Latest News and Posts

  • That’s a wrap! The April 8, 2024 Solar Eclipse

    The April 8, 2024 Solar Eclipse has come and gone. At our May meeting, several of our members regaled us with stories about their experiences chasing down this eclipse. Here are a few images taken by our members. Image Credits: Paul Jones, Wally Otti, Frank Westmorland, Sean Wood, Justin Nichols, and Bruce Gavett. We particularly…

  • A Planetary Lineup

    Update (June 19th): The folks from Sky & Telescope just published an article pointing out that a better lineup will be visible on the morning of June 29th. Get up early this month (June 2024) and look to the East. You will see a lineup of five or six planets. To be fair, you might…

  • What’s in the name Uranus?

    FAS Astronomers Blog, Volume 32, Number 5. William Herschel was the most famous astronomer of the eighteenth century. So much so, that Heinz Pagels called the first major section of his book Perfect Symmetry as “Herschel’s Garden.” On March 13, 1781, Herschel accomplished something that no one else had done in modern times. He discovered…

  • Public Solar Observation at Pilot Mountain State Park (Saturday, May 25 from 10 AM to Noon)

    WEATHER UPDATE: This event will take place. Conditions are not ideal, but should be good enough to get some solar views. FAS will hold a public solar observation at the Pilot Mt. State Park Visitors Center on Saturday, May 25, from 10 am to 12 Noon. Solar telescopes will be available to safely view the…

  • Public Solar Observations This Summer

    During the summer scheduling observations of the night sky is somewhat problematic because of the long days and short nights. It just gets dark too late. But fear not! During the day the Sun is out and we at the Forsyth Astronomical Society will bring out our telescopes (with the appropriate solar filters) for some…

  • Black Hole Visualizations

    The folks at NASA’s Goddard Flight Center just published two interesting videos about black holes. “New NASA Black Hole Visualization Takes Viewers Beyond the Brink.” NASA. May 6, 2024. Evidently it is also Black Hole week. NASA has some more information. For even more on black holes, see our previous astronomy blogs.

  • May 2024 FAS Meeting (Wednesday, May 8)

    Please join us for the May meeting of the Forsyth Astronomical Society on Wednesday, May 8. The meeting will be held at the new Kaleideum at 120 West 3rd Street downtown in Winston-Salem, NC. FAS members will regale us with their adventures chasing the April 8 Solar Eclipse.  Right Eclipse Images Credit: Sean Wood. You…

  • Astronomical League Resources / Recursos de la Liga Astronómica

    The Astronomical League has just expanded its resource section (Night Sky Tools). You can find monthly maps of the night sky in both English and Spanish. See our Night Sky page for links to many of these charts. They also have several useful handouts, including an eight page introduction to stargazing and the night sky.…

  • Gravity

    FAS Astronomers Blog, Volume 32, Number 4. Objects fall to the ground. That’s the nature of things on the surface of the Earth, and everywhere else. Gravity is something that humankind has been familiar with since ancient times. Drop something and it falls to the floor. Jump up and you end up back on the…