The sky: December 11-17; Geminid meteor shower is year’s best

The sky: December 11-17; Geminid meteor shower is year’s best

Special to CosmicTribune.com, Decemer 11, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, DECEMBER 11 ■ Tonight, the brilliant orange-red supergiant Betelgeuse will be covered by a faint little asteroid, 319 Leona, for up to a second or two. But only if you’re located near the middle of the narrow occultation track. It runs from central Asia across the […]

The sky: December 4-10; Earliest sunset on December 7

The sky: December 4-10; Earliest sunset on December 7

Special to CosmicTribune.com, December 4, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, DECEMBER 4 ■ Last-quarter Moon tonight (exact at 12:49 a.m. EST). The Moon rises around 11 or midnight local time. By the time Tuesday’s dawn begins to break the Moon is high in the south. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5 ■ At this time of year the Big Dipper […]

The sky: November 28-December 3: Spotlight on M31, the Andromeda Galaxy

The sky: November 28-December 3: Spotlight on M31, the Andromeda Galaxy

Special to CosmicTribune.com, November 28, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28 ■ The Moon, just past full, rises in the northeast in mid-twilight. Bright Capella, magnitude 0, sparkles about two fists to the Moon’s upper left. As night deepens, watch for Beta Tauri, magnitude 1.6, to come into view only about a fifth as […]

The Sky, November 13-19: Cassiopeia, Orion and the winter sky

The Sky, November 13-19: Cassiopeia, Orion and the winter sky

Special to CosmicTribune.com, November 13, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13 ■ Perseus is high in the northeast these November evenings, below W-shaped Cassiopeia. The W is standing on end. To find the famous Double Cluster in Perseus, count down the segments of the W starting from the top. The third segment points almost […]

The Sky: November 6-11: Double clusters and double stars

The Sky: November 6-11: Double clusters and double stars

Special to CosmicTribune.com, November 6, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6 ■ Perseus is high in the northeast these November evenings. The Perseus Double Cluster is below W-shaped Cassiopeia; the W is currently standing on end. Count down the segments of the W starting from the top. The third segment points almost straight down. […]

The sky, October 15-21: Jupiter dominates the East late evenings

The sky, October 15-21: Jupiter dominates the East late evenings

Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 16, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15 ■ Now that it’s mid-October, Deneb has replaced Vega as the zenith star after nightfall (for skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes). MONDAY, OCTOBER 16 ■ The Great Square of Pegasus is now high in the east-southeast after dark. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17 ■ Look for bright Capella […]

The sky: October 7-15; Venus the ‘Morning Star’

The sky: October 7-15; Venus the ‘Morning Star’

Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 8, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6 ■ Arcturus shines in the west as twilight fades away. Capella, equally bright, is rising in the north-northeast (depending on your latitude; the farther north you live the higher it will be.) They’re both magnitude 0. Higher above Fomalhaut glows Saturn, pale […]

The sky, October 1-8: The Moon-Jupiter duo

The sky, October 1-8: The Moon-Jupiter duo

Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 3, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1 ■ The waning gibbous Moon rises in the east-northeast around the end of twilight. Ten or fifteen minutes later, Jupiter rises just 2° or 3° to the Moon’s lower right. Later in the evening the two shine high, as shown below. These are currently […]

The Sky: September 11-17; Comet Nishimura visible with binoculars

The Sky: September 11-17; Comet Nishimura visible with binoculars

Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 11, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 ■ You can see in the stars that the season is changing: We’ve reached the time of year when, just as the stars come out, Cassiopeia has climbed as high in the northeast as the Big Dipper has sunk in the northwest. Cas stands […]

The sky: September 3-10; Jupiter and well known galaxy, star clusters come into view

The sky: September 3-10; Jupiter and well known galaxy, star clusters come into view

Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 4, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 ■ Jupiter’s four bright Galilean moons are roughly the size of our own Moon, but at 1,800 times the distance, they appear in a telescope as hardly more than pinpoints. Jupiter’s Great Red Spot should transit the planet’s central meridian tonight around 1 a.m. […]

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