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We live in an amazing Universe, come explore with us.

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Image by History in HD
Image by Alexander Andrews
Astronomy
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Looking Through Telescope

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Upcoming Events

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All events are free to the General Public

(Unless stated otherwise)

Educational Fun for all Ages 

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Eagle River and Northland Pines School Community Astronomy Night 

Oldenburg Sports Park, Eagle River

Friday, Oct 25 ( backup 26) 

6:30 PM to 8:30 PM

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Free event, open to the general public. We will setup telescopes and image--stabilized binoculars to view Saturn, the Andromeda Galaxy, M13 - the huge globular cluster in Hercules, M57 - the Ring Nebula in Lyra, and a few double stars. It's very enjoyable looking at objects in the Milky Way and beyond through a good telescope with a group of experienced star gazers and enthusiasts. For casual observing, we use green lasers that seem to reach the stars to help guide the way.

All are welcome.

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"Colonizing the Moon: A first step to Mars"

and Stargazing at the

North Lakeland Discovery Center

Friday evening 6:30-9 PM Nov 1 (backup Nov 2)

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Join us for an evening of stargazing and learning more about our upcoming missions to build a lunar habitat, Bob Krueger will provide a talk on the difficulties to build a station on the moon and prepare for mars exploration. After the talk with good weather will observe a few objects with quality telescopes and image-stabilized binoculars to view Saturn, the Ring Nebula in Lyra (M57), the great globular cluster in Hercules (M13) the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), and Jupiter around 9 PM. Learn about constellations, the Milky Way, and our amazing Universe.

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Registration required at the Discovery Center

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Beginning Stargazing Simplified

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5:00 - 7:00 PM, February 5, 2025

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Nicolet College, Rhinelander

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This program will provide a brief overview of our Solar System, the Milky Way Galaxy, and the Universe. We'll cover the scale and times to travel to different locations. You'll learn what you'll see in the sky throughout the year, and discover when it's best to view planets, meteor showers, aurora, eclipses, the Milky Way, and distant galaxies. We'll demonstrate the tools used and stargazing aids,

along with how to select binoculars or a small telescope.

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With good weather we might try to setup a telescope outside

to view objects on a TV screen inside a warm classroom.

 

What's in the sky? Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, a first-quarter moon, and the Orion Nebula!

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 Aurora Watch

 

Signup to receive email alerts!

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When there's a good probability of aurora we'll let you know. 

 

Our Sun looks like it's on the way to Maximum. This might increase the probabilities of seeing Aurora over the next year.

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Northwoods Explorers' Membership Program

 

The Northwoods Explorers membership program offers the opportunity to learn more about our Universe and how to find your way among the nearby stars along with supporting our public outreach programs

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Visit our Membership Page

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Past Events:

-------------------------------------------------------------------Stargazing with the Northwoods Explorers at Nicolet College

Friday, Oct 4, 2024

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The weather cooperated and the sky had good seeing, we setup 4 telescopes and viewed Saturn and its rings, the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules (M13), the Ring Nebula in Lyra (M57), the Dumbbell Nebula near Cygnus (M27), the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and the starburst galaxy (M82). Some say there were over 150 folks who visited, it's a great place to stargaze, thanks to Nicolet College, who also provided light refreshments. The ages of the curious guests were from 5 to 99! It was a great night!

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Space and Astro Camp with Rhinelander Homeschoolers. Sep 24

We all had a good time learning about rockets, the electromagnetic spectrum, and Solar Viewing

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Partial Lunar Eclipse Viewing, Sep 17, 7:30 - 10:00 PM

Torpy Park, Minocqua

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We had fun during the partial lunar eclipse at Torpy Park last week, clear skies, Saturn, Moon craters, and M13 - the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules were clearly seen along with the moon clipping earth's shadow.

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August 12 Perseid Meteor Shower and Stargazing

Minocqua Winter Park

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After watching a talk on meteor showers, we viewed many distant objects through telescopes and saw a few meteors. Everyone had a good time, with special thanks to the staff and volunteers at the MWP.

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July 16 Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers Astronomy Night

Land o Lakes at Lowenwood, WI

 

We had to peek in-between clouds to get a good view of M13 the great globular cluster in Hercules and M57 the ring nebula in lyra, and craters on the moon.

