Special to CosmicTribune.com, July 15, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, JULY 14 ■ Uranus is in conjunction with Mars fairly low in the east before dawn on Monday morning July 15th. The two planets are magnitudes 5.8 and 0.9, respectively. Just before dawn Monday morning, use binoculars or a telescope to spot Uranus 0.6° to the north […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, July 8, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, JULY 8 ■ Hercules crosses the zenith these evenings. And in the western edge of the Hercules Keystone, how many times have you pointed a scope at old friend M13, the great globular cluster? You do that not just because it’s one of the finest globulars in […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, June 30, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SATURDAY, JUNE 29 ■ Right at nightfall, look for the Big Dipper hanging straight down in the northwest. Its bottom two stars, the Pointers, point to the right toward modest Polaris, the end of the Little Dipper’s handle, due north. SUNDAY, JUNE 30 If you […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, June 17, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, JUNE 17 ■ Have you ever knowingly seen even a bit of the constellation Centaurus? Famous Alpha Centauri never gets above the horizon unless you’re as far south as San Antonio or Orlando (latitude 29° N). But fairly easy from much farther north is Theta Centauri, […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, June 9, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, JUNE 9 ■ The Big Dipper has now swung around to hang down by its handle high in the northwest after dark. The middle star of its handle is Mizar, with tiny little Alcor right next to it. On which side of Mizar should you […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, June 6, 2024 An alien world orbiting a star made famous as hosting Spock’s home planet of Vulcan in Star Trek was nothing but a celestial illusion, scientists say. In 2018, much to the delight of Trekkies, the discovery of the planet was first announced. It was thought to be orbiting the […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 27, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, MAY 27 ■ With the Moon gone from the evening sky, can you see the big, dim Coma Berenices star cluster? Does your light pollution really hide it, or do you just not know exactly where to look? It’s southwest of the zenith these evenings, 2/5 of the […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 19, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, MAY 19 ■ The Moon continues to illuminate Virgo’s part of the sky. Early this evening look about 3° or 4° lower left of the Moon for Spica, Virgo’s brightest star. By midnight the Moon moves closer to Spica, which then will be directly to […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, February 18, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18 ■ Canopus, the second-brightest star after Sirius, happens to lie almost due south of Sirius: by 36°. That’s far enough south that it never appears above your horizon unless you’re below latitude 37° N (southern Virginia, southern Missouri, central California). And near there, you’ll […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, February 4, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4 Today is the center of winter; we cross the midpoint between the December solstice and the March equinox at 10:16 a.m. EST (15:16 UT). That minute is the very bottom of the wheel of the year, astronomically speaking. In ancient Gaelic cultures this day […]
