Roswell Astronomy Club

08/28/2026

Last night was the full Sturgeon Moon and a partial eclipse. The eclipse reached about 90% of the Moon covered in the shadow. Made for a pretty nice Blood Moon.

08/23/2026

The Roswell Astronomy Club hosted a Moon Gaze at Cielo Grande last night. The sky was hazy, but the Moon was nice and bright.

08/22/2026

Public Moon Gaze this evening at Cielo Grande Recreation Area, 612 w College Blvd., north parking lot. 7:30pm-9ish. Club members well be there earlier setting up.

08/19/2026

Last night was clear, warm and no wind. Setup the driveway observatory and looked at the southern sky. Viewed the Moon, Antares Star, Messier 4, 8 and 20. Clear skies.

08/03/2026

Good all week but Friday supposably. Get out and look up.

07/08/2026

Last night the sky was pretty clear, some very thin clouds. Checked out the Blaze Star Nova to make sure I could find it when the Nova erupts. It could erupt anytime in the next few months. Hope it happens before Coreonae Borealis moves to the daytime. Used the Garnet Star to focus, both are +/- 3,000 ly away. Clear skies.

06/17/2026

Last night was nice and clear. My telescope has had some tracking issues, so I took it apart and adjusted the backlash, tension and the belt drives. Last night's tests show it is working better. Just after sunset the Moon, Jupiter, Venus and Mercury were visible. I've been trying to image the Omega Centauri Globular Cluster, but it is so low in the sky it is not good. I may have to spend a couple of weeks in Key West next spring to get a good image. The Ring Nebula was high in the darkest part of the northeast sky. Clear skies.

06/15/2026

Several club members enjoyed a recent tour of the McDonald's Observatory in Ft. Davis, Tx. The club witnessed a rare event as the Harlan J Smith 107-inch telescope was in horizontal position being serviced. We had the privilege of seeing the inside of the optical tube assembly (OTA). The techs at first seemed surprised we were being led into the observatory ground zero but they put the tools down and one of them assisted with the presentation given by the young trainee that you see in the video.

06/10/2026

Fellow New Mexican, co-discoverer of the Hale-Bopp comet, astronomer, scientist Alan Hale 1958-2026

Astronomer and comet-hunter Alan Hale passed away on Saturday, June 6th, at 67 years old in his home in Cloudcroft, New Mexico.

06/03/2026