Beyond Bones

    The Big Dipper is above the North Star, with its handle pointing up.  From that handle, you can ‘arc to Arcturus’ and then ‘speed on to Spica’; those stars are in the south at dusk.  Arcturus is the fourth brightest star in the night sky, but the brightest one we see from Houston […]

  In May, you can watch as the Dog Days begin!  We are in the Dog Days when the Dogs have vanished from the sky.  As May begins, Orion, the Hunter is clearly visible due west right after sunset.  To his left, aligned with Orion’s belt, is Sirius, the Dog Star, the brightest star we […]

  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 overhead.  This consists of the brightest stars in Cygnus, Lyra, and Aquila.  Scorpius, the Scorpion, is in the southwest, with the ‘teapot’ of Sagittarius to his left.  Saturn is between these two constellations. From the Big Dipper’s handle, ‘arc to Arcturus’ in the west.  The Great Square of […]