James

James is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. He teaches students every school morning in the planetarium, and also answers astronomy questions from the public.

Daylight Savings Ends | Nov ’23 Sky Happenings

Editor’s Note: We are looking up as HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains the sky happenings for the month of November, including Daylight Savings Time ending. Saturn is now well placed for observing in early evening.  Face south at dusk to observe it. Jupiter is opposite the Sun, and up precisely all night long, the night […]

Partial Solar Eclipse Saturday, October 14!

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 […]

Solar Eclipse | October 2023 Sky Happenings

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 […]

Comet Nishimura | September ’23 Sky Happenings

Editor’s Note: We are looking up as HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains the sky happenings for the month of September, including a newly discovered comet and the fall equinox. Saturn is now well placed for observing in the early evening.  Face southeast at dusk to observe it. Jupiter is in the morning sky this month.  […]

Meteor Shower | August 2023 Sky Happenings

Editor’s Note: We are looking up as HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains the sky happenings for the month of August, including the approaching Perseid meteor shower. Mars is low  in the west at dusk, and hard to notice because it is only as bright as an average star.  Mercury appear below and to the right of […]

Earth’s Aphelion | July 2023 Sky Happenings

Editor’s Note: We are looking up as HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains the sky happenings for the month of July, Earth’s aphelion and the sweltering Texas heat. Venus remains in the evening sky for one more month.  It is high in the west at dusk as July begins.  However you can watch as Venus appears slightly […]

Seeking Summer Solstice | June 2023 Sky Happenings

Editor’s Note: We are looking up as HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains the sky happenings for the month of June and the upcoming Summer Solstice. Venus remains high in the evening sky this month. It is high in the west at dusk each evening. Mars is now high in the west at dusk. As Earth […]

Milky Way Evenings | May 2023 Sky Happenings

Editor’s Note: We are looking up as HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains the sky happenings for the month of May and the collision of our Milky Way against the horizon. Venus is even higher in the evening sky this month.  It is slightly higher in the west at dusk each evening.  Mars is now high […]

New Moon Marks End of Ramadan | April 2023 Sky Happenings

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.  […]

Daylight Savings Time | March 2023 Sky Happenings

Editor’s Note: We are looking up as HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains the sky happenings for the month of March with a reminder that Daylight Savings Time is upon us. Jupiter is still in the evening sky as March begins.   However it appears a little lower in the west at dusk each evening as Venus […]