Crawford Park Astronomy Club

01/24/2026

We will be canceling the View the Night Sky/Northern Lights presentation at Lowe Volk on Sat 1/24 due to weather.

01/19/2026

G4 Watch in effect for 20 Jan UTC-day (late 19 Jan EST to early 20 Jan EST) due to anticipated CME arrival at Earth. We will make a video update later this afternoon about this activity. Look for the latest info & updates by staying space weather aware at space.weather.gov

01/19/2026

An S4 severe solar radiation storm is now in progress - this is the largest solar radiation storm in over 20 years. The last time S4 levels were observed was in October, 2003. Potential effects are mainly limited to space launch, aviation, and satellite operations.

01/01/2026

11/04/2025

A chance for further R1-R2 (Minor-Moderate) level solar flare events will likely exist through the week of 3-7 November. Visit spaceweather.gov for the latest forecasts and updates.

11/04/2025

For telescope users, morning Comet K1 ATLAS a beauty

Comet Lemmon is rightfully holding our interest these nights It's a beautiful comet through binoculars, telescope and in the camera. Comet SWAN (C/2025 R2), while fading, was still very visible in binoculars from a rural sky until the bright moon entered the scene. On Nov. 2, astronomers reported that the nucleus (the innermost comet body) is either splitting or releasing a substantial fragment. Closeup photos show it's now in two parts.

Comets are always subject to change given their fragile, breakable nature especially under the influence of solar heating. On Monday morning Nov. 3, I observed another ATLAS comet — C/2025 K1 — located in Leo the lion. Although more than 100 times fainter than Lemmon, it was a splendid object through the 15-inch telescope with a magnification of 86x. The comet displayed a small, bright head, and for its size, a long, shapely tail. It looked a lot like the photo, which was taken with a Seestar S50.

Unfortunately, starting tomorrow morning, the moon will be visible all night, so its light will spoil dainty things like comets for a time. I still encourage to give a look at Lemmon in binoculars even in moonlight.

10/30/2025

See a giant version of Cepheus the king

This is pretty obscure, but I found it compelling. The constellation Cepheus, right next door to the W of Cassiopeia, is shaped like a child's drawing of a house with a peaked roof. I've outlined it in the photo. The other night, I happened to notice that if you connect Saturn to the boxy asterism the Great Square, it makes a jumbo version of Cepheus. The faux Cepheus is about three fists tall, while the constellation itself measures a bit less than 2 fists top to bottom. Fun to see how similar their shapes are. To find them both, download a current star map here:https://skymaps.com/skymaps/tesmn2511.pdf

10/27/2025

08/31/2025

INTERNATIONAL MOON EVENT SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 4

The Richland Astronomical Society will celebrate INTERNATIONAL OBSERVE THE MOON NIGHT on Saturday, October 4 at the Warren Rupp Observatory near Bellville, Ohio from 7:30 PM-10:30 PM EDT. The free event will include a presentation on the Moon at 7:30, followed by children’s activities and telescope viewing of the Moon beginning at 8:30. A Certificate of Participation will be offered to all those attending.

International Observe the Moon Night is a worldwide public event that encourages observation, appreciation and understanding of our Moon and its connection to space science, exploration, and human culture. This annual event connects scientists, educators and lunar enthusiasts from around the world.

International Observe the Moon Night is sponsored by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission and the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, with many contributors. Observe the Moon Night is made possible by the members of the Richland Astronomical Society, a not-for-profit organization.

08/31/2025

Real pics from our Stellina telescope! First pic is of M81 Bode’s Galaxy and M82, the Cigar Galaxy! Second pic is our closest galaxy to us, Andromeda and two smaller bonus galaxies! Can you find them?