Editor’s Note: Summer is on the horizon and HMNS Astronomer James Wooten is explaining the signs in the stars above Houston’s skyline. Mars and Saturn are low to the east-southeast horizon at dawn. Having overtaken Saturn, Mars pulls away from it each morning in May. During May, Mars and Saturn appear slightly father from the […]
Editor’s Note: We are looking up as HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains the sky happenings for the month of April and a New Moon that helps mark the ending of the celebration of Ramadan. Venus is even higher in the evening sky this month. It is slightly higher in the west at dusk each evening. […]
Editor’s Note: Look to the skies as HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains the sky happenings for the month of December, including the science behind our winter solstice. Jupiter is still in the evening sky; look for it in the south at nightfall. Jupiter is brighter than any star we ever see at night. Saturn remains […]
Mercury is the only evening planet this month. Look for it low in the west at dusk, over the point of sunset, beginning mid-month,. Venus remains in the morning sky this month. Venus outshines everything except the Sun and the Moon, so you can try to find it low in the southeast at dawn. Venus […]
Venus remains in the evening sky this month. Venus outshines everything except the Sun and the Moon, so it is unmistakably 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 […]
Mars continues to fade a little bit each night now that Earth has overtaken it and is pulling away. However, it fades out gradually; Mars remains almost as bright as the stars around it in April 2021. And Mars is high in the west–well placed for observing right as night falls. Jupiter and Saturn are the morning […]
Autumn represents sort of an ‘intermission’ in the sky, with bright summer stars setting at dusk, while bright winter patterns such as Orion have not yet risen. The ‘teapot’ of Sagittarius sets in the southwest early in the evening. The Summer Triangle is high in the west. Meanwhile, the Great Square […]
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 […]
Jupiter is now high in the south at dusk. It outshines all stars we ever see at night, so you can’t miss it. Mars and Saturn become late evening objects this month. Tonight, May 2, Mars rises in the southeast at 9:48 p.m. while Saturn comes up soon afterwards, at 10:24 p.m. By May 15, […]
Jupiter is now high in the east-southeast at dusk. It outshines all stars we ever see at night, so you can’t miss it. Mercury is visible just after sunset this month. Face west at twilight, and look low in the sky over the point where the sun sets. Mercury isn’t as brilliant as Venus or […]
