Frosty Drew Observatory and Science Center Columns

Celebration of Space - April 10, 2026

Scott MacNeill — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 15:36:54 EDT

It’s been over a week since the Artemis II mission launched (Wednesday, April 1, 2026). On Monday, April 6, 2026, the Artemis II crew module (Orion Mult-Purpose Crew Vehicle or MPCV) executed a flyby maneuver around the Moon and embarked on the retur

Celebration of Space - March 20, 2026

Scott MacNeill — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 13:56:12 EDT

This past Monday, March 16, 2026, the International Astronomy Union (IAU) Minor Planet Center announced the addition of 11 newly discovered moons around Saturn, and 4 around Jupiter. These additions bring the total count of moons around Saturn to 285,

Celebration of Space - March 13, 2026

Scott MacNeill — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 13:28:57 EDT

Geek alert! Saturday, March 14, 2026 is Pi (𝜋) Day! When formatting the date with a single digit month and day, separated by decimal points, you get: 3.14, which is the common recognition of Pi.

Pi, which is the ratio of a circle's circumferen

Celebration of Space - February 6, 2026

Scott MacNeill — Fri, 6 Feb 2026 15:05:59 EST

On Wednesday, February 11, 2026 at 6:00 am EST, the launch window opens for the four-person Crew-12 launch to the International Space Station. The launch will occur at Cape Canaveral, FL and should be visible for most of the East Coast, including South

Celebration of Space - January 30, 2026

Scott MacNeill — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 14:12:57 EST

This coming Sunday, February 1, 2016 at 6:11 pm EST, the Moon will arrive at the point in its orbit where Earth is in between the Moon and Sun. We call this “opposition”, but is more commonly known as the full Moon. Being that the Moon is on the op

Celebration of Space - January 9, 2026

Scott MacNeill — Fri, 9 Jan 2026 14:20:54 EST

This coming Saturday, January 10, 2026, Earth will arrive at the point in our orbit where we will pass in between Jupiter and the Sun. This is called opposition, and allows for the best views of Jupiter for the year. During the days around opposition J

Celebration of Space - January 2, 2026

Scott MacNeill — Fri, 2 Jan 2026 12:51:40 EST

The first full Lunar phase of 2026 will occur on January 3, 2026, at 5:04 am. Considering that this is the closest full Moon to the Winter Solstice, which occurred on December 21, 2025, at 10:03 am, the Moon will be the highest in the sky of all full L

Dressing for All-Night Winter Stargazing

Scott MacNeill — Wed, 4 Feb 2015 17:00:18 EST

As the New England late-autumn sets in, and with it, the cooler temps of winter, stargazing starts to sound a bit relentless and the idea becomes as remote as a sunny day at the beach. Though the cold temperatures and potentially snowy landscape can be

Celebration of Space - June 20, 2025

Scott MacNeill — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 12:36:39 EDT

Today, Friday, June 20, 2025 at 10:42 pm ET, Earth will arrive at the point in its orbit where the Northern Hemisphere is at maximum tilt, 23.4°, towards the Sun. This is the Summer Solstice, but most people know it as the first day of summer in the N

Celebration of Space - April 11, 2025

Scott MacNeill — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 15:10:18 EDT

Today, April 11, 2025, marks 55 years since the launch of the Apollo 13 mission. This mission is infamous due to the catastrophic failure of an oxygen tank onboard after 55 hours in space. The resulting rupture resulted in the mission performing an orb