The sky, July 5-10: M4 near Antares

The sky, July 5-10: M4 near Antares

Special to CosmicTribune.com, July 5, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Sky & Telescope.com report. SUNDAY, JULY 5 ■ And while you’re doing globulars, here’s a rather different one. Explore the area around Antares using Matt’s column and chart in the June 2026 Sky & Telescope, page 43. In Antares’s binocular field is M4, bigger and closer to us but […]

Existential asteroid threat? China upgrades planetary defense plans

Existential asteroid threat? China upgrades planetary defense plans

Special to CosmicTribune.com, July 1, 2026 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher While China has been considering the problems of asteroid defense since at least about 2020, there may now be real plans for the construction of a Chinese planetary defense capability — with inherit dual-use dangers. On June 30, Chinese state television CCTV featured an official […]

The sky, June 29-July 3: Monday’s ‘Strawberry Moon’ temporarily outshines faint objects

The sky, June 29-July 3: Monday’s ‘Strawberry Moon’ temporarily outshines faint objects

Special to CosmicTribune.com, June 28, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Astronomy.com report. Special to CosmicTribune.com, June 21, 2026 Sunday, June 28 The Moon reaches apogee, the farthest point from Earth in its orbit, at 3:11 A.M. EDT. At that time, our satellite will be 252,441 miles (406,264 kilometers) away. The planet Mercury stands stationary tonight at 10 […]

The sky, June 21-26: Summer solstice begins with first quarter Moon

The sky, June 21-26: Summer solstice begins with first quarter Moon

Special to CosmicTribune.com, June 21, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Sky & Telescope.com report. SUNDAY, JUNE 21 ■ Today is the longest day of the year for the Northern Hemisphere, and the official start of summer. The summer solstice comes at 4:25 a.m. EDT, when the Sun ends its northward journey for the season and begins its […]

The sky, June 14-21: Planets lined up with crescent Moon on June 16

The sky, June 14-21: Planets lined up with crescent Moon on June 16

Special to CosmicTribune.com, June 14, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, JUNE 14 ■ Bright Arcturus, shining very high toward the south these evenings, and Spica, about three fists at arm’s length below it and a bit right, form an almost perfect equilateral triangle with dimmer Denebola, Leo’s 2nd-magnitude tail tip, off to their right. […]

The sky: May 31-June 5: May ends with Blue Moon

The sky: May 31-June 5: May ends with Blue Moon

Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 31, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Astronomy.com report. Sunday, May 31 Full Moon occurs at 4:45 A.M. EDT, bringing us May’s second Full Moon and the first — and only — Blue Moon of 2026. Shortly after that, at 5 A.M. EDT, the Full Moon passes 0.4° south of Antares, as both are […]

NASA sets aggressive early Moon base objectives

NASA sets aggressive early Moon base objectives

Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 28, 2026 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher While President Donald Trump wants to have Americans return to the Moon by 2028, there is a great deal of preparation necessary to meet that goal, and on May 26, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) held a press conference to explain schedules and […]

The sky, May 24-29: Observing lunar libration

The sky, May 24-29: Observing lunar libration

Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 24, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Astronomy.com report. Sunday, May 24 Moving through vast Virgo, 11th-magnitude asteroid 13 Egeria is passing near some stationary background stars tonight, offering an excellent chance to chart its motion over the course of a few hours. By May 25, Mercury is readily visible in the evening sky […]

The sky, May 17-22: Venus blazes at -3.9 magnitude

The sky, May 17-22: Venus blazes at -3.9 magnitude

Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 17, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Astronomy.com report. Sunday, May 17 The Moon reaches perigee, the closest point to Earth in its orbit, at 9:44 A.M. EDT. At that time, our satellite will be 222,498 miles (358,076 kilometers) away. Springtime viewing of the zodiacal light will soon come to an end — so […]

The sky, May 10-15: Mars reappears in the East at sunrise

The sky, May 10-15: Mars reappears in the East at sunrise

Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 10, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Astronomy.com report. Sunday, May 10 Although still best for experienced observers with larger scopes, Comet 10P/Tempel (also called Tempel 2) is quickly brightening. Glowing at roughly magnitude 15, Tempel 2 is currently in Aquila the Eagle, rising late in the evening and gaining altitude overnight. The best […]

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