Earthsky Tonight—August 8, Look overhead to see the summer Milky Way
A moonless sky means this is a good time to get out into the country for a look at the summer Milky Way: the edgewise view into our own galaxy.
Earthsky Tonight—August 7, Venus, Mars, Saturn form planetary trio in west
Around August 7 and 8, look in the west after sunset for the planets Venus, Mars and Saturn as they form what is known as a planetary trio. A planetary…
Earthsky Tonight—August 6, Mercury challenging, but easiest to see around August 6
Today, Mercury reaches its greatest elongation for the entire year: 27 degrees east of the sun.
Earthsky Tonight—August 5, Constellation Cepheus looks like a house
Cepheus resembles the stick house we all drew as children
Earthsky Tonight—August 4, Cassiopeia the Queen on summer evenings
Queen Cassiopeia was said to have offended the sea nymphs, or Nereids, by boasting that her own beauty was greater than theirs. It is said that the nymphs appealed to…
Earthsky Tonight—August 3, Dipper points to Polaris, plus see Mizar and Alcor
Arabian stargazers called Mizar and Alcor the “horse and rider.” These stars are a good test of the night’s viewing conditions: if you cannot see Alcor, there might be thin…
Earthsky Tonight—August 2, Find a globular cluster by the Scorpion’s heart
Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius. Antares is always up on summer evenings. It is a bright red star known for twinkling rapidly.
Earthsky Tonight—July 27, Saturn, Mars, Venus – close pairing of Regulus and Mercury
Tonight, Mercury and Regulus form the year’s closest pairing of a planet with a first-magnitude star. Look for them very low in the west, very shortly after sunset!
Earthsky Tonight—July 26, The ‘forgotten’ zodiacal constellation
Even today, the Staff of Asclepius – the symbol of the World Heath Organization – pays tribute to the constellation Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.
Earthsky Tonight—July 25, Full moon falls on July 25 in the Americas
Astronomically speaking, however, the full moon has no actual duration, but occurs at a well-defined instant.