Taurus, the Bull is high in the south. Look for the Pleiades star cluster above reddish Aldebaran. Dazzling Orion, the Hunter takes center stage on winter evenings. Surrounding Orion are the brilliant stars of winter. Orion’s belt points down to Sirius, the Dog Star, which outshines all other stars we ever see at night. The […]
April is the last month to see the full set of brilliant winter stars which now fill the western evening sky. Dazzling Orion is in the southwest at dusk. His three-starred belt is halfway between reddish Betelgeuse and bluish Rigel. Orion’s belt points rightward to Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull. To Orion’s upper […]
By Ralph Phillips, HMNS Docent Our modern concept of time is mainly societal and artificial. A few of our units of time derive from natural cycles, but many are totally arbitrary. Our day is defined as one cycle of light and dark … but starting where? Our “official” day goes from midnight to […]
Jupiter is almost due south at dawn; it outshines all the stars we ever see at night. Mars is in the south-southeast at dawn. It brightens a little each morning as moves away from Jupiter and towards Saturn. Saturn is in the southeast at dawn this month. Venus is lost […]
The Summer Triangle is high in the east. This consists of the brightest stars in Cygnus, Lyra, and Aquila. Scorpius, the Scorpion, is in the south, with the ‘teapot’ of Sagittarius to his left. Leo, the Lion, sets in the west. From the Big Dipper’s handle, ‘arc to Arcturus’ and ‘speed on to […]
This star map shows the Houston sky at 9 pm CST on January 1, 8 pm CST on January 15, and dusk on January 31. To use the map, put the direction you are facing at the bottom. The Sky This Month The Great Square of Pegasus sets in the western sky. Taurus, […]
This month, Venus has entered the morning sky. Look southeast at dawn for the brightest point of light there; only the Sun and Moon outshine Venus. Venus remains a morning star for almost all of 2014. Jupiter, up literally all night long last month, remains well placed for evening observing all winter and spring. Look […]
