Astronomical Society of Las Cruces

11/12/2025

Captured this image on Tuesday night at about 9:41 pm. Aurora on the northern horizon from my rooftop in Las Cruces. iPhone 16, 3.3 seconds, f/1.78, iso 6400

10/25/2025

Ten club members attended the Enchanted Skies Star Party last week - a great turn-out for ASLC!! This is one of the images I took at the venue - the Helix Nebula (in mighty Aquarius). Taken with a Stellarview 115 and Atik 460 with Ha and O3 narrowband filters.

10/06/2025

On Saturday evening, October 4th, members of the Astronomical Society of Las Cruces were pleased to join the White Sands Missile Range ACOE Lodge library staff for a Moon and Star Party in celebration of International Observe the Moon Night. Space enthusiasts of all ages gathered for this free event under the stars.

We were especially honored by the presence of Colonel Andrew R. Morgan, Commander of White Sands Missile Range. Colonel Morgan is an Army Astronaut and Space Operations Officer who served as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station during Expeditions 60, 61, and 62. His attendance made the evening all the more meaningful.

As a surprise, ASLC received a beautifully hand-carved wooden plaque as a token of appreciation for our participation.

Despite some early clouds, the skies cleared, and the event was a great success. Thank you to everyone who joined us for a memorable night under the stars!

10/05/2025

The ASLC had the privilege of holding our monthly MoonGaze on the Plaza de Las Cruces coincidentally with the Southern New Mexico "Pride on the Plaza" event on the same night. We had a great time with an estimated 375 participants taking looks at the Moon and Saturn through our telescopes - many with their first looks ever. Lots of WOWs! Had to get a pic of a woman with a cow-jumping-over-the-moon tattoo while gazing at the Moon :-). Thanks to our ASLC volunteers who helped out during this entertaining event.

09/02/2025

The Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula in the constellation Serpens, taken by the Webb Space Telescope and the terrestrial verision of the Pillars taken by an iPhone 16 in Las Cruces.

08/30/2025

Join ASLC members on the Plaza after sunset. Fingers crossed that the clouds hold off.

08/29/2025

Took this on 8/9/2025 while the full moon illuminated the clouds and the landscape: "Moonlit clouds with Yucca and Ocotillo"

08/29/2025

A quick update on the status of the recurring nova T CrB in the constellation Corona Borealis...we're still awaiting a hotly anticipated eruption. Some prognosticators were pretty sure we'd witness an explosion as early as the summer of 2024, raising the brightness of the star (double-star actually) from a barely binocular object at ~mag 10 to a naked-eye object comparable to the brightness of Polaris at 2nd magnitude. This chart from AAVSO data, showing red, green and blue spectra (green closely relates to visual magnitude) highlights some changes since last May, which is not unusual for this variable star system. But the big nova event? Stay tuned.

08/18/2025

A rare occurrence as seen from Earth is seeing the shadow of Titan cast on Saturn's surface. There has been a series of them this year, and the final one will be on the night of Aug. 19, 2025. Check out this link to get info on how to observe it...

Sunspot number: 53 What is the sunspot number? Updated 18 Aug 2025 Spotless Days Current Stretch: 0 days 2025 total: 0 days (0%) 2024 total: 0 days (0%) 2023 total: 0 days (0%) 2022 total: 1 day (

08/17/2025

Last night's monthly ASLC outreach at our Haas Observatory at Leasburg Dam State Park was unfortunately clouded out, but the sky display at sunset was dramatic! Thanks to all who attended, and we should have better luck once our monsoon season comes to a close in September.

08/11/2025

Get up early tomorrow while it's still dark before sunrise to check out this conjunction of Venus & Jupiter..

Are you seeing any Perseid meteors yet? Despite the moonlight? The Perseids are active for many days before their peak, August 12-13. Venus and Jupiter shine in conjunction in the east during early dawn Tuesday morning.
https://buff.ly/4UMe3CZ

06/29/2025

During our ASLC monthly meeting on Friday night, Khagendra Katuwal, NMSU PhD candidate in Astronomy, took us on a fascinating journey into the workings of our amazing star, the Sun, starting from its hot core and moving out to its outer atmosphere. He explained how the Sun creates energy deep inside, how that energy moves through different layers, and how it eventually escapes into space. The talk also explored what makes the Sun active at times, including sunspots, solar flares, and dark patches called coronal holes. These solar events can affect life on Earth, creating beautiful auroras, but also causing problems for satellites and communication systems. Great presentation and discussions. Thanks Khagendra!