Joshua Tree Astronomy Arts Theater

07/30/2026

The Full Buck Moon of July - sliding through Summer, Luna beckons Autumn, and Daylight trades the excitement of Sunshine for the quiet Peace of Starlight.
Please,
Turn off unnecessary lights!

07/03/2026

06/10/2026

Tonight, June 9 2026, have a look toward the West as the fading twilight reveals the stars-and planets. A close grouping of the two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, will dominate the low Western skies early in the evening. These two bright cloud covered worlds appear in tonights skies about 1.7 degrees apart, about three full Moon widths, making them a nice pair to marvel at as the stars come out. Of course the close pairing is not the two worlds being physically near each other, they are at very different distances but happen to be in the 'line of sight' of each other tonight from our Earthly vantage point.

06/08/2026

From the theater, we donated these chairs. The artists have created some terrific work, bringing these headed to to the trash bin chairs a beautiful second life! Please check them out 🩷

05/19/2026

Have a look as twilight deepens tonight, at the thin crescent Moon in the Western sky with brilliant Venus near it.

They make a striking pair on the western sky, something to marvel at and revisit. As the night deepens the entire globe of the Moon will be visible partly enclosed by the thin bright sunlit crescent portion. This fainter illumination is from reflected sunlight from Earth, which shines on the night side of the Moon much brighter than the full moon light we experience here on Earth.

05/13/2026

Look at us, looking at you! Incredible 😮

https://public.nrao.edu/news/alma-teenage-new-worlds/?fbclid=IwdGRjcARxgWtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR4VPqIqKMIMl_qGx6CnP1hH7LrleEQis8rMh5li7m6917yEF1u3h2zPPeeEtA_aem_DuwXGIV7YrUt6Y2RgDr7zw

04/30/2026

Tonight at 7:42 a rocket launch is scheduled from Vandenberg. This launch will take place in early twilight locally and perhaps not stand out as much as a later launch would, but it's certainly worth a look toward the West and then Southwest then and a few minutes afterward.
Of course the stretching and spreading plume will then be illuminated, with colors often seen as they experience the reds and blues of the twilight one would see from their altitude. This is often a striking lingering sight. All this of course assumes an on time launch, which is not something carved in stone. :-)

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04/22/2026

A launch from Vandenberg is currently scheduled for 7:55 PM tonight. Of course such countdowns are not carved in stone ;-). Sunset is at 7:20 local time so the lighting on the ascending rocket launching at that time should be favorable for visibility across a wide area.

Weather permitting, people within the area shown on this map should be able to see the luminous plume of the rocket exhaust as it reaches the Sunlight. Such exhaust plumes spread with greater width as the atmospheric resistance is being left behind, forming a 'jellyfish' or 'cobra' like apparition depending on the viewing angle.

Such launches are widely visible and are worth taking a couple minutes to look at. While not necessarily endorsing the payloads carried by most of these launches, particularly in an Astronomy context, these sights at least remind us of our routine access to space and the occasional use of such resources to enlighten us about our world and the Cosmos.

04/19/2026

Have a look as twilight deepens tonight at the crescent Moon, and the brilliant Planet Venus to it's left, grouped over the Western horizon.
The slim crescent Moon is not only narrowly rim lit by the Sun, it is also bathed in light from the Sun bouncing off of the Earth, which in the Moons skies would be a brilliant nearly full orb 4 times the width of the Moon that we see. Look carefully and you can see this ghostly 'Earth light' illuminating the entire Moon.

The Moon is again within reach of humanity, and Venus has been scanned with radar and visited by probes.

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04/17/2026

We have used the medium of the theater to convey the wonder and significance of the Cosmos, and to promote public interest and engagement with its appreciation and the preservation of our night sky view of it.

Now we have moved on from the physical theater into an on line community. Astronomy related news will be posted here, with opportunities to observe noteworthy sights announced. This facebook group will continue to convey information about the skies and their continually revealed majesty.
The future of our Astronomy Arts presentations, on line and in person, is an open territory of possibilities.