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Reading to 5th-graders: How far away is the Moon? February 26, 2026
Reading to 5th-graders: How far away is the Moon? February 26, 2026
The Morris Area Elementary School has a Thursday segment in which community members are invited to read to elementary school students. So it came to pass that I was invited by the school librarian, Lori Kurpiers, to talk about something space-related. I decided to focus on the fact that the first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years is scheduled to launch this year. Currently, April 1 is being targeted, but this may depend on many technical factors. The fifth-graders, on the floor in front of me, knew all about Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, some also about Michael Collins who remained in lunar orbit, back in July of 1969. A globe helped us to understand where astronauts actually travel. Most of the 700 people who traveled to space remained in low-earth orbit. That would be within a 1-cm layer of a regular-sized globe. Yes - being an astronaut in general means you really still stick very close to home. The Apollo 17 mission in 1972 was the last time any human had left low-earth orbit. One of the kids even knew the correct distance to the Moon: 286 000 miles or 380 000 km. That's a distance of 10 meters - the kid with the moon had to back up out of the pod into the path between the wardrobes to find out how far that is. I read a section from a book. Peter Bremer from the Briggs Library helped me find a good age-appropriate book of about the first moon landing, with a good description of final landing that needed manual controls for the Eagle to not end up in a precarious place. In any case, I hope the kids got something out of this. They were engaged, and interested. On my way into school, I met a colleague on her way into the library to speak about science books, and I was very glad that these kids get to see so many women scientists in one day.
I invited them to the open observatory night next week, and hopefully some will have an opportunity to come!
SB, 2-26-2026
Solar Open House on February 25, 2026
Solar Open House on February 25, 2026
The solar observing on the afternoon of Wednesday, Februaruy 25 had very few visitors. Maybe it was just too cold with 21 F, or the timing was interfering with classes, or the variable clouds discouraged visitors. The sun was mostly clean of sunspots. One single spot rotated into view on the south-eastern limb of the sun, visible in the 19-inch SCT, equipped with a general mylar filter. A significant prominance could be spotted on the rim of the sun in the Daystar h-alpha viewer.
SB, 2-26-2026
The 16-inch Meade SCT and the Daystar H-alpha viewer, side by side, in the sunny observatory
An H-alpha viewer allows to see the distribution of Hydrogen only, mostly in the chromosphere of the sun. The bottom and left side of the solar disc exhibit a few prominences.
The view through the SCT, showing the rim of the sun and one sunspot.
Bonus Open House on February 11, 2026
Bonus Open House on February 11, 2026
Originally, the date was advertised as Senior Night in the observatory. But, seen from Monday, the forecast called for clouds and snow, and so we moved the open house to Tuesday instead of Wednesday. Alas, the Wendesday skies were clear, the temperatures above freezing, and people came to the observatory even though it was planned now as a practice night for the observatory squad. We had another 10 visitors, and saw a lot of the Orion nebula and Jupiter. Notably, Elaina earned her Observer badge, and is now able to run the observatory for a visual observing.
SB, 2-11-2026
Kapemni Summer Camps in June 2026 are open for registration
Kapemni Summer Camps in June 2026 are open for registration
The camps are open for high school students grades 9 – 12. The Kapemni collaboration is a group of scientists from New Mexico Tech, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota Morris. The camps are funded, including room and board, with a grant from the National Science Foundation. Both camps award one college credit from the host institution for participants.
Please visit the camp websites for more information.
Explore the Wonders of the Universe, June 7th – 12th 2026
at New Mexico Tech, Socorro, New Mexico
From Ancient Astronomy to Modern Astrophysics:
•Camp in Chaco Canyon and learn about sun daggers and ancient time keeping
•Visit modern observatories and radio-astronomic facilities in Socorro, NM
Kapemni Astrophysics Summer Camp, June 21 - 26, 2026
at the University of Minnesota Morris
A hands-on astrophysics summer camp on a small rural college campus in west-central Minnesota.
•Camp fire stories of Dakota and Ojibwe astronomy
•Learn about astronavigation, build your own telescope, explore problems in space travel
•Engage with Astrophysics, Data Science, Stars and Cosmology
SBoyd, 2-10-2026
First Open Observatory Night in 2026 on February 10
First Open Observatory Night in 2026 on February 10
The first Open House was very small with only about 10 visitors. Originally planned for Wednesday, and based on the weather information available, a quick decision was made to hold it one day early. The skies cleared really nicely by evening, with a wintersky filled with Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Mercury (before 7 pm).
We had great views of the gas giants. We might have seen Neptune. Andromeda Galaxy was viewed, as well as the Pleiades. My personal favorite was the Orion Nebula. With the 32-mm Televue eye piece, the complete large nebula fits into the field of view, and it is a sight to behold. The region is powered by four very young, hot stars in a trapeze arrangement, exciting the surrounding hydrogen gas into a bright glow, permeated by lumps of dark dust clouds.
It was still quite cold with about 28 degrees in the dome, and the SCT struggled a little bit. Tea was nice a little later, to warm up the body. The observatory squad will meet again on Wednesday (2-11) night to practice setting up and taking down the telescope. If visitors will join, since that time had been advertised as Senior Night, so be it, and we will welcome them.
SBoyd, 2-10-2026
In cold nights, tea or hot chocolate are quite nice.
Taking the picture of Saturn through the telescope.
Clair and Elaina figuring out the flight to Saturn.
Hands-on Activities for Astronomy students shared with Minnesota Teachers (Feb 6, 2026)
Hands-on Activities for Astronomy students shared with Minnesota Teachers (Feb 6, 2026)
On Friday, February 6, the Minnesota Earth Science Teachers Association (MESTA) held their annual conference in Plymouth, MN. I was fortunate enough to be a speaker there, and hold one of four concurrent sessions - repeated four times to allow all 120 participants to attend each of these sessions.
I loved sharing some of the activities from Phy1054 Introduction to Astronomy with the science teachers from middle and high schools from across the state. This was an engaged and knowledgeable bunch! I will definitely try to make an Analemma using shadows! It was a good opportunity to connect with Morris alumni, as well as share thoughts on common challenges with AI, the pandemic, and political environments. Oh, and the upcoming Artemis Mission to the moon was a hot topic, of course!
Here is what I shared:
Observing the Earth’s Orbit: Hands-On Activities for Astronomy Students
Sylke Boyd, Associate Professor, University of Minnesota Morris
Bring Earth and Space Science standards to life with engaging, hands-on astronomy activities that help students explore the Sun’s motion and its connection to timekeeping. Participants will build shadow trackers, solar calendars, and simple timers—tools inspired by ancient civilizations to observe and model seasonal patterns. These ready-to-implement lessons support core science practices like developing and using models, identifying patterns, and constructing explanations, making them ideal for middle and high school classrooms.
You can find all the materials on this specially made website for MESTA.
SB 2-10-2026
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