Special to CosmicTribune.com, April 6, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. FRIDAY, APRIL 5 ■ Shortly after nightfall around this time of year, Arcturus, the bright Spring Star climbing in the east, stands just as high as Sirius, the brighter Winter Star descending in the southwest (for skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes). These are the two brightest stars in […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, April 3, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher A key determinant for future geostrategic space power will be speed, the ability to access distant destinations more rapidly than opponents. Chemical engines dependent on kerosene, methane and oxygen are very slow compared to the potential of nuclear fission propelled engines, that could halve the […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, April 1, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, APRIL 1 ■ The huge, bright Winter Hexagon is still in view early after dark, filling the sky to the southwest and west. Start with brilliant Sirius in the southwest, the Hexagon’s lower left corner. High above Sirius is Procyon. From there look higher upper right […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, March 25, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, MARCH 24 ■ If you haven’t spotted Mercury yet this season, look for it lower right of Jupiter as twilight fades as shown below. Jupiter is magnitude –2.1. Mercury this evening is magnitude –0.1, meaning one sixth as bright. And that’s not counting the extra […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, March 20, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher On March 14, the world’s largest man-made flying platform, the 5,000-ton SpaceX Starship, made its partially successful third flight, with 6 more planned for 2024 alone, and with SpaceX leader Elon Musk on March 18 vowing that Starship will reach Mars by 2030. The caveat […]
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, March 9, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SATURDAY, MARCH 9 ■ Sirius is the overwhelmingly brightest star of Canis Major. In a very dark sky the Big Dog’s realistic stick figure is fairly plain to see — the dog is in profile, prancing to the right on his hind legs, with Sirius as […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, February 26, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25 ■ Another way Sirius is special: it’s the bottom star of the bright, equilateral Winter Triangle. The other two stars of the Triangle are orange Betelgeuse to Sirius’s upper right (Orion’s shoulder) and Procyon to Sirius’s upper left. The Winter Triangle perfectly balances on […]
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 12-17, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12 ■ Orion stands his highest in the south by about 8 p.m. Under Orion’s feet, and to the right of Sirius, hides Lepus the Hare. Like Canis Major, this is a constellation with a connect-the-dots that really looks like what it’s supposed to be. […]
