Jeff's Driveway Astronomy Page

                                                                                                                                                      
Hi there, my name is Jeff, and welcome to my 
"Driveway Astronomy Page"

Godspeed Chuck Crumley and John Jones!!
 

 
One of my hobbies is amateur astronomy.  I am a member of the Chicago Astronomical Society and a member of the Fox Valley Astronomical Society.    You can usually find me at these two club's Public Observing Sessions with one of my telescopes, showing the public some of the wonderful objects in the night sky!!    If you live in the Chicagoland Area and are interested in astronomy, visit the web sites of both of these clubs and plan to attend one or more of their Public Observing Sessions.   (They're usually free and you don't need to own a telescope to attend!)
 
See below for a list of the upcoming Public Observing Sessions and more great astronomy information!
 
I also participate in the SWAOG  (South West Astronomy Observers Group)'s weekly Amateur Radio Astronomy Net and observing events.
Ham Radio & Scanner Operators:  Listen and check in to the Southwest Astronomy Observers Group Ham Radio Information Net on Thursday evenings at 8:30 PM on the DARC Repeater (145.430 MHz. / -600 KHz. / 107.2 Hz. PL) and tell them that you heard about the net here! (Scanner operators can check in via e-mail)
 
 
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Upcoming Public Observing Sessions:
Public Observing Sessions or 'Public Star Parties' are events where various Astronomy Club members set up their telescopes for the public to look through.   You'll see several different types & designs of telescopes, and some of the nicer objects in the night sky at these events.   If you would like to learn more about astronomy,  plan on attending as many of these sessions as you can . . . especially if you're thinking about purchasing a telescope!!
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Upcoming Fox Valley Astronomical Society Public Star Parties are listed HERE
4038 Kaneville Rd., Geneva, IL (free - sponsored by the Fox Valley Astronomical Society  click for info & directions)
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Friday, May 2nd, & Friday, September 26th, 2025 at - Heritage Park in Homer Glen - 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM Observing    
14240 W. 151st Street  - Homer Township, IL (free - sponsored by Homer Township)  
(held at Homer Glen's new location - Heritage Park )
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Public viewing sessions have resumed.  Check their web page for more info!  -
2000 Fifth Avenue, River Grove, IL (1/2 mile north of North Avenue on Fifth Avenue) 
(provided by the Chicago Astronomical Society  and Cernan staff)
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The Little Red Schoolhouse may have observing after their scheduled walks. Check their web page for more info! - The Little Red School House - 
9800 So. 104th Ave (Flavin / Willow Springs Rd.), Willow Springs, IL (free - sponsored by the Chicago Astronomical Society)
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Stargazing has been canceled at - Lake Katherine Nature Center -
 
We lost a dear friend who ran the Stargazing Events - Joe Mayer - Rest in Peace Joe! 
 
7402 Lake Katherine Drive, Palos Heights, IL 60463  --  Lake Katherine 2016 Observing Schedule
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Take a copy of the monthly sky map with you when you go observing -- go to  www.Skymaps.com  and download a  free  copy of their monthly sky chart.
And... make sure you take your binoculars and a copy of Jeff's Monthly Binocular Objects with you, too!
 
 




Total Solar Eclipse - April 8, 2024

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Comet PanSTARRS - March 21, 2013

 

The Moon!   

 
Pictures of a few phases of the September 27th, 2015 Lunar Eclipse
 

 

                           

BlackBerry Z-10 Smart Phone Camera help up to a Tele-Vue 8-24 Zoom Eyepiece in a Borg 76mm ED Refractor Telescope
 
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The picture on the left was taken using a Sony Mavica MVC-FD81 Digital Camera held up to a 40mm eyepiece (a-focal coupling) of my Meade LX10 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope producing 50 power.   The bluish tint was from an Orion Variable-Polarizing Filter. The picture on the right was taken at much higher power, around 200x, with no filter, along what's known as the 'terminator'  (notice the crater within the crater)   Click Here to visit my Driveway Astronomy Pictures Page for more Astronomy Pictures, and stop back periodically for new pictures & info!      
 
 
 
 
 

February 20th, 2008 Lunar Eclipse

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June 10th, 2008  Lunar "X"

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March 22nd, 2010  Lunar "X"

Want to learn more about the Lunar "X" ?  CLICK HERE!

