Sky Tonight—December 28, Find a variable star in Lyra
This evening, we zoom in on a variable star – a star whose brightness changes
Sky Tonight—December 27, Moon, bright star, two planets before dawn
Before dawn tomorrow (Tuesday, December 28), look in the east for the planet Saturn and star Spica near the last quarter moon.
Sky Tonight— December 24, Moon approaching Regulus
After they rise tonight, Regulus will chase the moon westward across the sky.
Sky Tonight, December 23—Southern Cross visible in Hawaii before sunrise
As Cassiopeia sets, the Southern Cross rises. For all but the southernmost parts of the United States, Cassiopeia never sets
Sky Tonight—December 22, Moon and heavenly Twins
Gemini’s two brightest stars are Castor and Pollux. They shine quite close to the moon tonight.
Sky Tonight—December 21, solstice marks day of southernmost sun
At this solstice, we celebrate the (unofficial) first day of winter in the northern hemisphere and first day of summer in the southern hemisphere.
EarthSky Tonight—December 19, Use moon to imagine Pioneer 10 spacecraft
Northernmost total lunar eclipse of 21st century on December 20/21
EarthSky Tonight—December 18, Moon glides by Pleiades cluster
Early stargazers sometimes described the Pleiades as a ’swarm of bees’ in the night sky
EarthSky Tonight—December 16, Jupiter at eastern quadrature
Astronomers will say that Jupiter is at eastern quadrature – or 90 degrees east of the sun – today.
EarthSky Tonight, December 15: Bellatrix—Orion’s third brightest star—means Female Warrior
The third-brightest star in Orion, Bellatrix, is often overlooked. Yet, Bellatrix is such a wonderful star