Jupiter is on its way out of the evening sky. The big planet will be in conjunction with the sun on June 24. Most observers will see it heading into the sunset this month. Then for June and July, it will be too close to the sun to see until it emerges into the morning […]
A crescent moon is in our evening sky as April starts. You’ll see it to the west after sunset, below the Pleiades and the Hyades. With binoculars, you may find Uranus in that area too. Jupiter is above the Hyades V asterism. And Mars is on the east side of Gemini, near the star Kappa […]
Four planets have conjunctions with the sun this month: Saturn on the 12th, Neptune on the 19th, Venus on the 23rd, and Mercury on the 24th. Of course, none of this is directly observable. But knowing that something is happening is a big part of the fun of astronomy. This cluster of planets has been […]
Last month, Venus pulled above Saturn in our evening sky. You can still see them after sunset as this month begins. You’ll see a young moon with them at the very beginning of February. You’ll continue to see Venus and Saturn climbing the starry background while the background itself sinks a little farther into the […]
The moon will be in a line with Venus and Saturn to start the new year. New moon was just two days before the year began though. If you can’t spot such a young moon so soon, wait until the next night. The best view of the thin crescent on Wednesday evening the 1st will […]
This month starts with a new moon. The moon’s 28.5° south of the equator on the 2nd and 4.9° from Mercury the same evening. But less than 8° from the sun, Mercury won’t be visible. Look for the Venus-moon pairing on the 4th. They’re 2.2° apart that evening. When the moon’s at first quarter on […]
The month starts with a new moon. It soon joins the inner planets in the evening sky. A thin crescent will be near Mercury on the 3rd and then pass in front of Antares for some viewers on the 4th. A thicker crescent is near Venus later on the 4th. The moon is heading southward […]
One of the big astronomical events this month is an annular eclipse. The moon will pass in front of the sun for observers in much of the Pacific and South America. Along the path of annularity, which starts a little north of Christmas Island or Kiritimati, crosses Easter Island or Rapa Nui, and then moves […]
The closest full moon of the year is on the 18th of this month. And it happens with a partial eclipse. On its way, the moon starts the month as a waning crescent near Mercury in the morning sky. On the 2nd, an even thinner crescent is near Regulus. Seeing the moon may not be […]
The moon’s at northern lunistice when August starts. It’s 28.5 degrees north of the equator on the 1st. It’s an old moon in the morning sky. You’ll see the waning crescent below Jupiter, Mars, and Aldebaran. The moon will be below and left of that trio from most of the northern hemisphere and below right […]