Editor’s Note: We are looking up as HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains the sky happenings for the month of September, including a newly discovered comet and the fall equinox. Saturn is now well placed for observing in the early evening. Face southeast at dusk to observe it. Jupiter is in the morning sky this month. […]
As January ends and February begins, a comet enters the northern evening sky, and it may become bright enough to see with the unaided eye! The comet is C/2022 E3 ZTF. ZTF is the discoverer, the Zwicky Transient Facility, an astronomical survey of the sky using a camera attached to a telescope at Palomar Observatory […]
Can the stars tell you about your future? No. But our resident astronomer James Wooten can tell you what stars to look for in the future! This December is an action packed month, celestially speaking. First off, we have a comet approaching, followed by a whole lot of meteors. Not happy news for our […]
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Source: http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1431a/ This star map shows the Houston sky at 10 pm CDT on April 1, 9 pm CDT on April 15, and dusk on April 30. To use the map, put the direction you are facing at the bottom. Jupiter, near Spica in Virgo, is up virtually […]
On Feb. 15, 2013, with no warning, an asteroid 20 meters in diameter and weighing more than the Eiffel Tower plunged into the Earth’s atmosphere over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk at speeds in excess of 19 kilometers per second. At such a high speed, the 14,000-ton object exploded at altitude, creating a flash 30 […]
Jupiter is almost overhead at dusk, but now a little toward the west. Face high in the west at dusk and look for the brightest thing there (unless the Moon is also there), as Jupiter outshines all stars we ever see at night. Saturn remains in the morning sky this month. Look for it in […]
