Beyond Bones

Saturn sets in twilight for the first week of November and is lost in the sun’s glare the rest of the month.  Venus, Mars and Jupiter are still close together in the morning sky this month. Right now, Venus is close to Mars, with Jupiter above them. Venus and Mars are 0.68 degrees apart the morning […]

Saturn is now in the south-southwestern sky at dusk. It outshines the stars around it, so it’s also easy to see. Mars emerges into the morning sky this month. Look for it low in the east at dawn.  Mars remains dimmer then average, though, and won’t rival the brighter stars until next spring. Venus and […]

Venus is in the west at dusk. At dusk, look high over the point of sunset for the brightest thing there; it outshines everything but the Sun and the Moon.  Jupiter is also in the west as soon as night falls. Jupiter outshines all stars we ever see at night, so it will be obvious […]

Mercury is low in the west-northwest, below and slightly to the right. It remains visible for the first half of May before returning towards the Sun. Venus is in the west at dusk. Look high over the point of sunset for the brightest thing there.  Jupiter is now high in the west as soon as […]

This month, Mars is in the southwest at dusk this month. Mars continues to fade a little each night as Earth continues to leave it farther behind. Still, Mars rivals the brightest stars we see at night. Saturn is also in the southwest at dusk. This month and next, Mars approaches Saturn more and more.  Venus remains in […]

This month, Jupiter remains in the evening sky for one more month. Look for it low in the west at dusk, outshining all the stars we ever see at night.  Mars is in the southwest at dusk this month. Mars continues to fade a little each night as Earth continues to leave it farther behind. Still, Mars […]

This month, Jupiter remains well placed for evening observing all winter and spring. Look for it almost overhead at dusk and high in the west later in the evening. Mars remains in the morning sky. It continues to brighten a bit in the south at dawn. Later in March, it also begins rising in late […]

This month, Venus has entered the morning sky. Look southeast at dawn for the brightest point of light there; only the Sun and Moon outshine Venus. Venus remains a morning star for almost all of 2014. Jupiter, up literally all night long last month, remains well placed for evening observing all winter and spring. Look […]

This is it. The final stargazing report of 2013. So let’s get to it, shall we? Venus remains in the west at dusk for one more month. It outshines everything but the Sun and Moon, so you can begin observing it during deep twilight. Shortly after the new year begins, Venus shifts from the evening to […]

Back in a June issue of the HMNScoop (our weekly e-newsletter that you should totally be subscribed to, ahem), we told you about an exciting discovery made amongst the artifacts in our new Hall of Ancient Egypt: we suspected that one of them was made from a meteorite! So we put it to the test. […]