Amazing science teachers!

 

 

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June 26 YMCA Astronomy Camp

Rhinelander YMCA

 

The campers had a great time learning about moon phases, rocket theory using balloons, the electromagnetic spectrum building bracelets that turn into various colors when exposed to UV, the scale of the solar system, and viewed prominences and sunspots on the sun through a Hydrogen-alpha filtered telescope.

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June 20 Summer Solstice Solar Exploration

Minocqua  -  Torpy Park

2 - 4 PM

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Celebrate the beginning of summer with the June 20 solstice at Torpy Park!

Safely observe the sun through a dedicated solar filtered telescope to view sunspots, prominences, and maybe a few flares. Learn about our nearest star and when to look for the Northern Lights. Make a bracelet that detects UV rays. Learn the scale of our solar system. Inspect a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite.

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Free, open to the public, Family fun!

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We will use a Hydrogen-alpha filtered telescope to safely

view the sun's chromosphere up close. Click here to learn more

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Beginning Stargazing Simplified

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5:00 - 7:00 PM, May 8, 2024

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Nicolet College, Rhinelander

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This program will provide a brief overview of our Solar System, the Milky Way Galaxy, and the Universe. We'll cover the scale and times to travel to different locations. You'll learn what you'll see in the sky throughout the year, and discover when it's best to view planets, meteor showers, aurora, eclipses, the Milky Way, and distant galaxies. We'll demonstrate the tools used and stargazing aids,

along with how to select binoculars or a small telescope.

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Stay tuned for additional programs at Nicolet College

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Total Solar Eclipse!

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April 8, 2024

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Success! Most everyone who traveled to the path of totality witnessed the eclipse, although some high clouds diminished the view. Total Eclipses are so short in duration it is difficult to capture what we experience visually, due to the wider dynamic range of our eyes. Visually, the corona was much wider than these images show, and the prominences were more prominent! These images were captured by David Gore courtesy of Bob Krueger while in Evansville, IN.

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From Bill B in Indiana:

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This image is from a Hydrogen-alpha filtered telescope, the large prominence is about 3 earth diameters in size.

(Credit Dan Niles)

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Future eclipses visible in Minocqua area: 

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/minocqua 

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The Great Total Eclipse in America

Minocqua Public Library Presentation

Saturday, March 23, 2024 10-11 AM

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Get prepared for the total eclipse on April 8, 2024, we will provide an indoor presentation on how to safely view it, where the best locations might be, to help plan how to experience an amazing opportunity that has been shared by humans for thousands of years. Don't miss it, the next rare alignment of the Earth, moon and sun as seen from America will be in 2044, 20 years from now! We will demonstrate how to make a pinhole viewer, and participants will receive a free pair of safe solar viewing glasses while supplies last. 

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The Great Total Eclipse in America

Mercer Public Library Presentation

March 19, 2024 10-11 AM

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Get prepared for the total eclipse on April 8, 2024, we will provide an indoor presentation on how to safely view it, where the best locations might be, to help plan how to experience an amazing opportunity that has been shared by humans for thousands of years. Don't miss it, the next rare alignment of the Earth, moon and sun as seen from America will be in 2044, 20 years from now! We will demonstrate how to make a pinhole viewer, and participants will receive a free pair of safe solar viewing glasses while supplies last. 

 

Free event. For more information visit 

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Another Great American Eclipse: What you need to know – Mercer Public Library

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The Amazing James Webb Space Telescope

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Minocqua Public Library

Jan 27 2024, 10:00 - 11:30 AM

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The James Webb Space Telescope is the next great space science observatory, designed to answer outstanding questions about the Universe and to make breakthrough discoveries in all fields of astronomy. It is a once-in-a-generation mission. Learn about how it was made, how it compares to other great observatories, what astronomers hope to accomplish,

and we'll reveal some of the surprising observations.

After the presentation we'll demonstrate how to use the Minocqua Public Library's telescope that can be checked out like a book.

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We had a great turnout, standing room only! Thank you to the staff at the Minocqua Public Library!

