Posts Tagged ‘Milky Way’
Sky Tonight—February 18, Moon rises with Leo the
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org About two hours after sunset on February 18, look for the waning gibbous moon and the constellation Leo the Lion shining side by side over the eastern horizon. The fainter stars of Leo might be hard to make out in the lunar glare tonight, but you should be able to spot Regulus, Leo’s brightest star, and one of the brightest stars in our night sky. Tomorrow, the moon will rise more than an hour later than it does ... Full Story
Sky Tonight—February 10, Somber red Betelgeuse
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org At nightfall and early evening, people at mid-northern latitudes see the famous Belt of Orion – three stars in a short, straight row – about halfway between the southern horizon and straight overhead. Later at night, you will find Orion in the southwest. Above Orion’s Belt, you will find one of the sky’s most famous stars, ruddy-hued Betelgeuse. Kids especially like Betelgeuse, because its name sounds ... Full Story
Sky Tonight—January 17, Sun moves toward star Vega
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org An Australia visitor wrote, I seek to find out what speed our sun is traveling at and also how many years does it take to circumnavigate the galaxy? Our Milky Way galaxy is a collection of several hundred billion stars. It has an estimated diameter of 100,000 light-years. Our sun does indeed circumnavigate the Milky Way galaxy. In space, everything moves. There are various estimates for the speed the sun travels ... Full Story
Sky Tonight—January 11,Two stars flag sun’s path
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org You can use the brilliant star Sirius – and the star Vega – to imagine the direction our sun and solar system are traveling through space. The sun in its orbit is traveling away from Sirus and toward the star Vega. Although we could not fit them both on one chart, Vega shines over your northwestern horizon, opposite Sirius, at nightfall at this time of year. If you stand outside in early evening with your back ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—December 9, Find Orion the Hunter
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org You can find one of winter’s most famous constellations – Orion the Hunter – plus see the Milky Way tonight. Orion is bright and can be seen from inside smaller cities. For the Milky Way, you will need a dark sky! On these evenings in early to mid-December, the constellation Orion rises over your eastern horizon 2 to 3 hours after sunset. Orion swings south to his highest point around midnight, then sets ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—October 9, Last 2010 evening
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—September 27, Summer Triangle high
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Even as autumn is beginning, we still have several months to watch the large asterism known as the Summer Triangle. This huge star pattern looms from south to overhead in the autumn evening sky. The Summer Triangle consists of three bright stars in three separate constellations. The stars are Vega in the constellation Lyra, Deneb in the constellation Cygnus, and Altair in the constellation Aquila. Today’s chart has you looking ... Full Story
September 3, Find the Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Take a dip in the Lagoon and Trifid nebulae on these September evenings. Before you head out the door after dark, be sure to grab your binoculars. Look in the south to southwest at nightfall and early evening to see the beautiful constellation Sagittarius just above the horizon. The famed Teapot asterism, part of Sagittarius, appears to be pouring tea from its spout towards the horizon. These nebulae are in this part of the ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—August 27, moon near Jupiter –
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The moon is near a bright object on August 27, 2010, but – no matter what anyone tells you – that bright object is not the planet Mars. Instead, it is Jupiter. Will Mars appear as large as a full moon in August 2010? Over the past few days, the waning gibbous moon has approached Jupiter and passed it. Tonight the moon is not as close to Jupiter as it was last night. However, Jupiter is still very noticeable on August 27 as ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—July 10, Look toward the center of
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Yesterday’s chart showed the part of our Milky Way galaxy that stretches overhead in the evening. Today’s chart is aimed toward the galaxy’s center, which is located some 30,000 light-years away. Remember, when you are looking at this starlit band across the sky – visible from country locations – you are peering edgewise into our own galaxy. Today’s chart shows that the starlit trail of the Milky Way seems to bulge ... Full Story
