Editor’s Note: The Total Solar Eclipse is emerging over Texas and HMNS Astronomer James Wooten is giving us the details down to the minute. Jupiter is low in the west at nightfall. No star at night is as bright. Watch as Jupiter appears slightly lower in the sky each April evening until it sets in […]
The New Moon of Monday, April 8, 2024, aligns with the Sun and the Earth well enough to cast its shadow onto Earth, causing an eclipse. Since the Moon is at perigee (closest approach to Earth) on April 7, its shadow does reach the Earth. Anyone in that shadow sees the Moon block all of […]
The New Moon of Saturday, October 14, 2023, aligns with the Sun and the Earth well enough to cast its shadow toward Earth, causing an eclipse. However, the Moon is at apogee (greatest distance from Earth) on October 10, and does not come closest to the Earth (perigee) until October 26. Since this eclipse occurs […]
Editor’s Note: We are looking up as HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains the sky happenings for the month of October, including the solar eclipse occurring on October 14. Saturn is now well placed for observing in early evening. Face southeast at dusk to observe it. Jupiter is in the morning sky this month. Look in […]
Venus remains in the evening sky this month. Venus outshines everything except the Sun and the Moon, so it is unmistakable low in the southwest at dusk. Jupiter and Saturn remain well placed for evening observing this fall. Look for Jupiter and Saturn in the south as night falls. Jupiter is brighter than all the stars we ever […]
Word of an impending super blood wolf moon is spreading like wildfire through the press, leaving many Houstonians feeling a strange combination of anticipation and curiosity, with perhaps a slight twinge of fear due to the ominous sounding title. What exactly is a super blood wolf moon? And is it really all that special? Today […]
Total Solar Eclipse The New Moon of Monday, August 21 casts its shadow onto the Earth, causing a total solar eclipse! And this time, the Moon casts its shadow across the USA, allowing Americans to join in the experience much more easily than in recent memory. (The last total eclipse visible form the contiguous […]
The New Moon of Monday, August 21, 2017, aligns with the Sun and the Earth well enough to cast its shadow onto the Earth. The umbral shadow, where the Moon completely blocks the Sun, passes across the center of the USA, causing a total solar eclipse on a path from central Oregon to Charleston, SC. […]
Our moon goes by many different names depending on the season and its position relative to the Earth. The evening of Sunday, Sept. 27, it will become three identities at once, an exceptionally rare occurrence. For the first time in 33 years, Earth will witness a total eclipse of the moon at its perigee near […]
Mars remains in the west at dusk this month as it moves through Aries. Mars continues to fade a little each night as Earth continues to leave it farther behind. Later on this month, Mars begins to be lost in the glare of the Sun. Mercury enters the evening sky as Mars leaves it. By […]
