Driftless Dark Skies: Full Sturgeon Moon

Driftless Dark Skies

The stars come out a little earlier as we drift into August. The Sun sets around 8:24 in the Driftless on August 1. That’s 20 minute earlier than back on the June Solstice. By the end of August, the Sun is setting at 7:40, and the sky is fully dark by around 9:20.The...

Morning on the Sea of Tranquility

Driftless Dark Skies, Driftless Wisconsin

Fifty years ago on a Sunday night, 20 July 1969, we humans did something awesome. Two of us, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, walked and hopped about the dusty plains of the Sea of Tranquility as Michael Collins orbited overhead. Apollo 11 fulfilled President Kennedy’s...

Driftless Dark Skies: Giant Planets

Driftless Wisconsin

Our solar system’s two largest planets will be wonderful this summer. Jupiter is closest to Earth on June 10 and Saturn on July 9. During these oppositions, they will be at their biggest and brightest and visible all night long. How do you tell a planet from a star?...