Eastex Astronomy – The Adventure Continues!
I liked using WordPress for the Texas Dirt Road Adventures blog so much that I decided to give the old Eastex Astronomy blog a facelift and move it over to…
Read More
Aurora Borealis
October 10, 2024 The Aurora Borealis made a rare appearance in East Texas tonight! I went out to the Sam Houston State University Observatory to see the spectacle and visit…
Read More
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS C/2023 A3
We have been blessed with some clear skies lately, just in time for comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS C/2023 A3 as it completed its trip around the Sun on its way back out…
Read More
September 17, 2024 Lunar Eclipse
I almost skipped this one because I didn't think it would be clear out. Also, the shadow was only going to pass across the edge of the disc of the…
Read More
Total Eclipse
April 8, 2024 The day finally arrived! The weather across most of the country was uncertain, at best. But, the city of Mount Pleasant, Texas looked to have a fair…
Read More
First Light – CDK700
February 20, 2024 Exciting news! Sam Houston State University has a new telescope! It's a PlaneWave Instruments CDK700 Observatory System, and it resides in the new classroom dome. First light…
Read More
Annular Eclipse
My wife and I made a last-minute decision to drive out to Choke Canyon State Park, near Three Rivers, Texas, to view the October 14, 2023 annular eclipse. The weather…
Read More2023 Perseids
It's been a long time since I watched the Perseid meteor shower, let alone attempted to take any pictures. Weather, the Moon, and a general disinterest have been the major…
Read More
Sunspot AR3354
During the last week of June 2023, a friend of mine alerted me to the fact that the largest sunspot group of this solar cycle was passing across the face…
Read More
Moon/Mars Conjunction
December 7, 2022, the Moon passed extremely close to Mars, as seen from my front yard. Had I been a relatively short distance to the northwest, the Moon would have…
Read More
Planetary Problem Solving
My telescopes are not well-suited for taking pictures of planets. The Dobsonian can't automatically track objects across the sky, and its focuser tube cannot handle the weight of anything but…
Read More