Darksky Enlightenment
Making the darkest nights most enlightening, just needs a pinch of cosmosity and hunger for knowledge!
Welcome
Welcome to Light Benders Amateur Astronomy group. Thanks for bringing your cosmic hunger.
We have been more primitively meeting in smaller group in person with those of similar gravitation fling in the orbit with us and take a ride along. Events and open houses are conducted weekly weather permitting.
Become a member and enjoy additional benefits.
Learning to live in a post pandemic world, LightBenders is going Digital. Soon launching the AstroDigital virtual observatory. Opportunity to tune and focus a telescope virtually using digital tools.
Membership includes access to selective study material on various celestial categories from Earth and Solar system to distant galaxies and dark matter.
Please fill out this survey to become a member.
Contribute to newsletters released annually - visit the News Letter for annual cosmic connection series.
Cant wait to get out there and look up into the clear night sky? Help yourself with some basic info and planning using the link for sky tonight.
This will help you plan and know ahead of time the direction of objects, constellations with rise and set times, especially to watch any events.
It will help with patience to making skywatch more enjoyable as you will already know about the sky and find it familiar.
Checkout our events page and photos for latest activities and updates. For remote yet more active participation.
With a dark night sky seeking your attention most of time you may wonder what's all visible tonight.
You notice a bright object glaring at you. Is that a star or is that a planet? You will need either a star chart or similar app and know how to use it. Or just grab a binocular and watch the object. If it appears bigger and brighter its a planet.
Follow the planets chart link to find which planet you are looking at.
How do you differentiate planets from stars? Well you can't unless you watch it for a few days, planets move across the ecliptic in matter of days, stars don't as much, it take a season for constellations to move across ecliptic.
Dark Sky parks in Michigan
IDA Dark Sky Parks:
Michigan state parks designated as Dark Sky Reserves:
The 7 Best Spots for Stargazing in Michigan, Detroit Free Press, March 5, 2017
2021 meteor showers
The Perseid meteor shower is one of the biggest astronomical events of the year, taking place each August. The showers are expected to take place Aug. 8-14, 2021 (peak viewing is estimated for Thursday, Aug. 12).
Quadrantids, Dec. 27, 2020-Jan. 10 (peak estimated for Jan. 2-3)
Lyrids, April 16-30 (peak estimated for April 21-22)
Eta Aquariids, April 19-May 28 (peak estimated for May 4-5)
Southern delta Aquariids, July 12-Aug. 23 (peak estimated for July 28-29)
Alpha Capricornids, July 3-Aug. 15 (peak estimated for July 28-29)