Archive for the ‘Observing’ Category
Monday, June 1st, 2026
The night sky is peppered with all kinds of star patterns that have fascinated human kind for many centuries. These patterns were initially thought to be gods and creatures of all kinds, kindly (mostly) looking over our affairs here on Earth. Now in the modern age, we know a lot ...
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Friday, May 15th, 2026
A common question arises about sky watching that I wanted to address, namely, "How do I find Polaris, the North Star"? It's a great question as well as it is often asked. For many people, the first assumption about Polaris is that it is a bright star so it should ...
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Thursday, April 30th, 2026
This time of year is a great time to reconnect with The Big Dipper in Ursa Major and it's cousin the Little Dipper, in Ursa Minor. Even though Daylight Savings Time is going push dusk well into the evening, you will still be able to follow these great asterisms into ...
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Sunday, March 1st, 2026
The shortened days of the winter months grant an extra chance to get out under the stars. Even with cold weather forcing star gazers to "rug up", there are at least several objects that appear early enough in the evening such that you don't have to brave the chill for ...
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Sunday, February 1st, 2026
If you check deeper into the meaning of "month", you quickly find Earth's moon right at the center of the explanation. It turns out that the ancient Babylonians pretty much started this examination in the years around 500BC. These early mathematicians and astronomers took extra care in watching and noting ...
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Thursday, January 1st, 2026
It's now well after the Winter Solstice and shorter days are still the rule; sunsets coming earlier paving the way for evening viewing and just in time for the return of Jupiter in the mid evening skies. So the shift grants even more time for catching the king ...
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Wednesday, August 27th, 2025
Saturn is back in the late evening sky again for 2025 and easy to find in the southeastern sky after about 10:00, in the western part of the constellation Pisces. The ringed world has been getting higher in the sky daily, making for better views each week.
Opposition is on September ...
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Thursday, March 20th, 2025
For this first installment of "The Constellations" series, I am going take the opportunity to begin with perhaps my favorite of them all, Orion.
Orion is one of most recognizable star patterns in the sky and is often depicted as a male human figure, for example, The Hunter. The Greek mythology ...
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Friday, December 6th, 2024
The planet Jupiter is putting on a great show all night for the month of December. It will be closest to Earth on Dec 6 and reach opposition the next day.
The web site EarthSky is a great place to go for all kinds of insights into our solar system as ...
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Wednesday, October 30th, 2024
Daylight savings time is almost gone for the year so Jupiter is back in view during evening skies, coming up in the east around 9:00PM. The DST shift grants even more time for catching the King of Planets. Once it clears the treeline, about 10:00PM or so, you can enjoy Jupiter ...
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