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Lunar-X  /  March 1st, 2020 

Cell Phone camera held up to 18mm Kellner eyepiece of my 'Deck-Dob' (4.5-inch F/8 Reflector)

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Upcoming Observing Highlights for March 2026!  (from skymaps.com)
2 Moon near Regulus at 11h UT (evening sky). Lunar occultation visible from eastern Russia, eastern China, Mongolia and Japan.
• Lunar occultation of Regulus (In-the-Sky)
3 Total Lunar Eclipse begins at 11:04 UT and ends at 12:03 UT. Greatest eclipse at 11:34 UT. Partial phases begin at 9:50 UT and end at 13:17 UT. During totality, when the Moon is fully within the Earth's shadow, the Moon will appear red-orange in color. This is the color of all the sunsets and sunrises in Earth's atmosphere being projected onto the Moon's Earth-facing side. The total eclipse will be visible from east Asia, Australia, the Pacific and the Americas.
• NASA Lunar Eclipses: 2021-2030 (NASA)
• Total Lunar Eclipse of 2026 March 3 (PDF) (NASA)
3 Full Moon at 11:38 UT.
6 Moon near Spica at 17h UT (morning sky).
7 Mercury at inferior conjunction with the Sun at 11h UT. The innermost planet passes into the morning sky.
7 Venus 0.07° N of Neptune at 12h UT (14° from Sun, evening sky). Mags. −3.9 and 8.0.
8 Venus 0.9° NNW of Saturn at 14h UT (15° from Sun, evening sky). Mags. −3.9 and 1.0.
10 Moon near Antares at 10h UT (morning sky). Occultation visible from New Zealand and Antarctica.
• Lunar occultation of Antares (In-the-Sky)
10 Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 14h UT (distance 404,384km; angular size 29.5').
11 Last Quarter Moon at 9:40 UT.
11 Moon at southernmost declination (−28.4°) in 2026 at 21h UT.
13 Jupiter at northernmost declination (22.9°) at 12h UT.
15 Mercury 3.4° NNW of Mars at 20h UT (16° from Sun, morning sky). Mags. 2.2 and 1.2.
17 Moon, Mercury and the Mars within 4.0° circle at 14h UT (morning sky). Mags. 1.7 and 1.2.
17 Moon near Mercury at 17h UT (18° from Sun, morning sky). Mag. 1.7.
17 Moon near Mars at 21h UT (15° from Sun, morning sky). Mag. 1.2.
19 New Moon at 1:25 UT. Start of lunation 1277.
20 Moon near Venus at 10h UT (18° from Sun, evening sky). Mag. −3.9.
20 Vernal equinox at 14:45 UT. The time when the Sun reaches the point along the ecliptic where it crosses into the northern celestial hemisphere marking the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Vernal Equinox (Wikipedia)
22 Neptune at conjunction with the Sun at 11h UT. Neptune passes into the morning sky.
22 Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 11:43 UT (distance 366,857km; angular size 32.6').
23 Moon, Uranus and the Pleiades within 5.3° circle at 6h UT (evening sky). Mag. 5.8.
23 Moon near the Pleiades at 10h UT (evening sky).
25 Saturn at conjunction with the Sun at 9h UT. The ringed planet (not visible) passes into the morning sky.
25 Moon near M35 Cluster at 16h UT (evening sky).
25 First Quarter Moon at 19:18 UT.
26 Moon near Jupiter at 14h UT (evening sky). Mag. −2.3.
26 Moon near Castor at 22h UT (evening sky).
27 Moon near Pollux at 3h UT (evening sky).
28 Moon near Beehive Cluster (M44) at 5h UT (evening sky).
29 Moon near Regulus at 18h UT (evening sky). Occultation visible from parts of Asia, Africa, Europe and western Russia.
• Lunar occultation of Regulus (In-the-Sky)
 

>>> All times in Universal Time (UT).    USA Central Standard Time = UT-6 hours.  (DST = UT-5 hrs,)

 
The Zodiacal Light is caused by sunlight reflected off meteoric dust in the plane of the solar system. Choose a clear, moonless night, about 1-2 hours after sunset, and look for a large triangular-shaped glow extending up from the horizon (along the ecliptic). The best months to view the Zodiacal Light is when the ecliptic is almost vertical at the horizon: March and April (evening) and October-November (morning); times reversed for the southern hemisphere.
• Zodiacal Light (Wikipedia)
• Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD)
• Photographing the Zodiacal Light (Weatherscapes)

 

CLICK HERE to download a copy of Jeff's Monthly Binocular Objects  

 - a few challenging objects, and several easy objects for ordinary binoculars . . . GREAT for small scopes, too!  

