Driftless Dark Skies: Transit of Mercury

Driftless Dark Skies

A special astronomical event occurs on November 11 when Mercury passes across the face of the sun. You’ll need a solar telescope to protect your eyes and to magnify the planet, which will appear only about 1/200 the diameter of the sun. The transit starts at 6:35am...

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...