EarthSky Tonight—August 19, Venus’ greatest evening elongation favors southern hemisphere
As seen from Earth, Venus stays closely tethered to the sun. These next few evenings, however, will find Venus at the end of its tether, at 46 degrees east of…
EarthSky Tonight—August 17, Antares – Fire Star – near moon
In ancient Chinese thought, the summer season was associated with the direction south, with the element fire, and with the color red. No wonder, then, that this reddish star in…
EarthSky Tonight—August 16, August best time to see random meteors
Astronomy is said to be the people’s science in part because anyone, regardless of training, can participate.
EarthSky Tonight—August 15, Moon passes beneath Libra stars
Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali – appear rather low in your southwest sky at nightfall.
EarthSky Tonight—August 14, Look for moon, Spica, Venus
Spica isn’t just one star. Although our eyes see just one star here, Spica is actually a multiple star system.
EarthSky Tonight—August 13, Moon and Venus, more Perseid meteors, and two star clusters
last chance to see a good display of meteors before dawn August 14. In addition, as night falls this evening, you can see Venus near the waxing crescent moon in…
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