The Garden Astronomer Podcast

In July 1878, a total solar eclipse plunged the American frontier into darkness for barely three minutes. What followed was a collision of science and frontier chaos!

A gunslinger named Texas Jack fires a revolver through a Wyoming hotel window to impress a young Thomas Edison. Edison retreats to a drafty chicken coop to test a sensitive new invention against the solar corona. A world-famous astronomer stakes his entire career on the hunt for “Vulcan”—a phantom planet hiding in the sun’s glare that doesn’t actually exist. And in Denver, pioneering astronomer Maria Mitchell and her crew of Vassar graduates mount their telescopes to take on Victorian prejudices about women in science.

From the gale-force winds of Rawlins to frostbitten astronomers shivering atop Pikes Peak, join Amy McGraw on The Garden Astronomer for the story of the Great Eclipse of 1878.

Written by Wayne McGraw. Narrated by Amy McGraw

Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons, Attribution 4.0 License.

Thanks for listening in, and clear skies!

On August 28, 1859, a telegraph operator in Washington, D.C., gets knocked to the floor by a spark at his desk. Four days later, two astronomers watch something erupt on the surface of the Sun. Follow the storm as it races across the Atlantic, lights up rooftops from Broadway to San Francisco Bay, and turns a Colorado mining camp into daylight at midnight. Then meet the man who caught it all on paper: Richard Carrington — and the tragedy that followed him for the rest of his life.

Written and narrated by Wayne McGraw. Visit gardenastronomer.com for podcast info.

Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons, Attribution 4.0 License.

Thanks for listening in, and clear skies!

How did a hardworking Kansas farm boy find his way to Pluto?

In this episode, we dive into the true story of Clyde Tombaugh. After Clyde spent months grinding telescope mirrors in an underground root cellar, a June hailstorm ruined his family's crops and his hopes for college. Discover how his salvaged farm parts and late-night planetary sketches earned him a one-way train ride to the Lowell Observatory. There, after endless hours and freezing nights, he came eye-to-eye with the planet Pluto.

Written by: Wayne McGraw. Narrated by: Amy McGraw

For more forgotten human stories in astronomy, visit gardenastronomer.com

In 1861, as America descended into the Civil War, a great comet appeared, visible even in daylight. For a moment, the world paused to watch.

A young Australian farmer named John Tebbutt was the first to recognize it. Armed with a tiny telescope, a sextant, and a determination to understand the heavens, he would go on to identify one of the most spectacular comets of the nineteenth century.

As the Great Comet of 1861 swept closer to Earth, its enormous tail stretched overhead. Sailors watched from the sea. A woman observed it from her home in Louisiana. Soldiers on opposite sides of the American Civil War saw it from their camps and battlefields.

In this episode of The Garden Astronomer, we follow the Great Comet of 1861 from its appearance in Australia to its passage near Earth and uncover the stories of those who watched it unfold.

Written by Wayne McGraw. Narrated by Amy McGraw. Read the full article and see historical photos on The Garden Astronomer.

00:00 - Introduction

00:50 - A Farmer & His Telescope

02:10 - John Tebbutt’s Discovery

04:38 - Predicting the Comet’s Path

05:36 - Earth Grazes a Comet's Tail

05:57 - Eyewitnesses: London, Athens, & Bristol

07:14 - The "War Comet": CSS Sumter's Escape

08:35 - Kate Stone’s Observation from Louisiana

10:39 - Looking Up from Civil War Battlefields

12:44 - Journey Through the Northern Constellations

14:04 - The Legacy of John Tebbutt

15:18 - Conclusion

A 1980s backyard night of amateur astronomy in Arvada, Colorado gets hijacked by high-school stoners, Iron Maiden, and late-night roof climbers.

Host and author Wayne McGraw shares a true Gen X story that begins with watching the Perseid meteor shower, tracking Saturn, finding the Andromeda Galaxy, and ends with teens who would never have crossed paths connecting under an August night. Along the way, Wayne also offers practical insights on how to view the shower yourself and the reasons behind its annual return.

Episode Timestamps:

00:00 – Welcome to The Garden Astronomer

00:53 – From Gold Dust to Suburban Skies in Arvada

02:47 – Comet Swift-Tuttle & The Perseids

03:38 – Counting the First Streaks of Light

04:18 – Uninvited Guests & Iron Maiden on the Lawn

06:55 – When Metalheads Turn Cosmologists

08:22 – Community Under the Clockwork Sky

10:20 – Trapped Flashlights & The Andromeda Galaxy

13:34 – Orion Rises & Changing Seasons

14:25 – Midnight Roof Climbers & Impromptu Observatory

16:45 – Farewell to the Night

17:22 – Practical Tips for Watching the Perseids

18:09 – Outro

We uncover the story of the Great Comet of 1882, so bright it was visible in broad daylight right beside the sun, only to shatter into pieces before the world's eyes. Step into the backyards, balloons, and observatories of astronomers and everyday witnesses who watched history's brightest comet crumble in real time.

In February 1913, thousands of people across the Western Hemisphere witnessed a slow-motion cosmic parade of meteors grazing the atmosphere. In this episode, we dive into eyewitness accounts of that unforgettable night and explore the scientific research that revealed the truth behind the spectacle. It wasn't just a meteor shower. It was an awe-inspiring disintegration of Earth's forgotten "minimoon."

Discover the history of the Great Comet of 1811. Visible to the naked eye for nine months, this spectacular comet mystified the globe, coincided with the terrifying New Madrid earthquakes, inspired Tecumseh and Napoleon, and even yielded a legendary wine vintage.

Visit the gardenastronomer.com to read the full article and see illustrations from this historical moment in astronomical history.

In 1910, the world eagerly awaited the return of Halley’s Comet—but a sudden comet stole the show months earlier. Discover the incredible story of the Great January Comet, a celestial giant so exceptionally bright it could be seen blazing in broad daylight.

Visit the gardenastronomer.com to read the article and see photos from this historical moment.