Bob King

2 months ago | flipboard.com | Megan Messerly |Bob King

5 hours agoTrump announces executive order on IVF treatmentsPresident Trump and White House staff secretary Will Scharf announced three executive orders including actions to make in-vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments more affordable for Americans.Feb.

Jan 31, 2025 | pineandlakes.com | Bob King

Orion and friends, along with Jupiter and Mars, continue to command the southern sky. In the northeast, the Big Dipper stands on its handle, climbing higher and higher during the night. Look west in late twilight in early February, and you’ll still see Venus and Saturn holding their own. Sad to say, Saturn is slipping away and will soon disappear in the sunset glow. Come mid-month, you’ll need binoculars to catch it, and by month’s end, it’s out of the picture.

Jan 4, 2025 | echopress.com | Bob King

How many constellations have you seen? There are 88 in total across both hemispheres. If you don't mind traveling to faraway places it's possible to see them all in a lifetime. I'd better get cracking. Although I've vacationed south of the equator several times in my three score plus 11 I'm still 9 short of a full deck. Any constellation-seeker needs good maps or apps to help find these patterns in the starry chaos of the night sky. One of the best is Stellarium Mobile for iPhone and Android.

Jan 2, 2025 | parkrapidsenterprise.com | Bob King

You may not be familiar with the Quadrantids (KWAH-dran-tids) meteor shower, but it's an annual event just like the Perseid meteors of August. Every year in early January, the Earth zips through a trail of dust and rocky fragments released a few hundred years ago by the object 2003 EH1. Most meteor showers have a "parent" comet. Comets are composed of dust and rocks bound up in ice. When a comet passes near the sun, solar heating vaporizes some of the ice, releasing the dust.

Dec 27, 2024 | parkrapidsenterprise.com | Bob King

Busy, busy, busy. Lots of things are happening in the night sky during the coldest month of the year. Highlights include passes by two different space stations, a pair of occultations, a meteor shower and Mars’ close approach to Earth. The four brightest planets are still afoot. Venus and Saturn dot the southwestern sky at dusk, while Jupiter and Mars join the bright winter stars in the east. Keep an eye on Venus. It moves faster than Saturn and will overtake the ringed planet on Jan.