In The Sky

Galaxies M81 (left) and M82 (right) appear in the same field of view of many backyard telescopes. The featured image is a composite of images totaling nearly six hours of exposure taken with a 16″ telescope at Dyer Observatory. Credit: Billy Teets Our Milky Way galaxy is a treasure… Read More

Just off the famous belt of Orion lie several regions of nebulosity, each around 1.500 light-years away, that are favorite targets for astrophotographers. To the right of Alnitak (the brightest star of the image) is a large complex of gas with a dust cloud seen in silhouette – the… Read More

The Moon as it appeared around maximum totality during the total lunar eclipse of March 14, 2025. Credit: Billy Teets It has been a little while since Nashville has had the opportunity to view the splendor of a total lunar eclipse, nearly three years in fact.  During brief gaps… Read More

The Moon and Mars about one minute prior to lunar occultation on January 13, 2025. Credit: Billy Teets   January ended up being a big month for the Red Planet as it took part in a parade, gave us all it had during opposition, and even tangoed with the… Read More

The above 4.5-hour exposure of the sword of Orion reveals the splendor of the Orion Nebula near image center and the fainter glow of the elusive Running Man Nebula at top. The image is a composite of 135 two-minute exposures using Dyer Observatory’s ZWO ASI6200MC Pro color camera mounted… Read More

Six planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) are visible in the evening during January and the first half of February 2025. Uranus and Neptune require a telescope or binoculars to spot them, but the other four planets shine brightly to the naked eye. The simulated view shows… Read More

Here are a few tips Dr. Billy Teets shares with anyone interested in getting a telescope: We often refer folks to Dobsonian telescopes as they give you the most light-gathering bang for your buck.  These telescopes are more suited for visual observing rather than photography, but one can still… Read More

The brightest star in the image (just right of center) is Barnard’s Star, a red dwarf star discovered in 1916 by Edward Emerson Barnard. Image acquired with Dyer Observatory’s 14″ Bergquist Telescope and a ZWO ASI6200MC Pro camera. Credit: Billy Teets A mere six light-years… Read More

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) began its evening apparition during the second week of October 2024. During the period when the comet was at its brightest, observers were still able to spot it despite fighting the light of the waxing Moon. On October 20th, observatory director Billy Teets acquired this… Read More

Dyer Observatory’s all-sky camera caught a gorgeous aurora as it burst over our area on October 10, 2024. Click on the image to see a timelapse of the aurora. Images were taken approximately every 20 seconds.  The pink prologue started soon after sunset, the… Read More