Blog
Keep up to date on what is happening in the Driftless
Driftless Dark Skies: Planets Arcing across the Sky
Unless Betelgeuse goes supernova in the next four months, I think I will be remembering 2018 as the year the planets were so amazing in the evening sky. And there will be a dramatic finale in the skies over the Driftless Area this month. All you need is a clear view...
Driftless Dark Skies: Fire in the Sky
In the summer of his 27th year, John Denver was camping above the tree line outside Aspen CO when he was awed by the sight of Perseid meteors streaking across the sky. The experience inspired him to write “Rocky Mountain High”: “I've seen it rainin' fire in the...
Rivers show us patience
I’m late for a meeting. The car in front of me travels slowly, cautiously navigating every curve of the road along the Kickapoo River. I consider passing, yet the double yellow line offers a constant companion to travelers of Highway 131, where sight lines disappear...
Driftless Dark Skies: Mars Returns
Mars will be awesome in the dark skies of the Driftless this month. It has not been this bright since the Great Perihelic Opposition of August 2003 and won’t be this bright again until September 2035. Mars takes almost two years to orbit the Sun, so Earth “laps” it...
Driftless Dark Skies: Evening Planets
Our neighboring worlds of the Solar System will be spectacular this summer. There are five planets visible to our unaided eyes, and you will be able to see Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn in the evening skies of our...
Driftless Dark Skies: Summer Stargazing
The warm nights ahead are a great time to explore our dark skies. Planets will be spectacular this summer. Venus is brilliant and beautiful on the western sky after sunset, Jupiter is closest to Earth on May 9, Saturn on June 27, and Mars on July 31. There are plenty...
Driftless Dark Skies: Roaming Mars
Mars has long sparked my imagination. I think it was that map of the Solar System I had as a kid showing canals and vegetation. Only when I learned Roman numerals did I discover that the map was out of date. But I was left with a favorite planet. Now Mars is...
Driftless Dark Skies: Evenings with Venus
Venus will be bright and beautiful after sunset in the western skies of the River Valley this spring and summer. Venus outshines all the other planets and stars. On March 1, Venus is fairly low to the horizon and sets around 6:50 about an hour after the Sun. If you...
Driftless Dark Skies: State of the Milky Way
It is good to know and love our home. We live in the Driftless Area of North America on Earth. Our planet is just one of many worlds circling that one star we call the Sun. Our Solar System, full of planets, moons, asteroids and comets, is one of hundreds of billions...
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