Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. travelersinthenight.org

From December 2025 & January 2026.

Today's 2 topics:

- Many people in our modern world rarely if ever experience night vision. To achieve this interesting state of sensory awareness you cannot look at your cell phone or any other source of bright light for 30 to 45 minutes. Your night vision comes about over time because the rod sensors in the retina of your eye undergo a chemical change when they are placed in total darkness. The process starts immediately but takes 20 to 30 minutes to get 80% of maximum sensitivity. The night vision process can be reversed in seconds by exposure to a bright light. In its most sensitive state your eye can function with a billion times less light than is present in strong sunlight enabling you to see a candle flame from 1.6 miles away.

- In November of 2006, University of Arizona's Spacewatch astronomers on Kitt Peak discovered a faint moving point of light in the night sky which appeared to be a garden variety main belt asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. The Minor Planet Center calculated it's orbit and gave it the name 2006 VW139. Five years later when it again moved closest to the Sun the Pan-STARRS group in Hawaii discovered that 2006 VW139 is surrounded by a gas cloud like a comet and it was given a comet designation, 288P.

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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

Hosted by Chris Beckett & Shane Ludtke, two amateur astronomers in Saskatchewan who enjoy teaching astronomy classes and showing the public views through their telescopes. [email protected]

On Episode 547 of Actual Astronomy, hosts Chris and Shane guide listeners through observing an array of August Messier objects across the constellations Ophiuchus, Scorpius, and Sagittarius. The show details viewing techniques for globular and open clusters—highlighting targets like the egg-shaped globular M19, the historical Ptolemy's Cluster (M7), and the beginner-friendly M23. Additionally, they explore iconic Milky Way nebulae, including the active star-forming Lagoon Nebula (M8) and the nearby Trifid Nebula (M20) with its distinctive three-lobed dark dust lanes.

1. M10 & M12 (Globular Clusters in Ophiuchus)

- Binoculars: Sweeping through central Ophiuchus reveals these two bright globulars in the same binocular field. They appear as soft, distinct bluishgray spheres.

- Telescope: In an 8-inch telescope, M12 resolves well into individual stars across its core, while M10 appears somewhat more tightly packed, brighter toward the center, and slightly fuzzier at the edges.

- Compare the two side-by-side: Despite being located near each other in our sky, M12 has lost a significant portion of its lower-mass stars due to repeated passages through the Milky Way's dense galactic disk.

2. M107 (Globular Cluster in Ophiuchus)

- Binoculars: A challenging target for binoculars; requires dark skies and averted vision to spot as a minute, faint smudge.

- Telescope: Small-to-medium telescopes reveal a delicate, somewhat un-concentrated patch of light with a loose core.

- M107 contains noticeable dark dust lanes or obscuring regions, which is relatively rare for a globular cluster, giving it a unique visual texture in medium-to-large scopes.

3. M9 (Globular Cluster in Ophiuchus)

- Binoculars: Similar in scale to M107, though slightly brighter and easier to catch in 10x50s on a clear night.

- Telescope: Small scopes show a bright, unresolved central nucleus surrounded by a faint, grainy halo.

- M9 is located remarkably close to the Galactic Centre—only about 5,500 light-years away from it. It lies near dark nebulae like Barnard 64, making the surrounding starfield visually compelling.

4. M19 & M62 (Globular Clusters in Ophiuchus)

- Binoculars: Separated by about 4 degrees, both fit easily into a standard binocular field of view south of M10/M12. They look like round, soft patches brightening toward their centers, with M19 appearing noticeably brighter.

- Telescope: Smaller telescopes show compact, fuzzy disks. Moderate magnification begins resolving outer stars on both.

- M19 is famous for being one of the most distinctly oblate (egg-shaped) globular clusters known, likely due to tidal forces from its proximity to the galactic core.

- M62 has an asymmetric core, heavily deformed by galactic tidal forces, and hosts a rich population of millisecond pulsars.

5. M6 (The Butterfly Cluster) & M7 (Ptolemy's Cluster) Scorpius

- Naked Eye: Both are bright and obvious to the naked eye under dark skies near the "stinger" of Scorpius.

