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‘Earth & Sky’ Archives

EarthSky Tonight—October 14, Find constellations of

EarthSky Tonight—October 14,  Find constellations of the Zodiac on October evenings

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Today’s sky chart shows the constellations of the Zodiac that are up after nightfall on these October evenings. We got this question: "I’m having a difficult time being able to recognize the constellations of the Zodiac . . . do you have any advice?" Yes . . . we can recommend a few things. First, the zodiacal constellations are the backdrop for the pathway of the sun around our sky each year, and of the moon for every month. ... Full Story

EarthSky Tonight—October 13, Moon is waxing, but

EarthSky Tonight—October 13, Moon is waxing, but still low in sky

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Diana from Potsdam, NY asked, "Why are the evening crescent and the first quarter moon always so low in the autumn evening sky?" The answer is that, as seen from our northern hemisphere, the ecliptic – the pathway of the moon and planets – sinks very low in the southern sky on autumn evenings. That is why the waxing crescent moon and the first quarter moon always loom low in the sky in September and October, as seen from this ... Full Story

EarthSky Tonight—October 12, Arcturus sparkles in

EarthSky Tonight—October 12,  Arcturus sparkles in western sky on October evenings

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Is Comet Hartley 2 beginning to brighten? A bright star in the west in the evening in October – flashing colors – is Arcturus. Let us back up a minute. The extremely bright object in the east to southeast sky on these October 2010 evenings is the planet Jupiter. Still, many have asked about a bright star – not as bright as Jupiter, but still very bright and twinkling very actively – in the west after sunset. Jim wrote, ... Full Story

EarthSky Tonight—October 10, Bright star near moon

EarthSky Tonight—October 10,  Bright star near moon is red Antares

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The moon is returning to the evening sky, and that is sad news for those seeking Comet Hartley. If you have a clear western horizon – tonight and tomorrow night – you can see the waxing crescent moon and the star Antares appear rather low in the southwest sky after sunset this Sunday evening. They are low in the southwest for us at mid-northern latitudes. Look for Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius, to ... Full Story

EarthSky Tonight—October 9, Last 2010 evening

EarthSky Tonight—October 9, Last 2010 evening pairing of moon and Venus

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Tonight presents the final pairing of the moon and the planet Venus in the evening sky until the autumn of 2011. Or, if you live in the southern hemisphere, it is the last evening pairing until the spring of 2011. Unfortunately, for much of the northern hemisphere, a “perfect” storm of events makes the sighting of the waxing crescent moon and dazzling Venus difficult – if not downright impossible – to observe. Bright star ... Full Story

EarthSky Tonight—Oct. 7, Legendary Draconid meteors

EarthSky Tonight—Oct. 7, Legendary Draconid meteors – boom or bust in 2010?

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org For the next few nights, Draco the Dragon may or may not be spitting out “shooting stars,” also known as meteors. The legendary Draconid meteor shower is predicted to peak on the night of October 7 or 8. This shower produced major displays in 1933 and 1946 – with thousands of meteors per hour seen in those years – but since then has been so spotty that the tried-and-true Observer’s Handbook – source of so much ... Full Story

EarthSky Tonight—Oct. 6, Golden Capella sparkles red

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org At this time of year, the star in the northeast at around 9 p.m. is Capella in the constellation Auriga. Every year around this time, we get questions from people who see this star twinkling with red and green flashes when it is low in the sky. On October 12, we talk about Arcturus, the brilliant star in the western evening sky. When Arcturus looms low or sets in the west, that is the time to look for Capella in your northeast ... Full Story

EarthSky Tonight—Oct. 5, Glowing pyramid of light in

EarthSky Tonight—Oct. 5, Glowing pyramid of light in east might be false dawn

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Autumn is the best time of year to see the false dawn, also known as the zodiacal light. This light can be noticeable and easy to see from latitudes like those in the southern U.S. I’ve seen it many times from the latitude of southern Texas, sometimes while driving a lonely highway far from city lights, in the hour or so before true dawn begins to light the sky. In that case, the zodiacal light can resemble the lights of a city ... Full Story

EarthSky Tonight—Oct. 4, Use Summer Triangle to

EarthSky Tonight—Oct. 4,  Use Summer Triangle to find plane of Milky Way galaxy

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org At this time of year, you can use the Summer Triangle – and the constellation Cygnus the Swan – to locate the plane of our Milky Way galaxy. The three brilliant stars that make up the Summer Triangle shine way up high in the October evening sky. I suggest viewing the scene from the comfort of a reclining lawn chair, with your feet pointing southward. As seen from mid-northern latitudes, the stars Deneb and Vega hang high ... Full Story

EarthSky Tonight—Oct 3, Find the Andromeda galaxy

EarthSky Tonight—Oct 3,  Find the Andromeda galaxy on dark autumn nights

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Find the Andromeda galaxy on these dark autumn nights. The large square pattern on today’s chart is the Great Square in the constellation Pegasus. The constellation Andromeda can be seen as two streams of stars extending from one side of the Square, beginning at the star Alpheratz. I learned to find the Andromeda galaxy by star-hopping from the Great Square to the two stars marked here – first Mirach, then Mu Andromedae. An ... Full Story

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