Anza Borrego State Park
Discover the splendor of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California's largest state park, offering a landscape rich in natural wonders and diverse terrains.
By Dennis Mammana Week of May 24-30, 2026 When you hear the phrase "once in a blue moon," what do you think? If you're like most people, you think of something that doesn't happen often. So what exactly is a blue moon, and why is it so rare? First off, a blue moon isn't all that rare. It occurs on average about once every 2.72 years. Secondly, the moon doesn't appear blue at all; it's just a regular ol' full moon that happens to be the second one in any particular month. You know this phenomenon if you receive a paycheck every two weeks. You'll usually get two checks a month, but occasionally you'll receive a third. It's not that uncommon, and neither is a blue moon, despite the popular meaning of the term. A second full moon in a month occurs occasionally because our calendar isn't synced with the lunar phases, even though the word "month" derives from the word "moon". What we call a month — approximately one-twelfth of a year — is longer than the moon's "synodic" period — the average time between one full moon and the next (29.53059 days). So every once in a while — every blue moon, one might say — two full moons will occur during the same calendar month. We'll see the next one on Saturday night, May 30. Be sure to watch as the moon rises in the southeast just after sunset that night. Chances are that it will first appear rather orange or red because its light must pass through a long column of air on its way to our eyes, and normal particulate matter suspended in the air scatters the moon's light and colors it orange. Some have defined the blue moon differently. Most seasons of the year will experience three full moons, but occasionally a fourth will sneak in. In that case, the fourth of the season would be known as a "blue moon." This seasonal definition may have originated from a 1943 question-and-answer column in Sky and Telescope magazine in which Laurence J. Lafleur traced the term to a 1937 "Maine Farmers' Almanac." Three years later, it seems, folklorist Philip Hiscock wrote in the same magazine an article that gave birth to the "second full moon in a month" idea. Neither of these situations is particularly unusual, so where did the rarity idea originate? Occasionally, especially thick smoke or volcanic ash particles suspended in our atmosphere can remove enough red moonlight to make the moon appear bluish. It is said that, after the Krakatoa volcanic eruption in 1883, the moon appeared blue for more than a year. As you might imagine, this is extremely rare. In fact, one might say that it happens ... only once in a blue moon! Now there's one more thing about the full moon that we'll see this coming weekend. It reaches its orbital "apogee" at 4:45 a.m. EDT / 1:45 a.m. PDT, its farthest point from the Earth (about 250,517 miles away). This means that it will appear as the smallest full moon of this year. You might hear it called a blue "mini moon," though most stargazers won't be able to see much difference from a normal full moon. Visit Dennis Mammana at dennismammana.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. Learn More About Borrego Springs
Experience the Walk of the Cosmos in Borrego Springs—a journey through the solar system in a beautiful desert park with playgrounds, sports courts, and stargazing opportunities.
By Dennis Mammana Week of May 17-23, 2026 That brilliant light now glistening in the west at sunset is again the "star" of the show. It is, of course, the planet Venus, and this week it'll pair up with two other celestial wanderers: Jupiter and the moon. Jupiter, another very bright planet, has been descending farther to the west as the spring months progress, and it is now approaching a close encounter with Venus by the end of the month. This occurs because these worlds, along with the Earth, orbit the sun, and our constantly changing viewpoint makes them appear to drift slowly against the more distant and "fixed" stars. Over the next week, though, another solar system body will enter the scene: the moon. Since our celestial neighbor orbits the Earth once a month, we can see it change its position in the sky from night to night. Shortly after sunset on May 17, you might try searching very low in the west for the tiny and delicate crescent moon, but to find it, you'll need a very clear sky and a low horizon, and possibly binoculars. If you don't succeed, don't worry. It'll be pretty tough to spot, but if you wait until the next night, it'll be much easier to see. On the 18th, it will appear not far from Venus. Of course, the moon won't really be next to this planet; they will be separated by 124 million miles that evening, but since both lie roughly along the same line of sight, they'll appear together in the sky. For a really amazing view, check out the pair through binoculars! The following night, May 19, the moon will have moved eastward along its orbit and will appear about midway between Jupiter and Venus. If your sky is clear on May 20, check out the western sky again, and you'll notice that the moon is not only a significantly thicker crescent but now lies above Jupiter. Of course, this whole view is purely an illusion caused by our inability to see true depth in the cosmos, but it does result in a truly pretty picture. And speaking of pretty pictures, this week offers a good opportunity to try your hand at photographing the spectacle. Since the trio appears low enough in the sky at dusk, you can frame the scene with a foreground subject — a dramatic tree, building, sculpture or person, for example. You don't need fancy or expensive equipment to do this; just a regular camera or smartphone will do fine. You may find, however, that zooming in a bit will produce a more compelling image. If you shoot half an hour or so after sunset, you can probably trust the automatic settings of your camera or phone. Much later, though, you may need to adjust settings as you go because the light at dusk changes rapidly. Don't be afraid to experiment; if some photos turn out poorly, you can always hit "delete," and no one will ever know! I hope your skies are clear this week so you can enjoy the planetary sky show. And if you get some nice photos, please email me. I'd love to share your success! Visit Dennis Mammana at dennismammana.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. Learn More About Borrego Springs
