Latest News and Posts

  • That’s a wrap! Public Observation at Forsyth Central Library – December 2023

    We paid a visit to the Forsyth County Central Library on December 14 for a Night Under the Stars. Jupiter, and Saturn were both shining brightly in the night sky. We took a close up look with the telescopes provided by FAS President Justin Nichols, VP Bruce Gavett, Secretary Andrea Nichols, and Wally Otti. The…

  • January 2024 Meeting – Wednesday, January 10 at Kaleideum North (not downtown)

    Please join us for the January 10, 2024 meeting of Forsyth Astronomical Society. The meeting will be held at Kaleideum North (formerly SciWorks), 400 West Hanes Mill Road, Winston-Salem, NC. The meeting will not be at the new downtown location. We expect to begin meeting there in February. The topic will be an overview of…

  • CANCELED – Public observation at Stone Mountain on Saturday, January 6

    WEATHER UPDATE: The public observation at Stone Mountain is canceled due to clouds and the possibility of icy park roads. On Saturday, January 6, Forsyth Astronomical Society will host a public astronomy observation at Stone Mountain State Park. It should be dark enough to observe by 6:30 PM. The planet Jupiter should be visible if…

  • Asteroid 1, Dinosaurs 0

    FAS Astronomers Blog, Volume 31, Number 15. The dinosaurs ruled the Earth for millions of years. Despite their dominance, the dinosaurs disappeared. The commonly accepted theory is that a large asteroid hit the Earth, resulting in the extinction of over two thirds of the species on the planet. For more on dinosaurs, see three previous…

  • Earthrise

    Just recently the world was saddened to hear that former astronaut Frank Borman had passed away. Borman, along with Jim Lovell and Bill Anders traveled to the Moon and back in December 1968. Everyone remembers Apollo 11 and Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the Moon. Apollo 11 was actually NASA’s third manned trip to the…

  • The Case of the Brontosaurus

    FAS Astronomers Blog, Volume 31, Number 14b. When I was growing up, Brontosaurus was almost as famous as T. rex. However, Othniel Marsh made a mistake (maybe). In 1877, he discovered a dinosaur, which he named Apatosaurus ajax (Marsh 1877). Two years later, in 1879, he discovered another similar dinosaur, which he named Brontosaurus excelsus…

  • The Case of the Velociraptor

    FAS Astronomers Blog, Volume 31, Number 14a. The dinosaur in the movie Jurassic Park, called Velociraptor, was modeled after another dinosaur named Deinonychus. I guess the movie name sounded scarier and it was probably easier to pronounce. Although, Gregory S. Paul classified Deinonychus as a species of Velociraptor in his 1998 book Predatory Dinosaurs of…

  • Meet The Dinosaurs

    FAS Astronomers Blog, Volume 31, Number 14. In this article, we’ll focus on several individual dinosaurs and tell you a little more about them. As noted in An Introduction to Dinosaurs and The Classification of Dinosaurs, not all dinosaurs are the same. They came in all sizes and shapes. Some were meat-eaters (carnivores) and some…

  • Public Observation at Kaleideum North on Saturday, December 30, 2023

    WEATHER UPDATE: Saturday’s daytime clouds are forecasted to dissipate after sunset. The public observation at Kaleideum North will take place as scheduled. GOODBYE Kaleideum North! Kaleideum North will close on December 31, 2023.A brand new Kaleideum facility will open downtown on Third Street in the spring of 2024. To celebrate, the stars will be shining…