Night Sky Observatory Build - Day 14 and 15

Day 14, August 29th, the dome assembly was completed - stainless steel track plates were screwed to the bottom flange of the dome to provide support and a running surface for the wheels on top of the building. I needed to climb in there on my back and screw-in the plates - good thing it was cool that day.

Today (day 15) marks a milestone in the build - the dome was lifted unto the walls! Six guys from my church, including my pastor, Quint Merson of Crosslife Bible Church, who scheduled the team to come over early this morning, lifted the dome safely onto the building walls. Just a few more tasks to complete on the inside of the dome and she will be ready for manual mode.

Lifting the dome - most of the guys are behind the building!

Lift team - Dennis, John Mark, Josh, Randy, Vance and Pastor Quint
(I'm in the background)
And, of course, always present are Luna, Echo (on the deck) and Ayla

Nancy Grace Roman - the New Kid on the Block

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is expected to transform astronomy by combining Hubble-like image quality with an enormously wider field of view. Roman can survey the sky more than 1,000 times faster than Hubble at similar resolution, generating an unprecedented amount of data and allowing scientists to study vast regions of the universe rather than isolated targets. The mission is designed to investigate some of astronomy’s biggest questions, including the nature of dark matter, dark energy, galaxy evolution, and the distribution of planets throughout the Milky Way.

One of Roman’s major goals is to discover and characterize exoplanets using a technique called gravitational microlensing. By continuously monitoring hundreds of millions of stars near the center of the Milky Way, the telescope is expected to detect a huge variety of planets, including worlds that are difficult or impossible to find with other methods. Scientists expect Roman to greatly expand the known census of planets and provide new insights into how planetary systems form and evolve across different parts of our galaxy.

Roman will also tackle some of the biggest mysteries in cosmology. Through large-scale surveys of distant galaxies and thousands of Type Ia supernovae, it will create detailed maps of the universe across billions of years of cosmic history. These observations will help researchers measure how the universe has expanded over time and test current theories about dark energy and the standard cosmological model. The telescope’s surveys are expected to reveal billions of galaxies and capture many transient events such as supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, and other rare phenomena.

Another key feature is Roman’s advanced coronagraph, a technology demonstration that blocks starlight to directly observe faint objects nearby, such as exoplanets and debris disks. The instrument is intended to pave the way for future missions capable of imaging Earth-like worlds. The article also highlights Roman’s commitment to open science: its data will become publicly available within hours of processing, and cloud-based tools will make the enormous dataset accessible to researchers around the world. The mission’s scientists expect Roman not only to answer existing questions but also to uncover entirely unexpected discoveries. 

See the full article at How Roman will unlock the universe (Astronomy.com)

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Telescope launches to space

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched on August 30, 2026, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center after more than a decade of development. The observatory is headed to the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point, about a million miles beyond Earth, where it will have a stable view of the universe while remaining in constant contact with mission controllers. NASA officials reported that the launch and initial spacecraft systems appeared to be operating normally, with instrument calibration and commissioning scheduled over the coming weeks.

From SpaceX Live Feed - Sunday, August 30, 2026

Roman’s mission is expected to complement the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes by conducting enormous sky surveys and investigating some of astronomy’s biggest mysteries. Its primary goals include studying dark matter and dark energy, creating a vast census of exoplanets, and mapping stars and galaxies on an unprecedented scale. The telescope also carries a powerful coronagraph designed to directly observe planets around other stars by blocking starlight, potentially allowing scientists to study the atmospheres of distant worlds. NASA officials said Roman could dramatically increase the number of known exoplanets and help answer fundamental questions about whether habitable Earth-like planets exist elsewhere in the universe. The mission’s initial science phase is expected to last five years, with the first images anticipated after commissioning is completed.

Watch the complete launch at: SpaceX - Roman Space Telescope Mission

Nancy Grace Roman's Special Coronagraph

Photo-Illustration: Wired Staff; Getty Images; Courtesy of Nasa

Although NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is primarily known for its powerful wide-field survey capabilities, its most important long-term contribution may be a smaller, experimental instrument hidden inside it: an advanced coronagraph. The coronagraph is designed to block the overwhelming light of a star so astronomers can directly observe much fainter planets orbiting nearby. Roman's version is far more sophisticated than the coronagraphs flown on Hubble or James Webb because it incorporates adaptive optics and deformable mirrors that can actively reshape themselves to counter tiny optical distortions.

This technology is a crucial steppingstone toward a future telescope capable of photographing Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars. Roman's coronagraph faces an extraordinary challenge, likened to spotting a firefly beside a floodlight from across the country. By testing active wavefront control and ultra-precise light suppression in space for the first time, NASA hopes to learn what is needed for future missions such as the proposed Habitable Worlds Observatory. Even if the coronagraph itself produces only a limited number of exoplanet images, its real value is demonstrating a technology that could eventually help scientists search for worlds that may resemble Earth.

See the full article on WIRED.

