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 […]
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 […]
Editor’s Note: Look to the skies as HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains the sky happenings for the month of December, including the science behind our winter solstice. Jupiter is still in the evening sky; look for it in the south at nightfall. Jupiter is brighter than any star we ever see at night. Saturn remains […]
Editor’s Note: Look to the skies as HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains the sky happenings for the month of November, including the highly anticipated rescheduled Artemis I launch. Jupiter is still up most of the night; look for it in the southeast at nightfall. Unless the Moon is up, Jupiter is the brightest thing in […]
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 […]
Mars is still low in the west—visible right as night falls. Venus remains in the evening sky this month. It overtakes Mars on July 12; the two planets appear about one half degree (the size of the Full Moon) apart that night. Venus outshines everything except the Sun and the Moon, so it is unmistakable low in […]
Mars continues to fade a little bit each night now that Earth has overtaken it and is pulling away. However, it fades out gradually; Mars remains almost as bright as the stars around it in May 2021. And Mars is high in the west–well placed for observing right as night falls. Jupiter and Saturn are the morning sky […]
Mars continues to fade a little bit each night now that Earth has overtaken it and is pulling away. However, it fades out gradually; Mars remains almost as bright as the stars around it in April 2021. And Mars is high in the west–well placed for observing right as night falls. Jupiter and Saturn are the morning […]
Taurus, the Bull is high in the south. Look for the Pleiades star cluster above reddish Aldebaran. Dazzling Orion, the Hunter takes center stage on winter evenings. Surrounding Orion are the brilliant stars of winter. Orion’s belt points down to Sirius, the Dog Star, which outshines all other stars we ever see at night. The […]
Constellations in the November southern sky are almost entirely devoid of bright stars. They represent beasts and gods related to water, indicating that they are part of the ‘Celestial Sea’. Examples are Aquarius, the Water Bearer and Pisces, the Fish. Even Capricornus, the Goat, has a fish tail because he’s originally Ea, Babylonian god […]