- Binoculars: Binoculars provide the absolute best view. Both clusters fit together in a wide 10x50 field. M7 is larger and brighter; M6 displays a striking butterfly-like star arrangement.

- M7 is one of the oldest recorded deep-sky objects, noted by Ptolemy in 130 AD.

- The orange giant star BM Scorpii, which sits on the wing of the "Butterfly" in M6 and adds a nice pop of stellar color contrast.

6. M8 (The Lagoon Nebula) Sagittarius

- Naked Eye: Appears as a distinct, hazy patch in the Milky Way band above Scorpius.

- Binoculars: Shows as a huge, glowing oval patch—larger than the full Moon—with several bright stars embedded within it.

- Telescope / Filters: A UHC or O-III filter enhances the dark dust lane ("the lagoon") bisecting the bright nebulosity.

- M8 is an active star-forming region containing Bok globules (collapsing clouds of protostellar gas) and the famous "Hourglass Nebula" region at its core.

7. M20 (The Trifid Nebula) Sagittarius

- Binoculars: Located just 1.4 degrees northwest of M8. Appears as a faint, ghostly glow surrounding a central triple/multiple star system.

- Telescope: Medium scopes under dark skies reveal the dark dust lanes splitting the bright emission portion into three distinct lobes.

- M20 is a rare "triple threat" nebula containing an emission nebula (red in photos), a reflection nebula (blue in photos), and a dark dust lane network (Barnard 85) that gives it its name.

8. M21 (Open Cluster) Sagittarius

- Binoculars: Situated right next to M20. Appears as a small, compact, bright knot of stars.

- Telescope: Low-power views easily resolve 20–30 stars packed tightly together.

- The "Trifid Trio": In wide-field eyepieces or binoculars, you can view M8, M20, and M21 all in a single field of view, offering one of the most spectacular Milky Way vistas available to visual observers.

9. M23 (Open Cluster) Sagittarius

- Telescope: Low magnification is key. Small telescopes easily resolve over 80–100 stars spread across a wide field in subtle arc-like patterns.

- M23 sits against a rich background Milky Way star field, making low-power wide-field views ideal. It is an excellent target for beginners practicing star-hopping in northern late-summer skies.

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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

Hosted by our Director, Avivah Yamani.

Meet S301, the fastest known star in the Milky Way, racing around Sagittarius A* and offering astronomers a new way to measure the spin of our galaxy's supermassive black hole.

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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

From July 30, 2026.

Hosted by: Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest)

Science comes from many corners, and there is a need for both 600-m radio telescopes made on a great plain (Like the RATAN-600) and 60cm radio dishes built in a living room. In this After Hours, we talk with ASU professor Dr. Danny Jacobs (https://danielcjacobs.com)about how he engages students of all kinds in space sciences through educational tools like the cardboard radio telescope (https://astrochart.github.io), and in space telescope operations with the SPARCS small sat. (https://sparcs.asu.edu/)

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Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!

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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

August Part 2.

Paul Hill hosts solo!

Damien Phillips, John Wildridge and Dustin Ruoff produce.

Join Paul in his Astronomy lair as he live sketches the Eclipse, chats to neighbours and talks Astronomy news while spotting Perseid meteors.

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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

Physics under pressure!

Hosted by Dr. Paul M. Sutter.

What was the big deal about Chandrasekhar's discovery? Why did he meet so much resistance? How is his work tied to everything from supernovae to black holes? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman!

Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter

All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com

Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter

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Keep those questions about space, science, astronomy, astrophysics, physics, and cosmology coming to #AskASpaceman for COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF TIME AND SPACE!

Big thanks to my top Patreon supporters this month: Justin G, Chris L, Alberto M, Corey D, Michael P, Naila, Sam R, Joshua, Scott M, Rob H, Scott M, Louis M, John W, Alexis, Gilbert M, Rob W, Jessica M, Jules R, Jim L, David S, Scott R, Heather, Mike S, Pete H, Steve S, Lisa R, Kevin B, Aileen G, Deb A, Michael J, Phillip L, Steven B, Mark R, Alan B, Craig B, Richard K, Joe R, David P, Justin, Tracy F, Thomas K, James C, Syamkumar M, Homer V, Mark D, Bruce A, Tim Z, Linda C, The Tired Jedi, Bob C, Stephen A, James R, Allen E, Michael S, Sheryl, David W, Chris, Michael S, Erlend A, James D, Karl W, Den K, Edward K, Scott K, Vivek D, M0PPET, Brad, Azra K, Steve R, M D Malahy, Brian O, Alonna M, Joseph B, and Anders J!

