NAZ Astro

10/24/2025

Imagine watching the formation of our Solar System some 4.5 billion years ago. From an omniscient view, dozens—perhaps hundreds—of planetoids are jockeying for position, carving out orbits around a…

10/14/2025

Will you be looking for comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) this week?
Learn more about how it was discovered and when and where to look for it at www.backyardastroaz.com

10/08/2025

Check out the podast and monthly articles for unique happenings around Northern Arizona and the skies above us!

Get Out. Look Up.

05/11/2024

04/08/2024

Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by and picked up some eclipse glasses to share in this unique event! We are so honored to be part of such an amazing community and glad to call Prescott Valley our home.

A big THANK YOU to Safeco Insurance Manzanita Insurance Manzanita Accounting and Edward Tucker - Real Estate Professional for helping us continue to with across Northern Arizona

11/24/2023

When an ancient warrior wanted to deliver a prayer for his people to the Gods, it was Awoholi the Eagle who carried this solemn request all the way to Noquisi, the Sun. As a symbol of the lasting connection between the heavens above and people below on Earth, Noquisi kissed the tail feather of Awoholi, leaving the black spot on the golden eagle’s tail feather, which he still carries today.
Most of us can relate ancient Greco-Roman mythologies, such as that of Icarus flying too close to the sun, though few know the stories that have been handed down for just as long (or longer) on the American continents. The people have stories for the stars and constellations, and we are proud to share the story of Awoholi and Noquisi to commemorate . As submitted by a group of amateur and professional , educators and students, and local citizens from Central Yavapai County, this story garnered the attention of the International Astronomical Union, who chose these names to be forever memorialized for a and just 32 light years from Earth.
Check out the YouTube link below to learn more about this story and the process of naming a star/exoplanet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl893hO6v5w&t=239s

11/16/2023

We've all dropped something. Usually you just bend over and pick it up. But when you're floating outside the International Space Station, the thing you drop tends to start floating away towards the gravitational pull of Earth. That happened to Jasmine Moghbeli and Loral O'Hara during their recent on Nov. 2nd, and if you have a pair of binoculars tonight, you can see this orbiting toolbox for yourself!
At 6:42 PM the ISS will be flying over the Prescott area, visible for 5 minutes, starting from WSW to NNE. You will be able to find its highly reflective solar panels easily with the naked eye. Once you see the path its on, use your binoculars to scan about one to two minutes ahead of it, and you should find a smaller though still highly reflective toobag. Estimated by to be visible for the next few months, it's orbit will eventually decay to about 70 miles above the surface of the Earth, and the friction of the atmosphere will slow the toolbag until it disintegrates.

09/13/2023

The City of Prescott, Arizona honored our team with a city proclamation today, and declared September 12th, 2023 as Ani Noquisi Day!

Museum of Indigenous People Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott Campus
Jim and Linda Lee Planetarium Edward Tucker The Backyard Astronomer JPX/Jurassic Paleoart Expo

09/08/2023

Excited to receive our $10,000 award today courtesy of Safeco Insurance Liberty Mutual Small Commercial and Manzanita Insurance Manzanita Accounting. NAZ Astro board directors Edward Tucker and Adam England were on hand to accept this award, but we could not have done it without all of you voting for us! Thank you for helping us promote in Northern Arizona!

Excited to receive our $10,000 award today courtesy of Safeco Insurance Liberty Mutual Small Commercial and Manzanita Insurance and Accountin...

08/26/2023

You did it! Thank you to everyone who voted and helped us win $10,000 for from Manzanita Insurance and Safeco Insurance Liberty Mutual Small Commercial

Edward Tucker The Backyard Astronomer Manzanita Accounting

08/09/2023

17 years condensed into 10 seconds. Researchers observed Beta Pictoris b orbiting its host star. 63 ly distant, the exoplanet is 13x the mass of Jupiter, with an orbital period of about 23.6 years at 9AU. By comparison, Saturn is about 9.5 AU from our Sun and orbits every 29.4 years.