Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 7, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. The low-riding waxing crescent Moon of early fall passes Venus, then Antares in the fading afterglow of sunset. Venus is plotted here at its position on October 5th (for North America), when it’s just 0.9° lower left of Alpha Librae, magnitude 2.8. Every day Venus moves […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 29, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 ■ Face south and look high these evenings after dark. The brightest star there is Altair, the southernmost point of the Summer Triangle. The other two are Deneb and Vega more nearly overhead. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 ■ The starry W of Cassiopeia stands high […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 9, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 ■ Right after nightfall, the thickening crescent Moon shines low in the southwest. Look almost two fists upper left of it for orange Antares. Two thirds of the way from the Moon to Antares is the near-vertical row of three stars marking the […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 1, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. The thin waning crescent Moon guides the way to Mercury low in bright dawn on the mornings of August 31st and September 1st. Bring binoculars. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 ■ Look for bright Vega passing the zenith as twilight fades away, if you live in the world’s […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, July 29, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SATURDAY, JULY 27 ■ Last-quarter Moon (exact at 10:52 p.m. EDT). The Moon, in Pisces, rises around 11 or midnight tonight below the head of Andromeda and the Great Square of Pegasus. SUNDAY, JULY 28 ■ Starry Scorpius is sometimes called “the Orion of Summer” — […]
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 […]
