Special Event

AstroBackyard

• Rediscover the Night Sky: 6 Things You’re Missing Because of Light Pollution April 13, 2026
  If you’ve ever stepped outside at night and looked up, it probably felt like you were seeing the night sky. A few bright stars,  maybe a familiar constellation or two, and that’s it.  For most people, that is the night sky they know, but it’s only a small fraction of what’s actually there. Over time,... […]
  Ashley Northcotte
• My Astrophotography Processing Workflow in PixInsight & Photoshop April 2, 2026
  In this guide, I’m going to walk you through my current astrophotography processing workflow from start to finish. The biggest thing I want you to take away isn’t just what tools to use, but when to use them. If you’re looking for a PixInsight processing tutorial that is actually easy to follow, this guide will... […]
  Trevor Jones
• The Best Weather Apps for Astronomy March 12, 2026
  A good weather app can save you a lot of frustration when you’re planning a night under the stars. The best weather apps for astronomy go beyond a basic clear-or-cloudy forecast, helping you check things like cloud cover, seeing, transparency, wind, humidity, and even smoke before you drag all your gear outside. If you spend... […]
  Trevor Jones

NASA Solar System & Beyond

• Volunteers Discover Rare Space Weather Events Using Their Ears April 17, 2026
  Scientists are working to understand exactly how these waves behave, and the team behind NASA’s Heliophysics Audified: Resonances in Plasmas (HARP) citizen science project approaches this in a unique way: they compare the Earth’s magnetic field to a giant harp in space.
• NASA’s SPHEREx Observatory Maps Interstellar Ice in Milky Way April 17, 2026
  An observation made by NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) shows the chemical signatures of water ice (shown in bright blue) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (orange) in Cygnus X, one of the most active and turbulent regions of star birth in our Milky Way galaxy. The […]
  Monika Luabeya
• Spring Rains Saturate Michigan April 17, 2026
  Above-normal precipitation has swollen rivers and damaged infrastructure statewide.

Sky & Telescope

• This Week's Sky at a Glance, April 17 – 26 April 17, 2026
  The waxing Moon this week visits Venus, the Pleiades, and the Jupiter-Pollux-Castor triangle, then occults Regulus in a bright sky. The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, April 17 – 26 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
  Alan MacRobert
• What Were the Flashes That Artemis 2 Astronauts Saw? April 16, 2026
  The crew of Artemis 2 reported six flashes of light while passing behind the Moon. We've seen those kinds of flashes before. The post What Were the Flashes That Artemis 2 Astronauts Saw? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
  David L. Chandler
• See the Moon Hide Regulus, the Stellar Heart of the Lion April 15, 2026
  Watch Regulus disappear and reappear before your eyes during its last North American occultation in the current cycle. The post See the Moon Hide Regulus, the Stellar Heart of the Lion appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
  Bob King

Phil’s Astronomy Blog