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. […]
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 […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, December 3, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, DECEMBER 2 ■ Two faint fuzzies naked-eye. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and the Perseus Double Cluster are two of the most famous deep-sky objects. They’re both cataloged as 4th magnitude, and in a moderately good sky you can see each with the unaided eye. Binoculars make them easier. […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, November 10, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10 ■ The waxing gibbous Moon shines quite near Saturn this evening for the Americas. In fact, its dark limb will occult Saturn for southern Florida, Central America, the Caribbean, and parts of South America. For instance, seen from Miami, Saturn will slowly disappear at […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, November 4, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3 ■ If you know a place with a very low view to the southwest horizon, bring binoculars after sunset to try for the very thin crescent Moon close to Antares. They’re deep in the bright twilight and thick air near the horizon! Look […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 28, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26 ■ Altair is the brightest star high in the southwest after dark. Brighter Vega is about three fists to its right, high toward the west. Above Altair lurk two distinctive little constellations: Delphinus the Dolphin, hardly more than a fist at arm’s length to […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 20, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20 ■ For most Northern Hemisphere observers, this is the first evening in more than a week that offers a brief window of Moon-free darkness for spotting Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS between twilight’s end and moonrise. The comet should be about 4th magnitude now, much faded from a […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 13, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13 ■ And now, even 60 minutes after sunset, the comet ‘s head is still a fine 9° high or so in the darkening sky. It’s about midway between Venus to its left or lower left, and Arcturus to its right or upper right. […]
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 […]
