Jackson

Seeing the Milky Way stretch across the sky for the first time is the kind of experience that changes how you think about our place in the universe. I still remember my first real view of the galactic core from a dark sky site in Utah, standing in silence as a glowing river of stars … Read more

I still remember my first real attempt at Milky Way photography. I drove an hour out of the city, set up my tripod in the dark, pointed my camera at the sky, and fired off a 30-second exposure at 24mm. When I checked the back of my LCD screen, the image looked bright and detailed. … Read more

There is something deeply satisfying about locating a galaxy 2.5 million light-years away using nothing but your eyes, your hands, and a star chart. That is exactly what star hopping lets you do. If you have ever swept your telescope across the sky hoping to stumble onto a nebula or star cluster, you already know … Read more

Yes, you can absolutely see the Andromeda Galaxy with binoculars. In fact, it is one of the most rewarding targets for amateur astronomers because it spans roughly six full Moon diameters across the sky, making it ideally suited for the wide field of view that binoculars provide. The Andromeda Galaxy, also known as M31, is … Read more

You set up your camera, point it at a beautiful full moon, press the shutter, and stare at the screen in disappointment. Instead of craters and surface details, you see a glowing white dot. If this sounds familiar, you are far from alone. I have been there myself, and so has nearly every photographer the … Read more

Watching planets line up in the night sky is one of those experiences that stops you in your tracks. You step outside, look up, and see Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn clustered together like glowing lanterns strung across the darkness. Learning how to watch a planetary conjunction from your backyard opens the door to that … Read more

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and noticed a blazing orange-red light that seemed far brighter than usual? That was probably Mars. And if you paid attention over several years, you probably noticed something strange: the Red Planet does not look the same from one opposition to the next. Some years it … Read more

On the morning of September 1, 1859, a gentleman astronomer in Surrey, England aimed his brass telescope at the Sun and witnessed something no human being had ever seen before. Within 48 hours, the entire planet would be reeling from the aftermath. The 1859 Carrington Event remains the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history, … Read more

Every spacecraft orbiting Earth faces an invisible threat that cannot be seen, heard, or felt until it is too late. Spacecraft surface charging is a physical phenomenon where satellites accumulate electrical charge while operating in the space environment, and understanding how spacecraft surface charging damages satellite electronics is one of the most important challenges in … Read more

On a quiet March morning in 1989, the entire province of Quebec lost power for nine hours. Six million people went dark because a geomagnetic storm had overloaded transmission lines. The operators had virtually no warning. Today, that has changed. A solar storm warning gives operators time to protect equipment — sometimes days in advance, … Read more