Editor’s Note: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS can be spotted with the naked-eye this month. HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains. Saturn is now an evening object.  Look in the southeast at dusk.  Venus has also emerged into the evening sky.  Look low in the west-southwest at dusk, near the point of sunset. Jupiter is high, almost overhead at […]

At 7:44 am on Sunday, September 22, 2024, the Sun is overhead at the equator, marking the autumnal (fall) equinox. Also, October 2024 marks the 35th anniversary of our Cockrell Sundial.  Here at the Museum, we’ll mark the occasion with a special event on Saturday, September 21, brought to you by Rice University along with […]

Look for a small ‘bite’ taken out of the Moon.

Editor’s Note: The month of August brings the Perseid meteor shower. HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains what to expect with upcoming sky happenings. Saturn is now a late evening object!  It rises in the east-southeast by 10:11 pm on August 1 and by 8:15 (during twilight) on August 31.  Saturn is up literally all night […]

Editor’s Note: The July summer heat is not cooling off any time soon and HMNS Astronomer James Wooten is here to explain why that is.  Saturn is in the south-southwest at dawn.    Mars is also in the morning sky, in the east at dawn.  Mars brightens each morning this month as it approaches Jupiter.  […]

Editor’s Note: Summer Solstice is upon us this month and HMNS Astronomer James Wooten points to the Sun’s highest point in our sky. Saturn is in the southeast at dawn.    Mars is also in the morning sky, in the east at dawn.  Mars and Saturn easily outshine the very dim stars around them.  Venus […]