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 26 – October 1, featuring Cassiopeia and Saturn

The sky: September 26 – October 1, featuring Cassiopeia and Saturn

Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 24, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 ■ High above the Moon this evening, by 3 or 4 fists at arm’s length, shines Altair, the southernmost star of the Summer Triangle. The other two, Vega and lesser Deneb, are nearly overhead. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 ■ By 10 or 11 p.m. bright Jupiter […]

The sky: September 17-24; Tips for observing Saturn

The sky: September 17-24; Tips for observing Saturn

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 […]

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: August 28- September 3; Jupiter rising

The sky: August 28- September 3; Jupiter rising

Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 27, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, AUGUST 28 ■ Different people have an easier or harder time seeing star colors, especially subtle ones. To me, the tints of bright stars stand out a little better in a sky that’s the deep blue of late twilight. For instance, the two brightest […]

The sky: August 20-27; Moon occults Antares on August 24

The sky: August 20-27; Moon occults Antares on August 24

Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 21, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, AUGUST 21 ■ Different people have an easier or harder time seeing star colors, especially subtle ones. To me, the tints of bright stars stand out a little better in a sky that’s the deep blue of late twilight. For instance, the two brightest […]

The sky: August 14-20

The sky: August 14-20

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. […]

The sky: August 6-13

The sky: August 6-13

Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 10, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, AUGUST 6 ■ The Big Dipper hangs diagonally in the northwest after dark. From its midpoint, look to the right to find Polaris (not very bright) glimmering due north as always. MONDAY, AUGUST 7 ■ A few Perseids trickle in starting in late July, then they […]

The sky: July 16-23

The sky: July 16-23

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. […]

The Sky, June 20-26

The Sky, June 20-26

Special to CosmicTribune.com, June 25, 2023 Excerpts from Sky&Telescope ■ This is the time of year when, after dark, the dim Little Dipper floats straight up from Polaris, the end of its handle. WEDNESDAY JUNE 21 ■ Look west at dusk for the waxing crescent Moon beautifully paired with bright white Venus, as shown below. […]