Days 11-13 - Night Sky Observatory Build

Over the past few weeks, I've been able to spend a few hours (over three days) to make great progress on completing the 'Night Sky Observatory'. Wheels have been added to the top of the building; the dome has been completed with the exception of the steel plates that are screwed to the bottom of the dome serving as a track for the dome wheels to ride along. The plates require at least two people to get them attached. My friend Tina will be coming over later today to help with the final stage of the dome assembly. Then it's just a matter of getting about 4-6 strong guys to lift the dome on top of the building.

Dome nearing completion - Luna inspecting the work

Dome support wheels installed

Almost Total: Watch the Moon Slip into Earth's Shadow Tonight

Tonight's lunar eclipse is a deep partial lunar eclipse, meaning it falls just short of being total. At the moment of greatest eclipse, about 96% of the Moon will be immersed in Earth's dark umbral shadow, making it appear almost completely eclipsed. The event is visible across Africa, Europe, most of the Americas, and the eastern Pacific region, provided the Moon is above the horizon and the sky is dark at the time. The entire eclipse lasts about 5 hours and 39 minutes, with the partial phase lasting more than 3 hours.

Robert Hall in South Mississippi took this image of the lunar eclipse on November 19, 2021.

Observers won't need any special equipment; the eclipse is safe to view with the naked eye, although binoculars or a telescope can enhance the experience. As Earth's shadow moves across the Moon, it will first appear as a dark "bite" taken from its edge. Near maximum eclipse, the shadowed portion may take on a reddish hue, caused by sunlight filtering through Earth's atmosphere and bending onto the Moon. Because a small sliver of the Moon remains outside the shadow, viewers should also see a bright white patch along one edge, creating a dramatic contrast during the peak of the event.

While clouds are expected over Maryland and the surrounding area, lucky observers may still catch a quick view of the eclipse through occasional clear patches. Read the full article at: EarthSky

Mikey's Music - The Music of Michael J. Mangieri

Looking for some music to play in the background while observing at your telescope? Just interested in some instrumental/electronic/New Age music from an independent artist?

One of my other hobby/businesses is a composer of New Age music and my collection of two albums, and singles from an upcoming album, are on sale for 25% off during the Summer.

Check them out at MJM-Music

Pluto's Atmosphere is Thinning

Pluto’s atmosphere appears to be shrinking as the dwarf planet travels farther from the Sun. Scientists studying observations from 2017 to 2023 found that its atmospheric pressure dropped by about 16% between mid-2021 and July 2023. They measured this by observing Pluto as it passed in front of distant stars, a technique that lets researchers study the properties of its thin atmosphere.

NASA calls this image “Pluto’s Blue Sky.”
It’s a backlit view of Pluto, acquired by the New Horizons spacecraft as it sped away from
the dwarf planet after its 2015 flyby.

Researchers have long predicted that Pluto’s nitrogen-rich atmosphere would gradually freeze onto its surface as the planet moved into colder regions of the solar system. The new findings may be the first clear evidence that this process is underway. While Pluto’s atmosphere remained relatively stable after the New Horizons flyby in 2015, the recent decline suggests that it could continue thinning and eventually undergo the atmospheric collapse scientists have expected for decades.

Read the complete story at: EarthSky

Falcon 9's Crater on the Moon

A SpaceX Falcon upper stage crashed into the Moon on August 5 when its orbit intersected with the Moon’s path. The stage had previously launched two lunar landers—Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s Resilience—toward the Moon. Weighing about 4,000 kilograms, it impacted the lunar surface at nearly 9,000 kilometers per hour. The booster struck the Moon’s near side, close to Einstein crater.

These images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show the Falcon upper-stage's crash site on the Moon.
The left image is before the crash, the right image is after, showing the impact crater.
Image Credit: NASA Goddard/Intuitive Machines

A few days later, between August 11 and 12, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured images of the newly formed crater from an altitude of about 96 kilometers. The LRO operates in a polar orbit around the Moon, imaging the surface directly beneath it as the Moon rotates. This imaging pattern explains the six-day gap between the impact and the acquisition of the crater photographs.

Complete story at: Universe Today

Mission to save Swift spacecraft fails

Update on the LINK mission.

Because of an attitude control issue with the recently launched LINK spacecraft, Swift can no longer be boosted into a safe orbit as planned. After 22 years of exploring the universe from space, the mission is now expected to end when the spacecraft burns up in Earth's atmosphere later this year.

Details at EarthSky.

Swift Rescue Mission back on track

The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, known simply as Swift, has been orbiting Earth since 2004, studying some of the universe’s most powerful explosions: gamma-ray bursts. But after more than two decades in space, Swift’s orbit is rapidly decaying, meaning the spacecraft is slowly falling back toward Earth.

A potential lifeline is now in play. To help extend the mission, NASA launched a second spacecraft on July 3, 2026: LINK, a commercial robotic servicing vehicle developed by Katalyst Space.

In an update published on August 11, NASA reported that a new flight software package had been successfully uploaded to LINK. According to the agency, “The software update’s new attitude control algorithms are designed to maintain LINK’s stability using the spacecraft’s remaining actuators.”

Time, however, is running short. Swift continues to lose altitude due to atmospheric drag. If the observatory falls below about 300 kilometers (186 miles), recovery efforts would become virtually impossible. NASA expects it could reach that critical threshold as early as October.

See the full report at: Swift spacecraft, and a mission to save it, caught on video