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North Lakeland School - Lighted Schoolhouse

 

November 10, 6 - 8 PM

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Beginning Stargazing Simplified 

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This program will provide a brief overview of our Solar System, the Milky Way Galaxy, and the Universe.  You'll learn what you'll see in the sky throughout the year, and discover when it's best to view planets, meteor showers, aurora, eclipses, the Milky Way, and distant galaxies. We'll demonstrate the tools used and stargazing aids, along with how to select binoculars and a small telescope.

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Northland Pines School Community Astronomy Night 

Oldenburg Sports Park, Eagle River

Oct 21 

6:30 PM to 9:00 PM

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At first the skies were filled with clouds, so we setup a TV and Bob gave a presentation on Jupiter, then 20 minutes later the clouds parted and we had great views of the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, M13, and M82. One of the teachers set up a walkout of the solar system scale. We had a great time until the temps hit 32 with frost on all the metal parts.

 

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Solar Stargazing

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Mercer Public Library, Saturday 10 am - Noon,

*** Moved to Oct 7 ***

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We set up a Hydrogen-alpha Solar Telescope to view the sun's chromosphere, in between clouds we viewed sunspots, prominences larger than planet Earth, flares, filaments and more! We discussed the upcoming annular eclipse on Oct 14, and the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. 

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We use specially-filtered systems that are built to safely view the sun.

 

Never look at the sun with your eyes or with binoculars or a telescope. It can permanently damage your eyesight.

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Discovery Center Astronomy Night

 

Friday Sep 22 

 

It was too cloudy for stargazing, Bob Krueger gave a talk on Saturn, the audience asked great questions! 

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August 26, Saturday, Astronomy Night at the YMCA of the Northwoods

 

( Rhinelander ) 8 PM to 10 PM.

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Saturn was at opposition! We viewed Saturn and its rings, the ring nebula, the great globular cluster in Hercules and the moon, although clouds and humidity softened the view. 

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August 18 YMCA Day Camp

(YMCA campers only)

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Dozens of campers enjoyed shooting rocket ballons off of our planet, discoverd moon phases, and learned a little about the scale of our solar system. Most saw a few prominences and sunpots on the sun through a solar telescope.

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Perseid Meteor Shower Stargazing

AUG 12, 8 PM - 11 PM Gates open 7 PM

Minocqua Winter Park 

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The clouds separated for a few hours and we were able to witness a few meteors, as well as gaze far into our galaxy and universe to view M57 the Ring Nebula, M13 the great cluster in Hercules, M82 a galaxy millions of light years distant.

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Yawkee Lake Association

July 22, 5 PM

Sky Tonight, Light Pollution

(Private)

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Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers

 

 Lowenwood, Three Lakes, July 16

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We fought the mosquitos and as the temps dropped

we were able to view M13, M57, M82, and a few double stars,

with amazing science teachers!

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July 13, 11 AM, Mercer Public Library

Sun, Moon, Stars

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Learn how rockets work using rocket balloons, Hold a moon in your hand and learn about moon phases. Make a bracelet that detects UV rays. Inspect a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite.

 

Fun for families! 

 

Mercer Public Library

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June 21 Summer Solstice Solar Exploration

Minocqua  -  Torpy Park

11 AM - 4 PM

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Celebrate the beginning of summer with the 

June 21 solstice at Torpy Park!

Safely observe the sun through a dedicated solar filtered telescope to view sunspots, prominences, and maybe a few flares. Learn about our nearest star and when to look for the Northern Lights. Make a bracelet that detects UV rays. Learn how to make a safe solar eclipse viewer, and easily measure the diameter of our nearest star. Inspect a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite. Hear about the race to the moon! Family fun!

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We will use a Hydrogen-alpha filtered telescope to safely

view the sun's chromosphere up close. Click here to learn more

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June 15, 1-2 PM, Minocqua Library

Sun, Moon, Stars

 

We all had a good time, there were about 60 participants, where they learned a little about how rockets work using rocket balloons, made UV bracelets to detect harmful solar radiation, the scale of the solar system, and moon phases.

 

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Mercer Public Library

Earth Day Fair

April 22 - 10 AM- 12 PM

We handed out lighting recommendations from the International Dark Sky Association

and other materials.

