Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 13, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Astronomy.com report. Sunday, September 13 Blazing at magnitude –4.8, Venus is nearing its greatest illuminated extent and stands out as an unmissable evening star after sunset. This evening it is joined by a lovely thin crescent Moon as the pair hangs together in Virgo the Maiden, near […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 10, 2026 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher An “international” satellite project and a Sept. 5 revelation in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) indicate that China is moving to contest cislunar space, the strategic zone between the Earth and the Moon. On Sept. 4 state media China Daily revealed the International Cislunar […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 6, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Sky & Telescope.com report. Sunday, September 6 The waning crescent Moon lies in Gemini today, not far from the 3rd-magnitude star Epsilon (ε) Geminorum, roughly around where western twin Castor’s knee would be. Mars is also in Gemini, closer to the midsection of the eastern twin, Pollux. […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 30, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Sky & Telescope.com report. SUNDAY, AUGUST 30 ■ The waning gibbous Moon rises in the east in late twilight. Saturn follows it up about 30 minutes later. Another hour and they’re nicely high free and clear. Although they look close together (about 5°), Saturn is currently 3,400 […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 23, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Sky & Telescope.com report. SUNDAY, AUGUST 23 ■ Late these evenings as autumn approaches, Fomalhaut, the Autumn Star, makes its inevitable appearance above the southeast horizon. Its rising time will depend on where you live. But by about 11 p.m. now, you should have no trouble identifying […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 16, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Sky & Telescope.com report. SUNDAY, AUGUST 16 ■ Now the Moon shines about 10° left of Venus in twilight. Look too for Spica. ■ Check the sky low in the northwest or north at the end of these long summer twilights. Would you recognize shiny, ripply noctilucent clouds if […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 13, 2026 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher For 20 years the New Zealand origin, now Long Beach, California-based Rocket Lab corporation has developed innovative small space launch vehicles, growing into a space launch service provider and satellite developer, serving commercial and military markets in the United States and other democracies. On Aug. […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 9, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Astronomy.com report. Sunday, August 9 The Moon passes 4° north of Mars at 2 A.M. EDT; the pair is visible together in the early-morning sky, some 30° high in the east an hour before sunrise. They straddle the border of Gemini and Taurus, to the upper left […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 6, 2026 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher Before their astronauts set foot on the Moon, the United States (by 2028?) and China (by 2029-2030) are engaging in an “unmanned Moon race” to undertake surveys and to then deploy systems to prepare for building eventual manned Moon Bases. Targeting the lunar South Pole […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 2, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Astronomy.com report. Sunday, August 2 Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation at 4 A.M. EDT, standing 19° from the Sun. The tiny planet reaches an altitude of almost 5° above the eastern horizon an hour before sunrise, glowing at magnitude 0.2. Over to the far right of […]
