Special to CosmicTribune.com, June 17, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, JUNE 17 ■ Have you ever knowingly seen even a bit of the constellation Centaurus? Famous Alpha Centauri never gets above the horizon unless you’re as far south as San Antonio or Orlando (latitude 29° N). But fairly easy from much farther north is Theta Centauri, […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, June 9, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, JUNE 9 ■ The Big Dipper has now swung around to hang down by its handle high in the northwest after dark. The middle star of its handle is Mizar, with tiny little Alcor right next to it. On which side of Mizar should you […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, June 2, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. Let’s deal with this first. There is no “planet parade” spectacle! Friends and relatives may be asking you about the incredible “Planet Parade” they’ve heard is happening in the sky. Some internet and “news” outlets are calling it the third great celestial spectacle of this spring after the […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 27, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, MAY 27 ■ With the Moon gone from the evening sky, can you see the big, dim Coma Berenices star cluster? Does your light pollution really hide it, or do you just not know exactly where to look? It’s southwest of the zenith these evenings, 2/5 of the […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 19, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, MAY 19 ■ The Moon continues to illuminate Virgo’s part of the sky. Early this evening look about 3° or 4° lower left of the Moon for Spica, Virgo’s brightest star. By midnight the Moon moves closer to Spica, which then will be directly to […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 12, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, MAY 12 ■ The thickening crescent Moon shines just left of Pollux this evening. About twice as far to their right, Castor lies nearly on the same line. MONDAY, MAY 13 ■ After dark, use binoculars or a good finderscope to look 3° lower left of […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 5, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, MAY 5 ■ A gigantic spring asterism you may not know is the Great Diamond, some 50° tall and extending over five constellations. It now stands upright in the southeast to south after dusk. Its stars are magnitudes 0, 1 ,2 and 3. Start with Spica, its […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, April 28, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, APRIL 28 ■ Hydra’s dim, irregular body and tail stretch all the way to Libra just risen in the southeast. He carries Crater and Corvus on his back. Below Crater, in Hydra’s most southerly part, is the new 12th-magnitude supernova in the 10th-magnitude galaxy NGC […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, April 21, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, APRIL 21 ■ As night descends, look high in the west for Pollux and Castor lined up almost horizontally (depending on your latitude). These two stars, the heads of the Gemini twins, form the top of the enormous Arch of Spring. To their lower left […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, April 14, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SATURDAY, APRIL 13 ■ This is the time of year when, as the last of twilight fades away, the bowl of the dim Little Dipper extends straight to the right of Polaris. High above the two end-stars of the Little Dipper’s bowl, you’ll find the two end-stars […]