News for Norther Colorado and the world

Thursday, March 28, 2024

‘Earth & Sky’ Archives

Earthsky Tonight—July 13, Young moon, Mercury sit

Earthsky Tonight—July 13, Young moon, Mercury sit close to horizon after sunset

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Our sky chart shows the sky for mid-northern North American latitudes at about 45 minutes after sunset. If you have a level horizon and crystal-clear skies, you might catch the thin waxing crescent moon and the planet Mercury next to the horizon. Mercury sets about one hour after the sun and the moon sets about one hour and 15 minutes after. So, they’ll be hard to catch in the twilight glare. Try binoculars! Looking for a sky ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight— July 12, Summer Triangle: Vega and

Earthsky Tonight— July 12, Summer Triangle: Vega and its constellation Lyra

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Look eastward this evening, and it’s hard to miss the season’s signature star formation, called the Summer Triangle. Its stars — Vega, Deneb and Altair — are the first three to light up the eastern half of sky after sunset, and their bright and sparkling radiance is even visible from light-polluted cities. Try looking first for the most prominent star in the eastern sky, which is Vega in the constellation Lyra the Harp. ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight—July ll, When is the next total

Earthsky Tonight—July ll, When is the next total solar eclipse in the U.S.?

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org A total eclipse of the sun takes place today, but not in the United States. To see it – one of nature’s grandest spectacles – you must be located along today’s long yet narrow total eclipse path that stretches across the South Pacific. Eclipse path for July 11, 2010 total solar eclipse People ask when a total solar eclipse will be visible in the mainland United States. It won’t happen until August 21, 2017. The next ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight—July 9, 2010: Venus and Regulus in

Earthsky Tonight—July 9, 2010: Venus and Regulus in conjunction

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The dazzling planet Venus and the star Regulus are in conjunction at 9 p.m. Central Daylight Time this evening. That means they are north and south of one another on the sky’s dome, with a small gap separating the two. This evening, Venus and Regulus shine about the same distance apart as the width of your little finger, held at arm’s length. Although Regulus is a very bright star, it pales next to Venus, which is the ... Full Story

July 8: 2010: Corona Borealis is also called the

July 8: 2010: Corona Borealis is also called the Northern Crown

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org To see what is shown on today’s chart, you would face east and look high overhead for Corona Borealis, also known as the Northern Crown. This constellation looks like a half-circle, in the middle of which is a white jewel of a star called Gemma. The Crown is located more or less along a line between two bright stars: Arcturus in the constellation Bootes the Herdsman and Vega in the constellation Lyra the Harp. Arcturus has ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight—July 7, 2010: The moon will pass

Earthsky Tonight—July 7, 2010: The moon will pass the Pleiades before dawn July 8

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Put your coffee pot on a timer and set your alarm for a couple of hours before sunrise, because you are going to want to get up early tomorrow. In the dark eastern skies before dawn tomorrow, the crescent moon passes near the Pleiades star cluster. The best views are from the North American East Coast and western South America, but chances are good from Europe and the rest of North America as well. In fact, the moon appears near ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight— July 6, 2010: Earth farthest from

Earthsky Tonight— July 6, 2010: Earth farthest from sun for 2010 on July 6

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Today, our planet Earth reaches its most distant point from the sun for this year. Astronomers call this farthest point aphelion, and, at aphelion, we are about three million miles farther from the sun than we will be six months from now. That is in contrast to our average distance from the sun of about 93 million miles. Are you looking for Earth’s exact distance from the sun today? It is at 94,508,351 miles. Last year, on July ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight—July 5, 2010: Constellation named

Earthsky Tonight—July 5, 2010: Constellation named for a Polish king

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Now that the moon is past last quarter and therefore gone from the evening sky, look for one of summer’s most beautiful celestial sights. Be sure you are looking in a dark country sky, on a night when the moon is down. In a dark country sky, you will find a hazy pathway stretched across the sky during the late July evening hours. This band is the starlit trail of our own Milky Way galaxy. Looking southward late in the evening ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight—July 4, Draco the Dragon on July

Earthsky Tonight—July 4, Draco the Dragon on July evenings

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org At nightfall tonight, the starlit Eyes of Draco the Dragon peer down upon you from almost overhead. Their names are Eltanin and Rastaban. If the sun, Eltanin and Rastaban all were located the same distance from us, it’s thought that Eltanin would shine 600 times more brightly than our sun and that Rastaban would shine 950 times more brightly. Though Rastaban is actually the more luminous of these two stars, Eltanin appears ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight—July 3: Moon and Jupiter again

Earthsky Tonight—July 3: Moon and Jupiter again between midnight and dawn July 4

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The darkness between midnight and dawn belongs to the last-quarter moon and Jupiter. They appear in the east as today becomes tomorrow, and steadily climb into the sky. Jupiter is the solar system’s largest planet, more massive than all the other planets, moons, and other debris combined. And we are lucky to have it. Astronomers believe that its gravitational presence has kept Earth safe by sending asteroids and comets out of ... Full Story

 Page 28 of 40  « First  ... « 26  27  28  29  30 » ...  Last »