Special to CosmicTribune.com, March 19, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, MARCH 17 ■ The Moon, a day past first quarter, is approaching Castor and Pollux high overhead, as shown below. The waxing gibbous Moon passes under the heads of Gemini. They’re over Procyon at nightfall. ■ Look for Arcturus, the Spring Star, very low in […]
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 […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 22, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, JANUARY 22 ■ The gibbous Moon shines in a starry area of the winter sky. Face east in early evening. Upper left of the Moon sparkles bright Capella. A little farther upper right of the Moon is orange Aldebaran. Lower left of the Moon are Castor […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 8, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, JANUARY 7 ■ Sirius and Procyon in the balance. Sirius, the Dog Star, sparkles low in the east-southeast after dinnertime. Procyon, the Little Dog Star, shines in the east about two fists at arm’s length to Sirius’s left. ■ On Monday morning the 8th, the waning crescent […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, December 26, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26 ■ Full Moon tonight (exact at 7:33 p.m. EST). Now shining above the feet of Gemini in the evening, the Moon forms a deeper triangle with Capella and Aldebaran than it did last night. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27 ■ As the stars come out, face due […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 18, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 ■ Look very low in the west-southwest in early twilight for the waxing crescent Moon. Can you see Spica twinkling 3° or 4° lower right of it? Use binoculars. Then look due west, about 25° to the right of the Moon, for Comet Nishimura at […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 15, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, AUGUST 14 A winter preview: Step out before the first light of dawn this week, and the sky displays the same starry panorama it does after dusk around Christmas. Orion is striding up in the southeast, with Aldebaran and then the Pleiades high above it. […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, July 17, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, JULY 16 ■ The tail of Scorpius is low due south after dark, to the lower right of the Sagittarius Teapot. Look for the two stars especially close together in Scorpius’s tail. These are Lambda and fainter Upsilon Scorpii, known as the Cat’s Eyes. […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 31, 2023 SATURDAY, MAY 27 First-quarter Moon (exact at 11:22 a.m. on this date EDT). Jupiter and Mercury low in the dawn, May 27, 2023 By now Jupiter is getting easier to see low in the eastern dawn. And little Mercury is barely coming into view. Bring binoculars. SUNDAY, MAY 28 […]
[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Howard Brown-Greaves] On May 9, the diminutive disk of Mercury spent about seven and a half hours crossing in front of the Sun as viewed from the general vicinity of Earth. It was the second of 14 transits of the Solar System’s innermost planet in the 21st century. Captured […]
