The sky, April 27 – May 4: Summer triangle appears in the East

The sky, April 27 – May 4: Summer triangle appears in the East

Special to CosmicTribune.com, April 28, 2025 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, APRIL 27 ■ Arcturus is the brightest star high in the east these evenings. Spica shines lower right of it by about three fists at arm’s length. To the right of Spica by half that distance is the distinctive four-star constellation Corvus, the springtime Crow. […]

The sky, April 13-20: Rise of Vega, the ‘Summer Star’

The sky, April 13-20: Rise of Vega, the ‘Summer Star’

Special to CosmicTribune.com, April 14, 2025 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, APRIL 13 ■ Vega, the bright “Summer Star,” rises in the northeast these evenings. How early or late depends on your latitude and also on your longitude within your time zone. Exactly where should you watch for Vega to come up? Spot the Big Dipper […]

The sky, March 29-April 6: The Pleiades, the Moon and Jupiter and the 1st and 2nd

The sky, March 29-April 6: The Pleiades, the Moon and Jupiter and the 1st and 2nd

Special to CosmicTribune.com, March 31, 2025 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SATURDAY, MARCH 29 ■ A partial eclipse of the Sun happens for northeastern North America, Greenland, Iceland, and most of Europe. For most the northeastern U.S. and the Canadian Maritimes, the eclipse will already be under way at sunrise. SUNDAY, MARCH 30 ■ Mars is passing 4° south of […]

The sky, March 2-9: Seeing the Venus crescent

The sky, March 2-9: Seeing the Venus crescent

Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 28, 2025 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, MARCH 2 ■ February was Orion’s month to stand at his highest in the south in early evening. Now March pushes him westward and spotlights his dog, Canis Major with Sirius on his chest, standing center stage on the meridian. Sirius is not only the […]

The sky, Feb. 2-9: The Moon and Pleiades on the 5th

The sky, Feb. 2-9: The Moon and Pleiades on the 5th

Special to CosmicTribune.com, February 3, 2025 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2 ■ Today is the center of winter. We cross the midpoint between the December solstice and the March equinox at 6:50 p.m. EST (23:50 UT). That minute is the very bottom of the wheel of the year, astronomically speaking. ■ On Groundhog Day […]

The sky, Jan. 27-Feb. 2: Moon, Saturn and Venus put on a show

The sky, Jan. 27-Feb. 2: Moon, Saturn and Venus put on a show

Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 27, 2025 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, JANUARY 27 ■ While the evenings are still dark and moonless, use big binoculars or a telescope to hunt down the 8th-magnitude globular cluster M79 in Lepus below the feet of Orion. Summer is the season for most globular clusters, but here we have a rare […]

The sky, Jan. 20-26

The sky, Jan. 20-26

Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 20, 2025 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, JANUARY 20 ■ Zero-magnitude Capella high overhead, and zero-magnitude Rigel in Orion’s foot, have almost the same right ascension. This means they cross your sky’s meridian at almost exactly the same time: around 9 p.m. now, depending on how far east or west you live in […]

The sky, Jan. 12-19: Full Moon occults Mars

The sky, Jan. 12-19: Full Moon occults Mars

Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 13, 2025 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, JANUARY 12 ■ Mars is nearest to Earth tonight, appearing 14.6 arcseconds wide and magnitude –1.4. That’s as bright as Sirius, which sparkles whitely about four fists to Mars’s lower right in early evening, and directly below Mars when they’re highest around midnight or 1 a.m. […]

The sky, Jan. 6-12: The Moon in the Pleiades on the 9th

The sky, Jan. 6-12: The Moon in the Pleiades on the 9th

Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 6, 2025 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, JANUARY 6 ■ First-quarter Moon (exactly first-quarter at 6:56 p.m. EST). Find the Great Square of Pegasus to the Moon’s upper right shortly after dark, and directly right of the Moon later. A diagonal through the Square points at the Moon (for evening in North America). […]

The sky, Dec. 29 – Jan. 5: Omens for the New Year; Orion in primetime

The sky, Dec. 29 – Jan. 5: Omens for the New Year; Orion in primetime

Special to CosmicTribune.com, December 30, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29 ■ As the year nears its end, Orion fully comes into his own. He’s striding up the east-southeastern sky as soon as it gets dark, with his three-star Belt nearly vertical. Left of the Belt is orange Betelgeuse and right of the Belt […]