Mar 3, 2026 | MAS Happenings
We are just weeks away from the first star parties of the year. I’ve been sitting on my couch for months but I’m going to try—really try—to be ready by the weekend of March 13–14. Below is a quick regimen I put together for myself. I’m sharing it in case you’re in the...
Feb 24, 2026 | MAS Happenings
Do you—or someone you observe with—experience vivid memories of clear, mild observing nights during February in Minnesota? You may be suffering from Seasonal Observational Recall Distortion, or SORD. SORD affects amateur astronomers each winter, causing them to...
Feb 17, 2026 | MAS Happenings
If you’re a visual observer who sketches at the eyepiece, you already know the routine. Glasses fog. You swap near and far lenses. The Telrad dot jumps depending on which part of your progressive lenses you’re using. Paper gets soggy. Stars become pen blobs. And if...
Feb 10, 2026 | MAS Happenings
The 2026 budget was approved last Thursday, and members may have noticed not only what it includes—but also what it doesn’t. (The level of fiscal restraint shown by our site leaders and board members is impressive.) Imagining myself as a site leader, here’s...
Feb 3, 2026 | MAS Happenings
Happenings this Week While I continue to fuss over which of my walk-in-closet-full of space-themed ball gowns I should wear to this year’s Astronomy Awards, I thought I’d share my predictions for who will win in each category. Below are some of the nominees, along...
Jan 27, 2026 | MAS Happenings
Opinions Section Dear Happenings Editor, I am writing in response to last week’s introduction. I am deeply disappointed that an astronomy organization such as yours would peddle pro–light pollution propaganda within its digital pages. Clearly, the author of your...
Jan 20, 2026 | MAS Happenings
Happenings this Week Reflections on Light Pollution — Does It Get a Bad Rap? Amateur astronomers appear to suffer, emotionally speaking, when the topic of light pollution comes up. As the MAS resident pop psychologist (another of my made-up hats), I like to remind my...
Jan 13, 2026 | MAS Happenings
Happenings this Week Lo, as I chart my observing season for the year of our Sun 2026, the cosmos doth reveal its cruel jest: thirteen full moons, with the month of May so greedy as to claim two. Behold, their lamentable roll call below – named not by poets or ancient...
Jan 6, 2026 | MAS Happenings
Happenings this Week Welcome to 2026! I’m donning my prognostication hat to bring you my Top 10 Astronomy Predictions for the New Year (move over Nostradamus): Around February 28, non-astronomers in your social circles will ask you about a significant planetary...
Dec 9, 2025 | MAS Happenings
Happenings this Week My current project is to work on the Astruhnomical Leegue’s Astro Baking Award. And thanks to all of you who showed up on Election Night to vote and eat cake, I was able to log my first object: Interesting to note that the “AL” doesn’t count the...
