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.

Autumn Intermission | October 2022 Sky Happenings

Editor’s Note: Look to the skies as HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains the autumn sky happenings for the month of October. Jupiter was up literally all night long last month.  It is still up most of the night; look for it in the east southeast at nightfall.  Unless the Moon is up, Jupiter is the brightest […]

Artemis I to Launch | September 2022 Sky Happenings

Editor’s Note: Look to the skies as HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains the sky happenings for the month of September, including the highly anticipated postponement of the Artemis I launch. Jupiter is up literally all night long this month.  Look for it low in the east at nightfall.  Opposition (when Sun, Earth, and Jupiter are […]

Perseid Peaks | August 2022 Sky Happenings

Editor’s Note: Look to the skies as HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains the sky happenings for the month of August, including the Perseid Meteor Shower. Saturn is up literally all night long this month.  Look for it low in the southeast at nightfall.    Venus remains in the morning sky this month.  Venus outshines everything […]

Summer Swelter | July 2022 Sky Happenings

Editor’s Note: HMNS Astronomer James Wooten shines a light on the July 2022 sky happenings. 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 east at dawn.  Venus remains a ‘morning star’ for most of 2022. Mars […]

Summer Solstice | June 2022 Sky Happenings

Distant view of plant earth from within a spacecraft

Editor’s Note: Each month, the astronomers of the Burke Baker Planetarium shed starlight on the night’s sky happenings. Take note of what’s out there for June 2022. 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 east […]

Total Eclipse | May 2022 Sky Happenings

Sky map of constellations seen in May evening skies

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 remains a ‘morning star’ for most of 2022. Mars is low the morning sky this month.  The Red planet pulls away from Saturn this […]

Full Moon Brings Easter | April 2022 Sky Happenings

Astronomers using NASA Hubble Space Telescope have found a bow shock around a very young star in the nearby Orion nebula, an intense star-forming region of gas and dust.

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 […]

Spring Forward | March 2022 Sky Happenings

Map of constellations for the month of March 2022

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 remains a ‘morning star’ for most of 2022. Mars is low the morning sky this month.  Look low in the southeast at dawn, to […]

Lunar New Year | February 2022 Sky Happenings

Sky Map for February 2022

Jupiter remains in the west southwest as night falls.  However, Jupiter gets slightly lower each evening at sunset, until by mid-month it is getting lost in the Sun’s glare.  Once it’s gone, we’ll have no evening planets until August. Venus has entered the morning sky this month.  Venus outshines everything except the Sun and the […]

The James Webb Space Telescope has arrived!

Astronomers worldwide got a special Christmas gift this past year with the liftoff of the James Webb Space Telescope. It has just arrived (as of January 24) at its destination. By summer, it will begin 10 years (or more) of probing the deepest regions of the universe.  The James Webb Space Telescope is a collaboration […]