🔭 No telescope? No problem.
Space is huge. My knowledge is not. But hey—we all start somewhere. You don’t need fancy gear (or a physics degree) to fall in love with the night sky. I’m starting from scratch, and this blog is my guidebook-in-progress for fellow curious minds who want to explore the cosmos—without spiraling into an existential crisis. Probably.
I recently had my second opportunity to join a meteor shower watch, as the Orionids are in full swing. We met at our usual star party location between 4 and 4:30 a.m., hoping for a couple of good viewing hours before daylight. Paul and Mary were there again—it was just the three of us at … Read more
This past Sunday we had our regular club meeting — followed, somewhat spontaneously, by a “comet watch” star party. Normally, impromptu events are an automatic no for me, but I wasn’t about to miss the chance to glimpse a newly discovered comet. Unfortunately, Lisa was out sick this time (feel better, bathroom buddy!), so I … Read more
This past Wednesday night finally delivered what we’d been waiting months for: clear skies over my neighborhood. After a string of cancellations, it was my first successful neighborhood star party since joining the club. I had discovered the club through this outreach, and actually attended two before officially becoming a member. So it was exciting … Read more
August was a wash. August was a particularly uncooperative month for astronomy in our area. Literally every event was cancelled due to weather. So, our September meeting became an opportune time to collectively vent our frustration—and to find out what we might (hopefully) look forward to in the month ahead. Club President Paul took the … Read more
Some of my fellow club members may have noticed I didn’t post a recap of the last meeting with Gary’s fascinating presentation. That’s not an oversight—it’s part of a bigger plan. I’m expanding Novice Astronomer from a simple blog into a full website with beginner-friendly evergreen guides. More than just recaps, these are resources designed … Read more
It felt almost scandalous—sneaking off at 3 a.m. for my first-ever meteor watch. Just me, Paul, and Mary at the fairgrounds, bundled in the dark and scanning the sky. They had ultra-sleek zero gravity lounge chairs and fancy green laser pointers. I had… a mat and my bare finger, which is apparently useless for pointing … Read more
It was a rainy, yucko day—the kind that makes you want to cancel everything. But I dragged myself to the Village Inn for one reason: Skip’s presentation. The room? Leaking. Buckets, folding caution signs, and water dripping from ceiling tiles and light fixtures just behind us. It was slightly alarming—electrical fire, anyone? Fortunately, that didn’t … Read more
I’ve been dying to see the Milky Way, and I finally did! The moment I spotted it, I realized I’d probably seen it before… and just mistaken it for cloud haze. It was my second night in Boone, NC. My family has vacationed there nearly every summer since 1967, so I know the area well. … Read more
This was my first time helping with an outreach event—and I couldn’t have chosen a better one to start with. Astronomy went to market: a local night market, that is, and wow, it turned out to be way more of a party than I expected. There were food trucks, live music, beer, and rows of … Read more
This month’s meeting snuck up on me—our May meeting was pushed to the third Sunday for Mother’s Day, June started on a Sunday, and suddenly there we were—before I’d even had a chance to mentally prepare for another recap! We were back at our usual spot at the Village Inn, after last month’s venue change. … Read more