The sky: August 20-27; Moon occults Antares on August 24

The sky: August 20-27; Moon occults Antares on August 24

Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 21, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, AUGUST 21 ■ Different people have an easier or harder time seeing star colors, especially subtle ones. To me, the tints of bright stars stand out a little better in a sky that’s the deep blue of late twilight. For instance, the two brightest […]

The sky: August 14-20

The sky: August 14-20

Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 15, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, AUGUST 14 A winter preview: Step out before the first light of dawn this week, and the sky displays the same starry panorama it does after dusk around Christmas. Orion is striding up in the southeast, with Aldebaran and then the Pleiades high above it. […]

The sky: August 6-13

The sky: August 6-13

Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 10, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, AUGUST 6 ■ The Big Dipper hangs diagonally in the northwest after dark. From its midpoint, look to the right to find Polaris (not very bright) glimmering due north as always. MONDAY, AUGUST 7 ■ A few Perseids trickle in starting in late July, then they […]

The sky: July 16-23

The sky: July 16-23

Special to CosmicTribune.com, July 17, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, JULY 16 ■ The tail of Scorpius is low due south after dark, to the lower right of the Sagittarius Teapot. Look for the two stars especially close together in Scorpius’s tail. These are Lambda and fainter Upsilon Scorpii, known as the Cat’s Eyes. […]

The Sky, June 20-26

The Sky, June 20-26

Special to CosmicTribune.com, June 25, 2023 Excerpts from Sky&Telescope ■ This is the time of year when, after dark, the dim Little Dipper floats straight up from Polaris, the end of its handle. WEDNESDAY JUNE 21 ■ Look west at dusk for the waxing crescent Moon beautifully paired with bright white Venus, as shown below. […]

NASA announces 3rd space launch vehicle, fosters competition for moon program

NASA announces 3rd space launch vehicle, fosters competition for moon program

Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 23, 2023 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher As long as the nation can afford it, redundancy in spacecraft adds to the assurance that the United States can build a presence on the Moon sufficient to deter predations from the Chinese Communist Party’s hegemonic ambitions to control the Earth-Moon System. So, despite a […]

The Sky: May 22-27

The Sky: May 22-27

Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 22, 2023 MONDAY, MAY 22 ■ The waxing crescent Moon shines lower right of Venus this evening, as shown below. The widening trio of Mars, Pollux, and Castor floats above them. WEDNESDAY, MAY 24 ■ Spot Mars a little below the Moon this evening, as shown. Arcturus, which most people have surely seen […]

The Sky: May 12-19

The Sky: May 12-19

Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 13, 2023 May is the month when the Milky Way is altogether missing from the evening sky, for those of us living in the latitudes of the continental United States. That’s because the Milky Way now lies all the way around the horizon in a circle, and the North Galactic Pole […]