Everett Astronomical Society

05/01/2026

Learn what deep-space objects are, what optics you'll need and how to plan when to observe them.

05/01/2026

Scientists have identified at least seven carbon-rich molecules that NASA's Curiosity rover detected on Mars, and they're more complex than any found before.
Read more: https://buff.ly/763GYSN

04/15/2026

Mercury, Mars, and Saturn in the morning!

Best for viewers in either the Southern Hemisphere or near the Equator.

Saturn and Mars climb higher to join the brighter Mercury
From 40 to 60 minutes before sunrise during April, look low in the east for up to three points of light shining low above the horizon.
• During the first week of April, Mercury shines brightly. Outstretch your arm and make a fist. Place one side at the true horizon. At it its other side should be Mercury. Mars and Saturn will be much lower and much more difficult to spot.
• A slender crescent moon will be near Mercury on April 15.
• On April 20-22, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn lie near each other. Mercury will be the brightest of the three, while Mars will be the dimmest.
• After that, Mercury drops closer to the horizon while Saturn climbs higher.

03/21/2026

Exploring the moon!
Mare Nectaris

Mare Orientale is the most pristine of the lunar maria, but is ill positioned for direct observation. However, at certain sun angles, Mare Nectaris shows many of the same features that Mare Orientale clearly has.

• Altai Scarp is easy to find. It forms the sw section of the outer ring. How far around Mare Nectaris can you trace the outer ring?
• The edge of the flooded basin marks the inner ring. It appears out of round due to foreshortening.
• A possible middle ring might exist from crater Catharina past

Mare Nectaris is best seen through small telescopes
when the moon is 5.5 and 18 days of age.
The evening of March 24, 2026
presents a good opportunity to examine Mare Nectaris.

03/21/2026

Hunting for Herschels

If you have finished the Messiers,
you have already observed 17 Herschels.
Herschel – Messier duplications
• M20, 33, 47, 48, 76, 82, 91, 104 – 110
plus
• M35 (NGC 2158 Background cluster)
• M46 (NGC 2438 Foreground planetary nebula)
• M51 (NGC 5195 Whirlpool Galaxy companion)

Tips
• Use charts with stars plotted to 8th magnitude.
• Magnifications commonly used: 75-125x, and 200x for planetary nebulae and very dim galaxies.
• Hunt for objects in a south to north direction, and in a west to east direction.
• Use contrast enhancement filters for NGC 246, 2264, 2371, and 7000.
• Remember, many Herschels have another Herschel in the same field!
• When viewing in the extreme northerly declinations using a telescope with a fork mount and an equatorial wedge, turn the complete telescope assembly 180º. Polar alignment is lost, but the view in the finder will be right side up, and your back and neck will thank you.

Seeing farther into the depths of space,
especially when using smaller aperture scopes
• Need dark, transparent skies
• Use averted vision
• Tap the tube
• Increase magnification
• Have clean optics
• Eliminate all stray light

Virgo/Coma
and the Spring Wall
• Don't become discouraged at the great many of galaxies in the late winter through spring sky! Proceed in an orderly fashion, locating targets in a south to north and west to east manner.
• Carefully draw a star map of the region between Vindemiatrix and Denebola using small (8x30) binoculars. Add the galaxies as you find them through your scope. That way, you'll keep track of what you've found.

Not all is tough, though
Binocular Herschels
NGC 752, 2353, 2264, 2232, 6633,
1528, 869 & 884, 1647, 6940, and 6682

03/21/2026

As the comet prepares for its perilous perihelion passage, we look at what to expect.
Read more: https://buff.ly/PP0ih1M

02/27/2026

Some tools to see some of the flood of discoveries of the Rubin Observatory
https://orbitviewer.app/en/
https://skyviewer.app/

02/02/2026

EAS display at Frank Love elementary science night

01/21/2026

https://komonews.com/news/local/northern-lights-aurora-borealis-puget-sound-washington-areas-without-fog-sunset-to-midnight-coronal-mass-ejection-geomagnetic-storm

The weather may be calm, but the heavens above are not!

01/21/2026

A bit of low level aurora glow tonight but only visible on camera so far