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Beginner's Guide to Stargazing

3 Class series - Fe University - Hurley, WI

March 21, 28, April 4, 2-3:30 PM

Field stargazing trip April 11 7:30-9:30 PM

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We had a full class and enjoyed a great evening stargazing seeing Venus, the Pleiades, the Orion Nebula and the trapezium, M3 the globular cluster 28,000 light years distant, the planetary nebula NGC 3242, M82 the starburst galaxy 12 million light years away, and a faint M51 - the whirlpool galaxy 31 million light years away.

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 Beginner’s Guide to Stargazing – Fe University

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Scale of the Solar System and the Milky Way

Arbor Vitae Woodruff School

March 8

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The classes enjoyed the program and I was amazed about their many great questions!

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Northwoods Explorers January Meeting

Saturday, January 21, 1-2:30 PM

Minocqua Public Library

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"Explorer 1"

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Open to the general public. We will have the latest news then we will watch the NASA/JPL Movie "Explorer 1" (53 min). 65 years ago the Space Race started. We'll discover how we blew up many rockets trying to catch up to the Russians, who had just launched Sputnik 1.  From this confusion NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory were created, and the space race was on! Discussion will follow.

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Northwoods Explorers Fall Public Meeting

Saturday November 19, 6:30 - 8:00 PM

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Dr. Sebastian Zamfir, Quasars!

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Free event, all are welcome! First, we'll hand out a few awards, 

announce our future programs, and a quick update on what's up in the Night Sky,

then Dr. Sebastian Zamfir from the Astronomy and Physics Dept of UWSP

will speak about quasars, active galactic nuclei, and how these discoveries

fit in with how our Milky Way Galaxy developed. 

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Refreshments Included

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Exploring Quasars through Optical Spectroscopy 

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North Lakeland School

Manitowish Waters

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Friday, November 11th, 6:30pm-8:00pm
 

 

Do you find yourself gazing towards the stars on our beautiful Northwoods nights? This class will cover what's up in the sky each season of the year,

what to look for in binoculars, when to look for meteor showers,

and find out where we are in our Milky Way Galaxy.

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If the weather permits, we'll observe Jupiter-and four of its moons, Saturn and its rings, a few double stars, and other deep sky objects through high
powered telescopes for community members to see out of this world sights!

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This is a 3 part series covering the observation of the Solar System,

objects in our Milky Way Galaxy, and beyond.

 

This unique class is sure to fill
up quick with specific viewing nights to follow after this class.

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Register Now at

North Lakeland School District - Community Education / Lighted Schoolhouse

 

 *Registrants can bring their own binoculars to this class for enhanced viewing*

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Mercer Public School Stargazing Oct 26

 

The students were rewarded with one of the best viewing nights

we've had up here, We could easily see Saturn's shadow

on the rings as well as many storm bands on Jupiter!

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Stargazing with the Northwoods Explorers

at the Minocqua Winter Park, Friday, October 28th

6:30 - 9 PM

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We had great weather, Bob gave a talk on Jupiter, then we viewed Saturn, Jupiter, M13, M57, M31, the Plieades and a few clusters. Folks were amazed with the image-stabilized binoculars

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Stargazing with the Northwoods Explorers

at the North Lakeland Discovery Center

October 22, 6:30 - 9:00 PM

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It was a great evening, Bob began with a talk on the Moon, then we went outside and viewed Jupiter, Saturn, the globular cluster M13, the Ring Nebula M57, the Andromeda Galaxy M31, and the Milky Way with image-stabilized binoculars. Everyone had a great time!

 

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The Space Race with the Northwoods Explorers

Minocqua Public Library

 

Thursday, October 6

Everyone seemed to enjoy Bob's presentation and discussion around the current space race. Why the rush, isn't it dangerous, and what is the benefit? We'll reveal the amazing opportunities building bridges to the future, and the challenge of finding scientists and engineers. 

It was too cloudy to view Saturn, Jupiter and the moon

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Stargazing with the Northwoods Explorers

at the YMCA of the Northwoods 

Saturday, October 1st

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The clouds came in, so we showed a presentation on the Solar System inside the YMCA, the audience participated with many questions.

