in amazing discoveries, with more to come...

by Steve Goldberg

Asterism: a grouping of stars that form a recognizable pattern.

Constellation: Pisces
Right Ascension:  23h 17m 00.0s
Declination: -01° 45' 00"
Magnitude: 8
Size: 22’ x 50’                    

In honor of the Artemis 1 mission, we feature an asterism that looks like a rocket ship. This asterism, sometimes labeled as an open cluster, is located in Pisces, near the border with Aquarius.

by Daniel M. Roy and Debbie Moran

These shielded LEDs in a restaurant garden in Las Cruces, NM are warmer and put light exactly where it is needed

by David Prosper

Do you want to peer deeper into the night sky? Are you feeling the urge to buy a telescope? There are so many options for budding astronomers that choosing one can be overwhelming. A first telescope should be easy to use and provide good quality views while being affordable. As it turns out, those requirements make the first telescope of choice for many stargazers something unexpected: a good pair of binoculars!

by Will Sager

It’s that time of year again. The Halloween candy has been consumed, the turkey is gone, and the mall is playing Christmas carols (endlessly). Once again many people will think that purchasing a telescope as a Christmas gift for a budding astronomer would be the perfect thing. If you are in this group of well-meaning people, we are going to have a tough conversation here and my goal is to strip away the gauzy rose-colored filter from your blurred vision. There are myriad ways to mess this up and plenty of retailers who would love to take your money. But do not despair, I know many amateur astronomers in this very organization whose love of astronomy started in just this way (myself included)

An example of a high power telescope ad from 1952. Criterion actually made some good telescopes in the 1960s and 1970s, but this was probably not one of them.