By Dennis Mammana Week of March 22-28, 2026 Now that spring has sprung, I'm sure that those who have endured a long, cold and snowy winter are rejoicing. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm no winter person. Sure, I used to enjoy the season when I was a kid, but that's only because I could spend entire days building snow forts with my friends and making a few bucks shoveling the white stuff for neighbors. No longer. Today, warmer days of springtime can't come soon enough for me! If we had no calendar, we would still know the seasons are changing. We see it happening all around us: Temperatures are rising, the first flower buds are beginning to appear, and many birds are returning to our part of planet Earth. And, just as our daytime world gives us clues that spring is approaching, the darkness does as well. Nighttime hours are beginning to shorten, and the brilliant stars of winter are descending in the west to make way for those of springtime. And no star grouping heralds the arrival of springtime to our Northern Hemisphere more than Leo, the lion. Head outdoors during early evening hours and cast your gaze midway up in the eastern sky. There, you'll see Leo, one of the few constellations that, with some imagination, actually can be made to look like its namesake — a lion crouching in a regal pose reminiscent of the enigmatic Egyptian Sphinx. Most prominent in this constellation is the bright star Regulus, which shines brightly beneath the lion's majestic head and mane, outlined by a large sickle-shaped grouping of stars. More metropolitan stargazers may recognize this figure not as a sickle but as a backward question mark, with Regulus forming the dot at its base. The star's very name, "Regulus," comes from the Latin word "Rex," meaning "king," and, interestingly, this star was revered throughout the ancient world as a "royal" star. According to astronomy author R.A. Allen, it was known in Arabia as "Malikiyy" (the Kingly One), while the ancient Greeks knew it as "the Star of the King." At the other end of the lion, we find the bright star Denebola, whose name originates from the Arabic "Al Dhanab al Asad," meaning "The Lion's Tail." You can find Leo more easily if you use the two pointer stars of the Big Dipper, farther to the northeast. These stars point toward Polaris (the north star) if you follow them from the bottom to the top of the Dipper's bowl, but if you follow them in the opposite direction, you can find your way toward the back of the lion. If you have trouble tracing this animal's shape among the stars, don't worry. Just turn it around and you'll find it's much easier to find not the mighty king of the jungle but instead a mouse! Quite frankly, I think the figure of a mouse is much easier to trace. Here, the star Denebola forms its pointy nose, the nearby triangle forms his head, and the sickle now outlines its long, curving tail. Either way you look at it — mouse or lion — nothing in the heavens announces springtime more loudly than Leo! Visit Dennis Mammana at dennismammana.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. Learn More About Borrego Springs
A recent Hawk Alert shared through the Borrego hawkwatch community reports a significant number of Swainson’s hawks currently roosting in Borrego Springs. Estimates based on multiple counts suggest 200 to 300 hawks are gathered overnight. This is part of the annual spring migration, when large numbers of Swainson’s hawks pass through the Borrego Valley. The migration typically runs from mid-February through March and into April, with peak activity often occurring in mid to late March.
By Dennis Mammana Week of March 8-14, 2026 If you hear the word "superstar," what immediately comes to mind? Perhaps names like Tom Hanks, Taylor Swift or LeBron James? That's certainly understandable; they are all undisputed superstars who attract the attention of paparazzi and fans alike. If you're an astronomer, however, you may answer this question differently. For example, when I hear the word "superstar," I think of UY Scuti, WOH G64 or RSGC1-F01. Yes, these are superstars, but not quite how people may think. These are some of the largest stars known in our galaxy and, for that reason, are quite intriguing to us celestial paparazzi. Regular readers of this column know that our sun is also a star. It appears big and bright in our daytime sky because not only is it rather close (about 93 million miles away), it's also pretty large (nearly a million miles across). It sounds huge, but our star is rather small on a cosmic scale, and believe it or not, there are stars out there that would dwarf our sun and make it look tiny. These are the true superstars! Until recently, the largest star known was given the hopelessly poetic name of UY Scuti. At a distance of some 9,500 lightyears from Earth, UY Scuti is what is known as a red hypergiant star, with a diameter some 1,700 times that of the sun! All that changed recently, however, when astronomers found a gargantuan star some 2,150 times larger than our sun! It's named Stephenson 2-18, and if you'd like to get a peek at this stellar behemoth, you'll need more than your eyes. At a distance of some 18,900 lightyears, it appears 5,100 times fainter than we can see without a telescope. If you have no telescope but would still like to see a celestial superstar, you're in luck. There's one shining in our night sky right now; it's one of the brightest up there and is named Betelgeuse. Betelgeuse sparkles brightly in the northeastern corner of Orion, the hunter, and you can see its orange light midway up in the southern sky after dark this week. With about 15-20 times more mass than our sun, Betelgeuse is known as a red supergiant star for good reason. While we could align 109 Earths across the face of our sun, we would need at least 700 suns to cross the face of Betelgeuse! Indeed, this star is so immense that if it replaced our sun at the center of our planetary system, Betelgeuse would engulf the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, and stretch part of the way to Jupiter! Yet it appears as a simple point of light in our night sky because of its tremendous distance from us — some 3,100 trillion miles, or about 520 lightyears. Betelgeuse is easily one of the largest known stars, though its size fluctuates by as much as 60% as the star shudders and pulsates on its way to an eventual supernova explosion, thousands or millions of years from now. Or tonight. We just don't know. I hope you'll step out under the night sky soon to meet this remarkable superstar for yourself! Visit Dennis Mammana at dennismammana.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. Learn More About Borrego Springs
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