Looking Up with Don

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Most successful living visual comet discoverer, Don Machholz, guides you on a weekly journey into the world of comets and astronomy.

Don Machholz


    • Aug 8, 2022 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekly NEW EPISODES
    • 22m AVG DURATION
    • 132 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Looking Up with Don

    LUWD #136 Saturn at Opposition

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 8, 2022 24:55


    "Look for the Seeliger effect, when the rings brighten for a few days."Don Machholz

    LUWD #135 A 1988 Comet Discovery

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2022 23:53


    "We had quite a few people there to see it."Don Machholz

    LUWD #134 Two Summer Meteor Showers

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2022 9:06


    "So these next couple of weeks may be your best chance to see them."Don Machholz

    LUWD #133 Your July Observing List

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2022 18:56


    "Start with the bright stars."Don Machholz

    LUWD #132 Summertime Views

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2022 18:12


    "The Summer Milky Way is now visible and with the warmer nights it is easy to stay out past midnight."Don Machholz

    LUWD #131 The Story About a 1994 Comet Discovery

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2022 21:24


    "At 2:47 AM I picked up a fuzzy object, about magnitude 10."Don Machholz

    LUWD #130 Image the Moon This Week

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2022 18:08


    "This would be a good week to image the moon each night through a small telescope."Don Machholz

    LUWD #129 M4 and M80

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 22, 2022 30:11


    "Two globular clusters in Scorpius"Don Machholz

    LUWD #128 So Many Planets, So Little Time

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2022 12:54


    "Quite often, when I'm the smartest person in the room, I'm by myself."Don Machholz

    LUWD #127 Not Even An Inkling of Twinkling

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2022 15:43


    "The stars twinkle, the planets do not."Don Machholz

    LUWD #126 The Arietids Meteor Shower

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2022 11:25


    "We have a meteor shower coming up this week that almost no one knows about, but it is one of the most active of the year.”Don Machholz

    LUWD #125 Possibly a Great Meteor Shower?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 24, 2022 39:42


    "It is a matter of watching and waiting."Don Machholz

    LUWD #124 The Virgo Galaxies

    Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2022 15:21


    "These were cataloged by Charles Messier in 1781."Don Machholz

    LUWD #123 A Total Lunar Eclipse

    Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2022 26:28


    When the moon is in the umbra, it is hidden from the sundra."Don Machholz

    LUWD 122 How to See Fainter Objects

    Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2022 22:02


    "Eyes, skies, and telescope."Don Machholz

    LUWD #121 The Moon, Mercury, M45, and Maybe a Comet

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 26, 2022 22:59


    "This week the hotspot is the evening sky."Don Machholz

    LUWD #120 A Line-up of Planets

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2022 15:48


    "Set the alarm and bring the camera."Don Machholz

    LUWD #119 Amateur and Professional Astronomers

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2022 22:13


    "I have been an amateur astronomer since I was about 8 years old and took an interest in astronomy."Don Machholz

    LUWD #118 The Straight Wall

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2022 20:51


    "It is one of the most interesting features on the moon."-Don Machholz

    LUWD #117 Mars and Saturn in the Morning Sky

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 29, 2022 13:58


    "And the colors should differ, especially when seen through binoculars or a telescope."-Don Machholz

    LUWD #116 A Party of Planets

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2022 29:07


    "The crescent moon makes a nice pattern with Venus, Mars, and Saturn on Monday morning, March 28"-Don Machholz

    LUWD #115 A Moonlit Messier Marathon

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2022 33:01


    "You won't find any of this stuff published anywhere."-Don Machholz

    LUWD #114 A Close Look at the Moon

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2022 17:35


    "Yes, they have seen the moon before, but now they can see the craters."-Don Machholz

    LUWD #113 The Winter Milky Way

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2022 20:27


    "It is rich, very rich, with stars and star clusters."-Don Machholz

    LUWD 112 Galaxy NGC 891

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2022 25:53


    "May our galaxy wrap its arms around you. I bet no one had ever said that to you before. In fact, it is already doing that."-Don Machholz

    LUWD 111 Accidental Visual Comet Discoveries

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2022 30:53


    “This was a sweet spot for such discoveries: after many visual comet hunters left the field, and before the government-funded sky surveys took over.”-Don Machholz

