Posted on Jul 30, 2022
A guide to stargazing and observing the cosmos from Kansas City
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Sometimes, Kansas City feels like the center of the universe, a rising star of the Midwest. At others, we’re reminded that we’re just an infinitesimal speck in the swirling mass of the Milky Way Galaxy. Beneath that starry canopy, we live and dream and gaze above, star-struck by its magnitude and awe.
Putting that majesty into detail, NASA released first images from the James Webb Space Telescope on July 12, revealing exquisite, glittering images of galaxies far, far away.
But celestial bodies have always fascinated us. They’ve guided our travels, told our fortunes and shaped our lives. In Kansas, the motto “Ad Astra Per Aspera” (To The Stars Through Difficulty) was adopted in May 1861, signifying Kansas’ long battle to statehood and joining the union.
It's also the season of the Perseids meteor shower, which began July 17 and continues through mid-August. Your best chance of seeing meteors is during its peak on August 12-13.
Explore the cosmos with this celestial tour of Kansas City:
Putting that majesty into detail, NASA released first images from the James Webb Space Telescope on July 12, revealing exquisite, glittering images of galaxies far, far away.
But celestial bodies have always fascinated us. They’ve guided our travels, told our fortunes and shaped our lives. In Kansas, the motto “Ad Astra Per Aspera” (To The Stars Through Difficulty) was adopted in May 1861, signifying Kansas’ long battle to statehood and joining the union.
It's also the season of the Perseids meteor shower, which began July 17 and continues through mid-August. Your best chance of seeing meteors is during its peak on August 12-13.
Explore the cosmos with this celestial tour of Kansas City:
A guide to stargazing and observing the cosmos from Kansas City
Posted from kcur.org
Kansas City
Space
Astronomy
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Twinkle, twinkle
You can tell stars apart from planets because stars twinkle due to their emitted light traveling through the atmosphere. Planets reflect light from the sun, instead of generating their own.
Depending on the time of year, you can see Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn with the naked eye (though binoculars or a telescope certainly help). When you make a wish on the first star at night, it’s probably a bright planet that you’re actually seeing.
Take a tour of our Solar System with a mile-long stroll along Baltimore Avenue. “Voyage” was created by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education. Starting just south of 13th Street, installations demonstrate the distance between the planets’ orbits (though they also state that the planets don’t ever actually form a straight line).
The tour journeys to 18th Street, where Pluto and Eris are nestled under the shadow of the iconic TWA rocket adorning the Barkley Building. The “Explorers Entry” is located on the south side of Union Station, demonstrating humankind’s (and robotkind’s) journey through the universe.
Also in Union Station, the Arvin Gottlieb Planetarium offers programs related to astronomy and space exploration that cater to families and student groups. Now through Sept. 5, there’s Sky Station Live Seasonal Tour and Destination Solar System.
If you're up for a road trip, the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas, houses a collection of space artifacts (which includes rockets), a planetarium, space exploration-themed movies and other space-related activities."
..."Twinkle, twinkle
You can tell stars apart from planets because stars twinkle due to their emitted light traveling through the atmosphere. Planets reflect light from the sun, instead of generating their own.
Depending on the time of year, you can see Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn with the naked eye (though binoculars or a telescope certainly help). When you make a wish on the first star at night, it’s probably a bright planet that you’re actually seeing.
Take a tour of our Solar System with a mile-long stroll along Baltimore Avenue. “Voyage” was created by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education. Starting just south of 13th Street, installations demonstrate the distance between the planets’ orbits (though they also state that the planets don’t ever actually form a straight line).
The tour journeys to 18th Street, where Pluto and Eris are nestled under the shadow of the iconic TWA rocket adorning the Barkley Building. The “Explorers Entry” is located on the south side of Union Station, demonstrating humankind’s (and robotkind’s) journey through the universe.
Also in Union Station, the Arvin Gottlieb Planetarium offers programs related to astronomy and space exploration that cater to families and student groups. Now through Sept. 5, there’s Sky Station Live Seasonal Tour and Destination Solar System.
If you're up for a road trip, the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas, houses a collection of space artifacts (which includes rockets), a planetarium, space exploration-themed movies and other space-related activities."
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