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 […]
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 remains almost as bright as the stars around it in May 2021. And Mars is low in the west—still visible right as night falls. Jupiter and Saturn are the morning sky this month, low in the south. Venus also slowly emerges into the evening sky this month. Venus outshines everything except the Sun and the Moon, so […]
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 left are […]
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 […]
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 Summer Triangle is high overhead at dusk. This consists of the brightest stars in Cygnus, Lyra, and Aquila. Scorpius, the Scorpion, is in the south, with the ‘teapot’ of Sagittarius to his left. From the Big Dipper’s handle, ‘arc to Arcturus’ and ‘speed on to Spica’ in the southwest. The Great Square of […]
Lecture – Grand Tour of the Universe—Updated with the Latest Discoveries by Carolyn Sumners The new release of “Passport to the Universe” contains spectacular, never-before-seen views of the observable Universe in large format. Dr. Carolyn Sumners, HMNS VP of Astronomy, will provide an update on these latest images and what they reveal. Highlights include our […]
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 west at dusk. Leo, the Lion, is also in the west at dusk. Jupiter is to the left of Spica in […]
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 […]
