Frosty Drew Nature Center & Observatory: Tom Abbott's Columns

The Red Light District…

Tom Abbott — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 14:33:42 EST

Is a term I use, when referring to the area surrounding an observatory or any other area where telescopes are in use. This term should in no way be confused with the red lights of bordellos, found throughout the world. Yes both use red lights, but for

Stargazing and Sudoku

Tom Abbott — Fri, 7 Aug 2015 10:36:57 EDT

Finding a star or constellation for that matter, is allot like playing Sudoku. You start with the easier ones first and move on to the more difficult ones as your skill increases. Also like Sudoku, you start with your knowns, before you move on to your

Christmas Morning

Tom Abbott — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 13:01:20 EST

What a strange title for an astronomy article you are probably thinking. Perhaps it’s another opinion about the Star of Bethlehem; was it a comet, supernova, maybe a conjunction of several planets or is the whole event just a myth. Although that woul

Double or Nothing

Tom Abbott — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 09:14:32 EDT

On those beautiful nights when the sky is transparent, the atmosphere is calm and the Moon is bright; many a seasoned astronomer will keep their telescopes indoors. To me, they are missing out on a chance to see some of nature’s most spectacular cele

Dobsonians and Longboards

Tom Abbott — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 17:33:58 EDT

Reading the title of this article, you are probably wondering, what possibly a Dobsonian and a Longboard have in common. Furthermore, you might not even be sure what either of the two are. So with that in mind, I will start with the latter and will the