    LUWD #110 M1, M57, and Comets

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 8, 2022 20:03


    "In Messier's case it was known comets leading to new Messier Objects. Centuries later it was known Messier Objects leading to new comets."-Don Machholz

    LUWD #109 Massive Marathon

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2022 25:03


    "This is how the Massive Marathon was invented."-Don Machholz

    LUWD #108 The Pleiades

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2022 21:37


    "I believe that moonlight is the real reason why Charles Messier missed M65 and M66."-Don Machholz

    LUWD #107 Starting Your Day at 2 AM

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2022 26:15


    "I would rather be sweeping than sleeping".-Don Machholz

    LUWD #106 Comets in 2022

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 11, 2022 16:43


    "Is it a bird, is it a plane? No kitty, that is the moon!"-Don Machholz

    LUWD #105 Mercury in the Evening

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 4, 2022 20:26


    "This is a good week to look at the moon."Don Machholz

    LUWD #104 The Year’s First Meteor Shower

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2021 13:58


    "In 1922 the IAU named 88 constellations; this must have been number 89."-Don Machholz

    LUWD #103 A Family of Comets

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 21, 2021 18:52


    "The winter constellations are here, ready for another season of viewing."Don Machholz

    LUWD #102 Comet Leonard in the Evening Sky

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2021 14:32


    "This could produce a meteor shower on Venus."Don Machholz

    LUWD #101 A Comet in the Twilight Zone

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2021 27:50


    “When Albert Einstein was a boy, if he ever did anything stupidly, did people say to him: ‘hey, way to go, Einstein!'?”-Don Machholz

    LUWD #100 Comet Leonard Meets a Star Cluster

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 30, 2021 17:51


    "Probably more penguins than people will see this eclipse. Those solar eclipse glasses will keep slipping off their ears."Don Machholz

    LUWD #0099 Ceres: Hiding in the Hyades

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2021 13:39


    "The Antarcitia solar eclipse is on December 4. If you intend to see it, you should be heading out the door about now."Don Machholz

    LUWD #0098 Open Star Cluster M52

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 16, 2021 15:21


    "Well, I'm an astronomer, and to me a beautiful sunset sky has no clouds at all."Don Machholz

    LUWD #0097 Lunar Eclipse

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2021 17:20


    "The moon could fit inside the earth's shadow if it wanted to."Don Machholz

    LUWD #0096 Gegenschein

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2021 15:22


    "So now is a suitable time to see the gegenschein."Don Machholz

    LUWD #0095 See Some Comets This Week

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 25, 2021 15:20


    "Comets are scattered around the sky."Don Machholz

    LUWD #0094 A Rhyming Messier Marathon Talk

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 19, 2021 23:18


    "Charles Messier lived some two hundred years ago in France,from where he searched for comets, whenever he got the chance"Don Machholz

    LUWD #0093 Observe the Moon Night

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 12, 2021 23:11


    “Why stop with our moon? Show them Jupiter and Saturn and their moons too. A multi-moon evening.” Don Machholz

    LUWD #0092 Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2021 15:48


    “We'll know in two weeks, when communication with Mars resumes, if Martians have visited our rovers.” Don Machholz

    LUWD #0091 Distant Moons

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2021 16:58


    “If you have a group of observers with you, take bets.  The winner gets to choose which will be the next object to observe.” Don Machholz

    LUWD #0090 Astro Imaging

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2021 18:59


    I'm a bit behind in reading my astronomy magazines. I just read that there will be a total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. Did I miss it? Don Machholz

    LUWD #0089 Tales of Mercury

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2021 20:26


    "Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Wow, who comes up with these names?"-Don Machholz

    LUWD #0088 Neptune

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2021 16:14


    "Nearly 90,000 days in one year, I wonder how many holidays they have?"Don Machholz

    LUWD #0087 That Bright Spotlight is Jupiter!

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2021 18:55


    "It is there, but can you see it?"Don Machholz

    LUWD #0086 Astronomy Projects You Can Do

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2021 15:03


    "There is no end to the things that can be seen".Don Machholz

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