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Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!

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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

http://www.astronomycast.com/archive/

From December 12, 2008.

Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest)

In the old days, astronomers had to beg for telescope time. They'd put together a proposal, convince observatories to gather data for them, crunch that data and release the results. No telescope, no results. But everything's different now. Fleets of robotic telescopes constantly scan the skies, building up a vast database of raw data about the Universe. Anyone who wants can access the information through the Internet, download what they need to do real science. No telescope necessary. Let's look at the development of sky surveys, and how they're changing how astronomy gets done.

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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. travelersinthenight.org

From December 2025.

Today's 2 topics:

- Dr. Lance Benner of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory headed up a team of scientists who used the 70 meter antenna at NASA's Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex to bounce RADAR beams off of the asteroid Florence as it made a close approach to Earth in September of 2017. The RADAR images these researchers obtained reveal that Florence consists of a 2.8 mile diameter primary asteroid which is orbited by two small moons.

- Venus and Earth are similar in size, composition, density, and mass. Unfortunately, our sister planet Venus is an example of a place where green house gases have created an extreme situation. Venus's thick carbon dioxide atmosphere has a surface pressure 90 times that of Earth. It would crush a submarine. Additionally, the thick atmospheric blanket holds in the heat causing Venus's surface temperature to be 864 F, hot enough to melt lead.

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Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!

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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

Today's episode is all about last Wednesday's total solar eclipse. But you have a partial lunar eclipse that's coming up that you can look forward to on August 27-28!

"ASTROMAN: the Dark Sky Guardian" is a podcast channel that aims to explore popular science in multiple disciplines and research on interdisciplinary approaches, such as sustainability, dark-sky protection, astrophotography, space exploration, astronomy innovation, inclusive science communication, and STEAM Education by integrating science and arts.

Exodus Chun-Long Sit, also known as the ASTROMAN, is a transmedia astronomy educator, popular science author, STEAM educator, and science communicator in Hong Kong. He is recently the National Astronomy Education Coordinator (Chair of Hong Kong, China) of the International Astronomical Union and President of Starrix. He was also an International Committee Member of the Dark Sky International, regularly organizing public lectures at the Hong Kong Space Museum and the Hong Kong Science Museum. He was also the author of a popular science book "Decoding the Starry Night: A Guide to Stargazing and Astrophotography".

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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

Hosted by: Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest)

From July 22, 2026.

On July 20, the world celebrates International Moon Day. This UN designated holiday marks the anniversary of humanity's first landing on the Moon. The Apollo 11 landing in 1969 is now only a distant memory or a date from history for most people, but it is worth thinking about as the world prepares to return humans to the Moon in the coming decade. Joining us to discuss International Moon Day is Dr. Jekan Thanga, the head of the Space TREx Laboratory at the University of Arizona. Come learn how his interdiciplinary team is taking a page from the past as we plan for a Lunar future.

We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.

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Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!

http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.

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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQtdQ94jy8I

From Oct 17, 2017.

Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain)

Some comets orbit the Sun on a regular basis, but others come in from deep space, a region known as the Oort Cloud. What causes them to make this journey, and will we ever be able to explore the Oort Cloud?

Before I get into this episode, I want to remind everyone that it's been several decades since I've been able to enjoy a bright comet in the night sky. I've seen mind blowing auroras, and witnessed a total solar eclipse with my own eyeballs. The Universe needs to deliver this bright comet for me, and it needs to do it soon.

[Editor's note: Rich here. I'm spoiled by comet Hyakutake.]

By recording this video now, I will summon it. I will create a video that'll be hilariously out of date in a few months, when that bright comet shows up.

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Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!

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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].