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Stargazing with the Northwoods Explorers

at the North Lakeland Discovery Center

 Saturday, September 3rd, 7:15 - 10:00 PM

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Another amazing night at the Discovery Center, after watching a presentation on our Solar System many saw the crescent moon up close with many craters, then Saturn with its rings and 4 of its many moons, later we saw Jupiter with 4 moons and a few storm bands, we were going to view more but the clouds came in. 

 

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Artemis Presentation, Stargazing

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with the Northwoods Explorers

at the Minocqua Winter Park, 

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Friday, August 5th

8:30-10:30 PM

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Our speaker, Bob Kreuger, presented a great perspective into NASA's Artemis mission to the moon. Our visitors had a chance to look through 3D glasses at Mar's rover's images while on Mars, and checked out a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite. 

 

We then went outside and observed the moon with many of its craters using high-performance telescopes, then M13 - the great globular cluster in Hercules, next was M57, the Ring Nebula, and viewed the beautiful double star Albireo in Cygnus.  Later in the evening we saw Saturn and its rings, but it was low on the horizon, so it wasn't the best view. In a few weeks it will be higher - check out our events in the Fall to get a better view of Saturn and Jupiter. 

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Solar Exploration at the YMCA

 of the Northwoods

Friday, July 22, 9-11 AM

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The seeing was very good, we saw many prominences, flares, sunspots, filaments, over the course of one hour, one prominence grew and flew away from the sun!

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We setup 4 stations to rotate 70 K-5 campers, with learning how moon phases work, the central pressure point and center of gravity with rocket balloons, sunburn detector UV bead bracelets, modeling the Solar System's scale, 3D images of Mars from our rovers (thanks JPL), investigated a 4.5 billion year old meteorite, and with an 80mm Lunt Solar Scope, many had their first experiences looking through a telescope and seeing the Sun up close in Ha light, we all had a great time!

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Stargazing with the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers

at Lowenwood

July 18

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At the beautiful Lowenwood retreat with amazing science teachers, we discussed some of the successes using hands-on models to teach astronomy. They continued to explore how to weave astronomy into their programs.

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Thunderstorms prevented the opportunity to observe.

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Solar Observing with the Northwoods Explorers

at the Minocqua Winter Park Sunday 1-3 PM June 26

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We had a great time observing the Sun in between the clouds, we saw a few prominences, flares, filaments, and sunspots. We showed a short presentation on how stars are created and how they blow up sometimes. 

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Warning: Do not look directly at the Sun without proper equipment, it can be very harmful to your eyes.

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Stargazing with the Northwoods Explorers

at the Minocqua Winter Park, Friday, June 3rd

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We had great skies but the mosquitos bugged us for the first hour, then they disappeared! We saw a beautiful Crescent Moon, then as it became darker, M13 - the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, then M57 the Ring Nebula, which is a star that has expelled most of its mass, we also saw a couple of faint fuzzies near M81 which were spiral galaxies that are about 12 million light years distant. Dew appeared at 10:30 so we packed up. Even at that hour, it was still somewhat light, sky glow was bright, this time of year there's only about 3 hours of astronomical darkness! 

 

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Total Lunar Eclipse

Sunday, May 15th, 2022

Minocqua Winter Park, 9-11 PM

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The weather cooperated at first, we set up, then went inside the Chalet for our moon hands-on activity, learning about eclipses, moon phases, supermoons, the moon's day, and more. We went back outside to catch the moon's entry into the Umbra, sprinkles started then turned into rain! Yikes! We packed up what we could, then watched the rest with binoculars. What we saw was Beautiful!! We hope to see the next total Lunar eclipse on Nov 8th, 2022, in the very early morning.

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In-between the clouds we saw the International Space Station zoom overhead.

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For more information see Total Lunar Eclipse on May 15–16, 2022 – Where and When to See (timeanddate.com)  and EarthSky | Total lunar eclipse on May 15-16, 2022

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Stargazing with the Northwoods Explorers

 at the Minocqua Winter Park, Saturday, May 7th, 2022

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Another fantastic evening at the Minocqua Winter Park, the wind died down, clouds were thin, we observed the crescent moon at 250x and M13, the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, some 25,000 light years distant, at 250x however, we only counted about a thousand stars, not the 500 thousand that are supposedly there!

