The sky: January 7-14; Featuring the Milky Way this week

The sky: January 7-14; Featuring the Milky Way this week

Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 8, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, JANUARY 7 ■ Sirius and Procyon in the balance. Sirius, the Dog Star, sparkles low in the east-southeast after dinnertime. Procyon, the Little Dog Star, shines in the east about two fists at arm’s length to Sirius’s left. ■ On Monday morning the 8th, the waning crescent […]

The sky: December 17-24: The Moon, Saturn and Jupiter

The sky: December 17-24: The Moon, Saturn and Jupiter

Special to CosmicTribune.com, December 17, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17 ■ This evening, spot Saturn about 3° upper right of the Moon. The Moon is 1.3 light-seconds from us. Saturn is currently 84 light minutes away in the background, almost 4,000 times farther from us. ■ Algol dips to its minimum brightness, magnitude […]

The sky: December 11-17; Geminid meteor shower is year’s best

The sky: December 11-17; Geminid meteor shower is year’s best

Special to CosmicTribune.com, Decemer 11, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, DECEMBER 11 ■ Tonight, the brilliant orange-red supergiant Betelgeuse will be covered by a faint little asteroid, 319 Leona, for up to a second or two. But only if you’re located near the middle of the narrow occultation track. It runs from central Asia across the […]

The sky: November 28-December 3: Spotlight on M31, the Andromeda Galaxy

The sky: November 28-December 3: Spotlight on M31, the Andromeda Galaxy

Special to CosmicTribune.com, November 28, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28 ■ The Moon, just past full, rises in the northeast in mid-twilight. Bright Capella, magnitude 0, sparkles about two fists to the Moon’s upper left. As night deepens, watch for Beta Tauri, magnitude 1.6, to come into view only about a fifth as […]

The Sky, November 20-26: Sun sets earlier on Thanksgiving than Christmas

The Sky, November 20-26: Sun sets earlier on Thanksgiving than Christmas

Special to CosmicTribune.com, November 21, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20 ■ First-quarter Moon (exact at 5:50 a.m. EST Monday morning). The Moon accompanies Saturn more closely than it did yesterday, as shown. ■ The tiny black shadow of Io crosses Jupiter’s face from 9:16 to 11:26 p.m. EST, moving across Jupiter from east […]

The Sky, November 13-19: Cassiopeia, Orion and the winter sky

The Sky, November 13-19: Cassiopeia, Orion and the winter sky

Special to CosmicTribune.com, November 13, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13 ■ Perseus is high in the northeast these November evenings, below W-shaped Cassiopeia. The W is standing on end. To find the famous Double Cluster in Perseus, count down the segments of the W starting from the top. The third segment points almost […]

The Sky: October 21-29: Jupiter at its brightest and largest, telescopically

The Sky: October 21-29: Jupiter at its brightest and largest, telescopically

Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 22, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21 ■ First-quarter Moon (exact at 11:29 p.m. EDT). ■ The shadow of Jupiter’s fast-moving moon Io crosses onto the eastern edge of Jupiter’s face at 8:07 p.m. EDT, followed closely by Io itself 20 minutes later. Jupiter’s Red Spot should transit the planet’s central […]

The sky: September 26 – October 1, featuring Cassiopeia and Saturn

The sky: September 26 – October 1, featuring Cassiopeia and Saturn

Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 24, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 ■ High above the Moon this evening, by 3 or 4 fists at arm’s length, shines Altair, the southernmost star of the Summer Triangle. The other two, Vega and lesser Deneb, are nearly overhead. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 ■ By 10 or 11 p.m. bright Jupiter […]

The sky: September 17-24; Tips for observing Saturn

The sky: September 17-24; Tips for observing Saturn

Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 18, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 ■ Look very low in the west-southwest in early twilight for the waxing crescent Moon. Can you see Spica twinkling 3° or 4° lower right of it? Use binoculars. Then look due west, about 25° to the right of the Moon, for Comet Nishimura at […]

The sky: August 28- September 3; Jupiter rising

The sky: August 28- September 3; Jupiter rising

Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 27, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, AUGUST 28 ■ 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 […]

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