Driftless Stargazing LLC

Driftless Stargazing LLC "Sharing the Starry Skies"
Stargazing for your event, gathering, or celebration. Astronomy presentations for libraries, schools, and groups. Sky Heroes. All ages.

Sky news for Driftless Area of WI/MN/IA/IL. Driftless Stargazing inspires participants of all ages by getting them wondering and leaving them knowing. John Heasley is an experienced teacher and stargazer who lets people discover their connection with the cosmos in classrooms, libraries, parks, and sidewalks. Driftless Stargazing gets you looking up, remembering the past, and imagining the future.


*Enthusiastic amateur astronomer
*Experienced English teacher of thirty years (Netherlands, Boston, Madison, and Richland Center)
*Educates learners of all ages at Kickapoo Valley Reserve and Taliesin Cultural Program
*Volunteers with NASA/JPL as a Solar System Ambassador Master Teacher, International Astronomical Union as a Dark Sky Ambassador, and serves on the PBS Nova Education Advisory Board
*Trained as Space Educator with UW-Green Bay, Space Education Initiatives, Arizona State University Mars Education Program, and NASA Night Sky Network
*Member of Iowa County Astronomers, International Dark-Sky Association, American Astronomical Society, and Astronomical Society of the Pacific
*Recipient of Astronomical League Outreach Award, Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium Aerospace Outreach and Special Initiatives Awards, History Channel's "Ideas from our Educators" Contest, Kohl Teacher Fellowship, and Ripon College Distinguished Educator Award

Six programs are available. I adapt each for your audience. Creating constellations. Girls and boys will discover how humans all over the world have connected the stars into constellations and filled the sky with stories. Participants will create their own legends. Great match for 2020 CSLP theme “Imagine Your Story”. Seize the Night. Becoming a stargazer. Learn what to see, how to see, and how to equip yourself so you can enjoy the night sky. The Many Worlds of our Solar System and Beyond. We tour the planets and moons of our solar system using planetarium software. Women Who Stargaze. Be inspired by the stories of the women who persisted as astronomers and how they shaped our view of the cosmos. Space Rocks. Participants act as scientists to sort through and classify the many “rocks” (planets, asteroids, comets, meteoroids) circling our Sun before taking a look at the “rocks” that fall to Earth. Create craters and examine actual meteorites. Best with smaller group. Star Party. I set up a telescope and binoculars outside in the evening so viewers can see the Moon, planets, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. I use a laser pointer to give a tour of the constellations. Best in spring and fall with smaller group.

08/26/2026

Don't miss Thursday night's colorful, near-total lunar eclipse

You don't need anything but your eyes and a comfortable chair to watch the eclipse tomorrow night. This eclipse occurs about 2 weeks after the Aug. 12 new moon and total solar eclipse. The interval between new moon and full moon, when lunar eclipses occur, is about 2 weeks. That's close enough in time for the moon to align again with the Earth and sun to produce a second eclipse. Eclipses nearly always come in pairs.

On Thursday night, the moon passes behind Earth into its shadow, which has two parts — the outer penumbra and inner umbra. You'll see the first penumbral shading around 9 p.m. Central Time as a soot-like smudge along the moon's left (east) side. The umbra or core shadow is much darker and looks like a nibble that gradually becomes a big bite.

At greatest eclipse the umbra will darken 96% of the moon, leaving only a bright upper edge like you see in the photo. As the moon slips deeper in the umbra it will turn a beautiful smoky red or red-orange. This is caused by sunlight refracted (bent) by the atmosphere into the umbra from every single sunrise and sunset around the perimeter of our planet. It's an amazing sight. Wishing you clear skies!

Watch for the Full Sturgeon Moon rising in the ESE this week. Your shadow from the setting Sun will point the way. Hop...
08/25/2026

Watch for the Full Sturgeon Moon rising in the ESE this week. Your shadow from the setting Sun will point the way. Hope you'll share your pix. Times are CDT for the Driftless Area of WI/MN/IA/IL.
🐬🌕 Tues 6:50pm Moonrise 96% Full
🐬🌕 Wed 7:15pm Moonrise 99% Full
🐬🌕 Thurs 7:35pm Moonrise 100% Full
☀️🌎🌕 Lunar Eclipse Thurs 9:33pm-12:52am
🐬🌕 Fri 7:55pm Moonrise 99% Full
🐬🌕 Sat 8:15pm Moonrise 96% Full

08/25/2026
08/24/2026

Almost Total Lunar Eclipse Thursday 27 August 🌞🌎🌚✨
The Full Sturgeon Moon will darken and redden as it passes through the shadow/umbra of the Earth.
⭐7:35pm moonrise (your shadow from setting sun points the way)
⭐7:46pm sunset
⭐9:33pm partial eclipse begins (lower left of Moon enters Earth's umbra)
⭐11:12pm maximum eclipse (top 4% of Moon remains in sunlight/bottom 96% in Earth's umbra)
⭐12:52am partial eclipse ends (lower right of Moon leaves Earth's umbra)
The Moon will be low in SE during the eclipse.

Waxing Gibbous Moon near Antares around 9pm in the Driftless.
08/20/2026

Waxing Gibbous Moon near Antares around 9pm in the Driftless.

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Lone Rock, WI

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