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Aurora Watch on Squirrel Hill October 30th, 2021

The CME went south of our planet!!

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We had a great time at the Squirrel Hill Lookout but the G3 rated storm didn't occur. However, we had an amazing view of our Galaxy! We observed Jupiter and 3 of its moons, Saturn and its rings, and the amazing moon Titan, then M13 the great Hercules Globular Cluster of around 500,000 stars, and the Ring nebula. The skies were clear enough to see M31, the Andromeda Galaxy 2.5 million light years away, with our naked eyes! Then we looked at it through imaged stabilized binoculars, it was as wide as a few full moons.

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Wisconsin Science Festival

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A statewide celebration for school-aged children and their families.

 

Solar System Science Oct 21 - 5 PM, 2021 

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Minocqua Public Library

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We had a great turnout at the Minocqua Public Library, they watched a presentation on  “Solar System Science - Order out of Chaos” as a part of the Wisconsin Science Festival. They watched the Jet Propulsion Laboratory control center land Curiosity on Mars, then the JUNO mission's close-up views of Jupiter, and Cassini's mission revealing a wonderful view of Saturn.

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Afterward, many children enjoyed trying to lift an 18 pound 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite! The skies cleared enough for most everyone to observe Jupiter with 3 of its moons and Saturn. The seeing was very good considering the nearby streetlamps. Dew started around 7 PM with temps at 37 F.   

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We plan to schedule more events at the Minocqua Library soon, stay in touch by signing up for event notifications.

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Stargazing with the Northwoods Explorers of Space and Astronomy

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Saturday, October 9th,  6:30-9:00 PM, 2021

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 Minocqua Winter Park

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Everyone seemed to enjoy the talk on our Solar System. The skies fully cooperated and we had a great view of Saturn and Jupiter in this beautiful park. The seeing was very good, we were able to use a 7mm eyepiece on a 1500mm FL telescope, we could have done even better but the scope wasn't tracking, to keep up with the rotation of our planet. We could see detail on Saturn and its shadow on the rings, Many bands on Jupiter could be seen, along with 4 of Jupiter's many moons. Just as soon as M13 was available on the 20" Dobsonian telescope the clouds came in along with an increase in dew, so we had to pack up.

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We enjoyed the beautiful sky and the park was very accommodating. Stay tuned for future event announcements. 

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Here's a news story covering this event from

WJFW Channel 12 Rhinelander

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Northwoods Explorers host stargazing party // WJFW Newswatch 12

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​Friday September 10th 7:30 - 9:30 PM, 2021 

North Lakeland Discovery Center

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The skies cleared and we had a wonderful evening under the stars at the North Lakeland Discovery Center in Manitowish Waters. We observed many objects -- Saturn and its rings along with Jupiter and its largest moons, the Andromeda galaxy some 2.3 million light years away. the great globular cluster in Hercules where 500,000 stars exist some 23,000 light years distant, and the Ring Nebula, which is the remains of a star's atmosphere expanding out into space.

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Stargazing with the Northwoods Explorers of Space and Astronomy

August 14th 2021

North Lakeland Discovery Center

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We were fortunate to have a wonderful evening, no clouds, just a bit of smoke. We saw a few Perseids, a beautiful Crescent Moon, Jupiter and Saturn looked great but were low on the horizon so there wasn't as much detail. At our next event we may have a chance to view them higher in the sky. M13 looked fantastic through the 20" reflector, as well as a blue-hued M57 Ring Nebula. At the end a few were able to view M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, through image-stabilized binoculars.

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July 20th, 2021 "The Space Race"

Minocqua Country Club

(Private Event)

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We presented to a wonderful group about the

amazing opportunities building bridges to the future in space,

and the challenge of finding scientists and engineers to help.

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​​​​July 13 2021 Solar Program 1-4 PM

North Lakeland Discovery Center

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Our audience learned about the Sun and it's connection to planet Earth, then viewed a few small prominences that were bigger than Earth on the limb of the nearest star, and observed a sunspot's "hole" .

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"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."

 

- Benjamin Franklin

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