Monday January 12, 2026 RIDDLES IN THE DARK Monday
J.R.R. Tolkien was born on January 3rd, 1892. In his fantasy story, “The Hobbit,” the hero Bilbo meets a strange creature named Smeagol down in a deep cave, and they ask each other riddles. One goes like this: “It cannot be seen, cannot be felt Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills And empty holes it fills.” And the answer is, “darkness.” Now, here’s an astronomy riddle I made up: “At weddings they appear; and at front doors it’s them we hear. They’re found on Elven hands and soda cans; ‘Round Saturn they appear.” And the answer is, “rings.” Let’s try another astronomy riddle. “It’s always on, and never off. It’s more when nearby, and less when far off; It keeps the sun from spilling out. And in the end, it stops us going up and about.” The answer is “gravity.”
Tue Jan 13, 2026 HERSCHEL DISCOVERS URANIAN MOONS
On January 11, 1787 William Herschel discovered Uranus' moons Titania and Oberon. Herschel was a church organist in Bath, England, but his hobby was astronomy. He built his own telescopes, and was so good at it that colleagues were amazed to find that his handmade instruments were far superior to the ones commercially available at the time.It was with just such a telescope that he became the first person in history to discover another planet telescopically, in 1781. He suggested naming it George, after the king of England. But eventually it became known as Uranus – this is better? And six years later, his improved observations led to the discovery of its two largest moons.
Wed Jan 14, 2026 THE PLEIADES
Near the top of the sky this early evening, you’ll find a small, distinctive group of stars known as the Seven Sisters. Even with street lights shining, you can find them, although the serious light pollution problems we experience here reduces the Seven Sisters down to just two or three, or possibly they may look like a little smudge overhead. But if you can get away from the bright lights, you’ll see between six to eight stars here, arranged in a very tiny dipper shape. In Greek mythology, the Seven Sisters were the Pleiades, the daughters of Atlas, on whose shoulders the world rested. Binoculars aimed at the Pleiades will reveal over a dozen stars, and astronomers have counted hundreds of stars in this open cluster.
Thu Jan 15, 2026 ROBERT FROST AND CANIS MAJOR
The American poet Robert Frost was a keen observer of the world and nature, capturing the simple majesty of the Universe. In his poem, The Star Splitter, he begins, “You know Orion always comes up sideways,” as indeed he does, first the forward shoulder and leg, then the hunter’s belt, and lastly the trailing shoulder and knee. Orion can be found in the southeast sky after sunset. If you trace the stars of his belt downward, you will find the star Sirius in the constellation of the Big Dog, Canis Major, and Frost wrote a poem about this too, placing Sirius in the dog’s eye: “The great Overdog That heavenly beast With a star in one eye Gives a leap in the east. He dances upright All the way to the west And never once drops On his forefeet to rest.” Because of the earth’s rotation, Canis Major does move across the sky just the way Frost describes it.
Fri Jan 16, 2026 JOHANNE BODE AND BODE’S LAW
Johanne Bode, born on January 19, 1747, advanced Bode’s Law back in 1772 which suggested the presence of additional planets, beyond the seven that were known of at that time. Start at zero, then skip to 3, then 6, and now keep on doubling the number. Then add 4 to each of those numbers and finally, divide by ten, giving you .4, .7, 1, 1.6, 2.4, 4.8, and 9.6. Those are roughly the spacings between the planets, expressed as astronomical units, the average earth-sun distance. This theory is quasi-scientific. It doesn’t work every time, and it’s not particularly exact, but it did point to a gap between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers began their search, and on January 1st, 1801, Father Giuseppe Piazzi used a telescope to discover 500 mile-wide Ceres, the largest rock in the asteroid belt.
