Sky Happenings This Month: The Autumn “Intermission”

      Autumn represents sort of an ‘intermission’ in the sky, with bright summer stars setting at dusk, while bright winter patterns such as Orion have not yet risen.   The ‘teapot’ of Sagittarius sets in the southwest early in the evening.  The Summer Triangle is high in the west.   Meanwhile, the Great Square […]

The Stargazer’s Guide To June 2018: What to look Up For This Month!

    The Big Dipper is above the North Star, with its handle pointing up.  From that handle, you can ‘arc to Arcturus’ and then ‘speed on to Spica’; those stars are in the south at dusk.  Arcturus is the fourth brightest star in the night sky, but the brightest one we see from Houston […]

Sky Happenings In April 2018

    April is the last month to see the full set of brilliant winter stars which now fill the western evening sky.  Dazzling Orion is in the southwest at dusk.  His three-starred belt is halfway between reddish Betelgeuse and bluish Rigel.  Orion’s belt points rightward to Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull.  To Orion’s upper […]

Sky Happenings In February, 2018

  Jupiter is almost due south at dawn; it outshines all the stars we ever see at night.   Mars is in the south-southeast at dawn.   It brightens a little each morning as moves away from Jupiter and towards Saturn.    Saturn is in the southeast at dawn this month.     Venus is lost […]

What was the Christmas Star?

This time of year, most planetariums (including ours) are offering shows explaining what the Christmas Star might actually have been.  Of course, to have this conversation we must make two assumptions, each of which many dispute: 1) the star was a true historical event and 2) it has a natural scientific explanation and is not […]

Sky happenings In December 2017

  .       Mars is higher in the southeast at dawn than it was last month.  It is in Virgo, leaving Spica and approaching Jupiter in Libra.   Jupiter is low in the southeast at dawn; watch Mars approach it this month.    Saturn is lost in the Sun’s glare and out of […]

Sky Happenings In November 2017

  The Summer Triangle now shifts towards the west as the Great Square of Pegasus appears higher, approaching the zenith.  As the autumn ‘intermission’ in between the bright stars of summer and winter continues, Houstonians with a clear southern horizon can try to find a star that few Americans get to see.  Due south and […]


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