For those of us living away from our larger cities and towns, the West Slopearea from Grand Junction south to Cortez is one of the darkest places onEarth where people live. We know that by experience but that darkness hasbeen measured by satellites.

My whole life I’ve been asked the daunting question that seemed to put my whole belief system on trial. Aliens, were they real or not? If I had said yes, I was crazy, a conspiracy theorist who didn’t know the difference between fictional video game characters and real life. But if I had said no, I’d be shutting down the entire possibility of there being something more to life than just what my little planet has to offer.

2025’s almost here, and in astronomy, a lot will be happening.

Today dark skies are dwindling world-wide thanks to a dramatic increase in light pollution effects. Much like wildlife that once roamed this country extensively but were later pushed to protected areas like national parks for survival, our darkest skies now mostly remain above public lands.

Our galaxy is made up of billions of stars, gas, and dust, and it’s truly something astonishing to see and be a part of.

Astrology and astronomy – the words sound so similar. So why do you get such a stink-eye from your friend the astronomer when you call her an astrologer?

Sixty-nine years ago, Humanity first contacted the Moon’s surface with Luna 2, the former Soviet Union’s uncrewed lunar probe. One may wonder what has been left behind over the decades. The answer is well over 200 tons of diverse artifacts. Behind the materials are many stories-- mundane, poignant, controversial, and amusing.

Viewing Northern Lights in Colorado is certainly possible, even common at times, such as during high levels of solar activity also known as "Solar Maximum.”

Stories, such as the one I’ve just shared and many others around the globe, were used to interpret the stars and celestial objects that people have seen sparkling in the night sky.

Throughout history, a belief in the “fixed” and changeless stars was held by many cultures. But at the beginning of the 19th Century, Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi repeatedly measured the position of a star called 61 Cygni. Piazzi’s work overturned such long-held beliefs and led to research that ultimately allowed astronomers to accurately measure the scale of the Milky Way Galaxy and to learn of our location within it.