Earthsky Tonight—June 8: Crow, cup and water snake sail the southern sky
The first star you will likely see, nearly due south, is Spica, in Virgo. However, wait a little and given clear skies and a lack of lights, a number of…
Earthsky Tonight—June 7: Closest two planets of 2010 on June 8, but one may require binoculars
The closest planet/planet pairing takes place in the morning sky on Tuesday, June 8. Jupiter and Uranus stand less than 1/2 degree apart. (For reference, the moon’s diameter spans 1/2…
Earthsky Tonight—June 6: Mars and Regulus in conjunction
The planet Mars and the star Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo, highlight their conjunction this evening.
Earthsky Tonight—June 5: Moon and Jupiter pair up before sunrise
Before daybreak tomorrow (Sunday, June 6), the two most brilliant heavenly bodies of the early morning sky – the waning crescent moon and the dazzling planet Jupiter – couple up…
Earthsky Tonight—June 4: Rastaban and Eltanin belong to constellation Draco
The stars within constellations are not connected, except in the mind’s eye of stargazers. The stars in general lie at vastly different distances from Earth. It is by finding juxtaposed…
Earthsky Tonight—June 3: See Draco the Dragon and a former pole star
First, find the Big Dipper high in the north on June evenings. The two outer stars in the Dipper’s bowl point to Polaris, the North Star, which marks the end…
Earthsky Tonight—June 2: Little Dipper, Clipped wings of Draco the Dragon
According to the Greek geographer and historian Strabo (63 B.C. to A.D. 21?) these seven stars did not make up Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper) until 600 B.C. or so.…
Earthsky Tonight—June 1: Big Dipper high in north on June evenings
Here is the legendary Big Dipper, now high in the north during the evening hours. It is one of the most familiar star patterns in the sky because its shape…
Earthsky Tonight—- May 25: Mercury at greatest morning elongation on May 26
Mercury, the solar system’s innermost planet, reaches its greatest morning elongation from the sun tomorrow (Wednesday, May 26). The term greatest elongation specifically applies to inferior planets – the planets…
Earthsky Tonight—May 24: Bright star near moon is Spica
The waxing gibbous moon glides past the star Spica in the constellation Virgo this evening. It passes relatively close to Spica for a day or two each month that Spica…