 

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Major Meteor Showers in 2026

  
Shower Radiant and direction Morning of maximum Best hourly rate Parent
Quadrantids * Boötes (NE) Jan. 3 or 4 15-110 2003 EH1
Lyrids Lyra (E) April 22 10-20+ Thatcher (1861 I)
Eta Aquariids * Aquarius (E) May 4 50 1P/Halley
Delta Aquariids Aquarius (S) July 25 - Aug 5 20 96P/Machholz
Perseids Perseus (NE) Aug. 12 100 109P/Swift-Tuttle
Orionids Orion (SE) Oct. 21-22 20 1P/Halley
Taurids Taurus (overhead) Oct & Nov 5 2P/Encke
Leonids Leo (E) Nov. 17/18 15 55P/Tempel-Tuttle
Geminids Gemini (E) Dec. 14 140 3200 Phaethon
Ursids * Ursa Minor (N) Dec. 22 10 8P/Tuttle

* Moonlight will wash out fainter meteors in these showers.

Bold Shower Names indicate the best predicted Meteor Showers!

The meteor showers listed above are the easiest to observe and provide the most activity. Particular attention should be noted to the time and moonlight conditions. All these showers are best seen after midnight. Some are not even visible until after midnight. Showers that peak with the moon's age between 10 and 20 days will be affected by moonlight and difficult to observe this year. While the time each shower is best seen remains much the same year after year, the moonlight conditions change considerably from one year to the next. 

Please use the form found HERE from the American Meteor Society to report any Meteors that you see.    Instructions on how to complete the form can be found HERE.

 

Moon Phases for Lombard, Illinois, USA in 2026  

Lunation New Moon First Quarter Full Moon Third Quarter
1274 Jan 3 04:02 Jan 10 09:48
1275 Jan 18 13:51 Jan 25 22:47 Feb 1 16:09 Feb 9 06:43
1276 Feb 17 06:01 Feb 24 06:27 Mar 3 05:37 Mar 11 04:38
1277 Mar 18 20:23 Mar 25 14:17 Apr 1 21:11 Apr 9 23:51
1278 Apr 17 06:51 Apr 23 21:31 May 1 12:23 May 9 16:10
1279 May 16 15:01 May 23 06:10 May 31 03:45 Jun 8 05:00
1280 Jun 14 21:54 Jun 21 16:55 Jun 29 18:56 Jul 7 14:29
1281 Jul 14 04:43 Jul 21 06:05 Jul 29 09:35 Aug 5 21:21
1282 Aug 12 12:36 Aug 19 21:46 Aug 27 23:18 Sep 4 02:51
1283 Sep 10 22:26 Sep 18 15:43 Sep 26 11:49 Oct 3 08:25
1284 Oct 10 10:50 Oct 18 11:12 Oct 25 23:11 Nov 1 14:28
1285 Nov 9 01:02 Nov 17 05:47 Nov 24 08:53 Dec 1 00:08
1286 Dec 8 18:51 Dec 16 23:42 Dec 23 19:28 Dec 30 12:59
* All times are local time for Lombard, IL. Time is adjusted for DST when applicable. Dates are based on the Gregorian calendar.


 

 
 

Observing Events and Programs that YOU can participate in...

(You won't need a fancy telescope or even binoculars - just your eyes!)

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

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GLOBE AT NIGHT - dates & constellations in 2026

 

The GLOBE at Night program is an international citizen-science campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure their night sky brightness and submit their observations to a website from a computer or smart phone. Light pollution threatens not only our “right to starlight”, but can affect energy consumption, wildlife and health. The GLOBE at Night campaign has run for two weeks each winter/spring for the last several years. People in over 115 countries have contributed more than 66,000 measurements, making GLOBE at Night one of the most successful light pollution awareness campaigns.

