Posts Tagged ‘Sky Tonight’
Sky Tonight—March 3, Recognize the Big Dipper …
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org We received a question about the Big and Little Dippers. “How can I locate both Ursa Minor and Ursa Major? I am seeing one of them in the sky . . . but cannot tell which one and where the other one is.” The answer is that, if you are seeing only one dipper, it is probably the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major. This constellation, also called the Greater Bear, contains the Big Dipper asterism that is ... Full Story
Sky Tonight—March 2, Use Big Dipper to locate
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org People are always asking how to find Polaris, the North Star. It’s easy! Drawing a line through the two outer stars of the bowl of the Big Dipper faithfully points to Polaris. At one time, sailors’ livelihoods and survival depended on their lucky stars – most especially, the pointer stars of the Big Dipper. Scouts also learn to use the Big Dipper and Polaris to find the direction north. Polaris is not the ... Full Story
Sky Tonight—March 1, Moon still close to Venus
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org The thin crescent moon still shines near Venus, the sky’s brightest planet, at morning dawn on Wednesday, March 2. However, you will need a level and unobstructed horizon to catch the moon and Venus low in your east-southeast sky. Look for them over the horizon about 75 to 60 minutes before sunup. Venus, the 2nd planet outward from the sun, orbits the sun one step inward from Earth. Because Venus’ orbit lies ... Full Story
Sky Tonight—Feb 28, Moon and Venus closest together
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org Our sky chart shows the waning crescent moon and the brightest planet Venus for about an hour before sunrise on March 1. We are showing mid-northern latitudes, like those in the U.S. As seen from the world’s eastern hemisphere – Europe, Africa, the Middle East, western Asia, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand – the moon and Venus pair up even more closely together than they do in the Americas. In the ... Full Story
Sky Tonight—Feb 27, Moon and Venus in southeast
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org If it is clear in the wee hours before sunrise on February 28, there is no way that you can miss the waning crescent moon and the dazzling planet Venus in the east or southeast sky. After all, the moon and Venus rank as the second- and third-brightest heavenly bodies, respectively, after the sun. From middle latitudes in the northern hemisphere, the moon and Venus will rise about 2 hours before the sun ... Full Story
Sky Tonight-Feb 26, Epsilon Aurigae, the
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org At early evening, look up high for the brilliant star Capella, the brightest in the constellation Auriga the Charioteer. Close to Capella, note the prominent triangle of starlets called The Kids. Lighting up the apex of this triangle is the star Epsilon Aurigae (Almaaz), one of the most mysterious stars in all the heavens. More on Capella: Golden Goat Star Although Capella looks much brighter than Epsilon, that ... Full Story
Sky Tonight—Feb 25, Scorpius the Scorpion’s
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org Will you see the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion’s stinger stars below the waning crescent moon in the cold dawn tomorrow? You will need a clear, unobstructed view to the south to southeast to spot the stinger stars – Shaula and Lesath – flickering by the horizon. If you cannot spot these stars tomorrow, try again in later winter. The stars at the end of the Scorpion’s tail are also known as ... Full Story
Sky Tonight—Feb 24, Moon by Scorpion’s Heart
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org Friday morning – an hour or two before sunrise – the moon will shine quite close to the heart star of the constellation Scorpius. Find the rather fat waning crescent moon in the south to southeastern sky. Then look for the nearby reddish star. If you can’t see the sanguine color of the Scorpion’s heart with the eye, try binoculars. That is Antares, the brightest star in Scorpius. This ruddy gem ... Full Story
Sky Tonight—Feb 23, Moon by Scorpion’s Crown
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org Before dawn tomorrow – on Thursday, February 24 – the moon will be near the upper part of the constellation Scorpius. These three stars are sometimes called the Crown of the Scorpion. Scorpius – which now rises in the south-southeastern sky an hour or two after midnight – is the constellation of the Scorpion. Individually, the Crown stars are Graffias, Dschubba, and Pi Scorpii. It is rare when star ... Full Story
Sky Tonight—Feb 22, Stars in the daytime
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org People often ask if stars are up there, beyond our blue sky, during the day. The answer is surely yes, because Earth is a planet in space, surrounded on all sides by stars. Here is a view looking southeast at morning in late February or early March. Of course you really cannot see the stars, but they are there. Cool image of daytime moon from December 18, 2010 The constellation behind the sun around now is ... Full Story
