skywatching tips

A supermoon takes over the sky, the Draconid meteor shower peeks through, and the Orionid meteor shower shines bright. Oct. 6: The October supermoon Oct. 6-10: The Draconid meteor shower Oct. 21: The Orionid meteor shower peaks (full duration Sept. 26 – Nov. 22) What’s Up for October? A Supermoon takes over, the Draconid meteor … Read more

Jupiter and Venus shine brightly in the mornings as they appear to graze each other in the sky on the 11th and 12th. The Perseids are washed out by the Moon. All Month – Planet Visibility: Mercury: Pops up above the horizon during the second half of August. Appears very low, below 10 degrees altitude. … Read more

Mars shines in the evening, and is joined briefly by Mercury. Jupiter joins Venus as the month goes on. And all month, look for Aquila the eagle. All Month – Planet Visibility: Venus: Shines brightly in the east each morning during the couple of hours before sunrise, with the Pleiades and bright stars Aldebaran and … Read more

Venus and Saturn separate, while Mars hangs out in the evening. Plus the June solstice, and dark skies reveal our home galaxy in all of its glory. All Month – Planet Visibility: Venus: Rises about 2 hours before the Sun in June, and shines very brightly, low in the eastern sky, in the morning all … Read more

The first week of May brings the annual Eta Aquarid meteors, peaking on the 6th. And sometime in the next few months, astronomers predict a “new star” or nova explosion will become visible to the unaided eye.  All Month – Planet Visibility:  Venus: Appears very bright and low in the east in the hour before … Read more

Enjoy observing planets in the morning and evening sky, look for Lyrid meteors, and hunt for the “faint fuzzy” wonder that is the distant and ancient city of stars known as globular cluster M3.  All Month – Planet Visibility: Mercury: Visible for a few days in the second half of April, extremely low in the … Read more

The next full moon is called the Worm Moon. Also, there will be a total lunar eclipse this full moon. The Moon will be full early Friday morning, March 14, at 2:55 a.m. EDT, but will appear full for about three days around this time, from Wednesday evening into Saturday morning. As the Moon passes … Read more

Catch Mercury if you can, then stay up late for a total lunar eclipse, and learn the truth about the dark side of the Moon. All Month – Planets Visibility: Mercury: Speedy Mercury is visible beneath Venus for the first week and a half of March, for about 30 minutes each evening, as sunset fades.  … Read more