Northern Hemisphere Constellations

Please use whichever constellation is at least  halfway above the horizon

 January  10-19       *** ORION / PERSEUS ***

 February  9-18       *** ORION / PERSEUS ***

       March  10-19       *** ORION / LEO ***

April  9-18       *** LEO ***

May  8-17       *** LEO  /  BOOTES ***

 June  6-15      *** BOOTES ***

  July  6-15      *** HERCULES ***

  August  4-13      *** CYGNUS / HERCULES ***

  September  2-11      *** CYGNUS ***

  October  2-11      *** CYGNUS / PEGASUS ***

  November  1-10      *** CYGNUS / PEGASUS ***

  November  30 - December  9      *** PERSEUS / PEGASUS ***

 

Check out the new web application data submission process. The GLOBE at Night website is easy to use, comprehensive and holds an abundance of background information. The database is usable for comparisons with a variety of other databases, like how light pollution affects the foraging habits of bats.

Once again the GLOBE at Night Team would like to express their thanks to all the participants who contributed measurements locally to make a global difference.

 

Globe at Night measurement reporting period has started, check the Globe at Night Reporting web site  for the results!

 

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My Favorite Objects include:
 
The Moon, the planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, the Dumbbell Nebula (M27), M29 - the cooling tower cluster, the Ring Nebula (M57), the M3 globular cluster in Canes Venatici, the Hercules Cluster (M13), the A/B Cluster (IC-4665), the Veil Nebula (NGC 6960 & 6992) the Coathanger (Brocchi's Cluster - Cr 399), the M81/M82 galaxy pair, the Swan Nebula (M17), the "ET" Cluster (NGC 457), the 'Mini Dipper' (M103), and the Great Orion Nebula (M42)
And.... M51 in the MallinCam!!
 		 

 

 

 

 
Other Driveway Astronomy Observers:
 
* My friend Randy came out to observe from my driveway with his new Meade ETX-125 AutoStar scope!
* My friend Mary Alice comes out to observe from my driveway with her keen eyes, and her Orion XT-10 Dob!
* Mark - KB9WLX, of the SWAOG, has also observed from my driveway with his Meade LX-90 SCT 'GO TO' Scope!
* Pete & "Re-Pete" came out to observe from my driveway and to check out my new LX-90!
* My friend Doug was out with his Celestron 8-inch Dobsonian Reflector
* Dave - KC9KPQ came out on June 2nd to observe through my new PST solar telescope
 
 
Tip for anyone interested in starting out in astronomy:
 
Start with a set of binoculars & a seasonal star chart and learn some of the major stars & constellations to help you navigate your way around the night sky.  SkyMaps.com, Sky & Telescope Magazine, and Astronomy Magazine have excellent monthly star charts. A good set of binoculars will remain an important observing aid no matter how far you advance in astronomy!  (CLICK HERE for a list of interesting binocular objects)  Attend as many different club's Public Star Parties as you can, and check out all the different types of telescopes before purchasing one.  Also, read the information provided in this Sky & Telescope "How To" section for beginners, this Learning Center resource site, and this web site.  
 
 
Items for sale:
 
I have a couple of astronomy-related items for sale:
 
 
 

 

Astronomy Conventions / Star Parties!

 

2007 Boot Leg Astronomer's Star Party

 

Epoch 2007

 

2007 Prairie Skies Star Party

 

2008 Astrofest Star Party

 
 
Above are pictures of my campsites at the 2007 Boot Leg Astronomer's, Epoch 2007, the 2007 Prairie Skies Star Party, and Astrofest 2008.   With me at these events were friends Doug, Dave - KC9KPQ, Don-KB9SWI, Scanner Chuck, Mark - KC9DSN & his Daughter Amy, Doug, John - KN9R, Sergio - AK9S & Mike
 
I had a fabulous time at all of these events, and look forward to the next one!
 
CLICK HERE  for a report on the Boot Leg Astronomer's Star Party.

Click Here for a report on Astrofest 2007 from the President of the Sheboygan A/S

 
 
 
2023 Astronomy Convention / Star Party Dates
 
 
     
 
Handy Astronomy Links:
SkyMaps.Com (free  copy of monthly sky map)
 
More Handy Astronomy Links:
International Dark-Sky Association                 
CLICK HERE to download a copy of Jeff's Monthly Binocular Objects  - a few challenging, and several easy objects for ordinary binoculars - GREAT for small scopes, too!   
 
 
 
Jupiter & 1 Moon
My Ham Radio Web Page - WD9GVU's Amateur Radio Web Page
Saturn

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