In the Sky Tonight

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Find the Water Snake tonight

Friday, March 31, 2006

Looking from Southeast to Southwest in the Hour Before Midnight

Please don't get discouraged if you can't see what's shown on today's chart in your night sky in the hour or so before midnight. This is a tough one unless you have a dark country sky -- and a clear view toward the southern horizon. But we couldn't resist showing you anyway, because it's charming to see Hydra the Water Snake -- the sky's longest constellation -- peeping over the eastern horizon at this time of year. When it's entirely up, Hydra is long, covering nearly one-third of the celestial sphere. But this constellation is faint and difficult to trace without a dark sky. Your best chance of spotting Hydra is to identify Regulus from the constellation Leo. You can find Regulus towards the south, right along the line of the ecliptic path (the approximate path of the moon and sun in our skies -- marked in pink). If you can see a bright object in the area of the sky southwest to Regulus, then you have correctly identified Alphard, Hydra's brightest star. This star twinkles with an orange light and represents the Snake's heart. If you do have a dark sky -- and a clear eastern horizon -- watch for Hydra at about the same time every evening. This lovely constellation will only be visible in the Northern Hemisphere until May 2006.

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The moon, the Pleiades and surrounding stars

Saturday, April 1, 2006

Looking West-Northwest At Nightfall

Tonight in the west-northwestern sky after sunset, the thin waxing crescent moon will be located near one of the most recognizable objects in the night sky. It's the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, also called M45. This is an actual cluster in space whose member stars are bound by gravity. The Pleiades appears to the eye as a tiny dipper, wrapped in a veil of mist. Despite the name Seven Sisters, many people see this cluster with the eye alone as six stars. Thus there are legends explaining the whereabouts of the "lost Pleiad." But people have different abilities to see faint stars. It's said that as many as 18 stars may be seen with the eye alone if your sky is exceptionally dark and clear, and if your eyesight is very sharp. Binoculars will show you more stars, and a small telescope will reveal 40 or 50 stars (although the cluster is so large that you might get the best view of it through your telescope's finderscope). Professional astronomers have counted more than 200 stars here. Throughout history, and in the lore of many nations, the Pleiades have had their own special mystery. This beautiful sky object has been compared to a swarm of fireflies or bees, to seven maidens, to a flock of doves, and to a hen surrounded by her chicks. On Saturday night, as seen from eastern North America, the moon will pass in front of some of the Pleiades stars.

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What are the red "stars" near the moon?

Sunday, April 2, 2006

Looking West-Northwest At Nightfall

You might notice the waxing crescent moon in the west sandwiched between two bright red objects. The object to the lower left of the moon is the star Aldebaran, brightest star of the constellation Taurus the Bull. The red object to the upper left of the moon is Mars, and it'll be closer to the moon tomorrow night. Mars and the moon will be in the western sky about an hour after sundown tomorrow. Mars appears now, much like Aldebaran, as a rather bright, reddish "star." But it's really a neighboring planet in our solar system.

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Jupiter, Scorpion in early morning

Wednesday, April 5, 2006

Looking South-Southeast After Midnight

Today's chart is set for south-southeast at about 2 AM, but you can see these objects move towards the south-southwest along the ecliptic -- the approximate path of the sun and moon in our skies (marked in pink) -- until dawn breaks. The constellation Scorpius the Scorpion can be found, conspicuous as it is one of the few constellations in the sky that truly resembles its appellation. The spectacularly bright yellow star seeming to lead the Scorpion along the ecliptic path is actually the planet Jupiter, and it will be visible all night until the sun rises again in the east, when Jupiter will be heading towards the western horizon. It is this very movement of Jupiter and the sun that tells skygazers that Jupiter is close to its opposition. Opposition of a planet occurs when a superior planet (or a planet in our solar system that has an orbit of the sun that is farther than Earth's orbit) and the sun are positioned on opposite sides of the Earth. So, it makes sense that when Jupiter sets in the west at the same time that the sun rises in the east, and vice versa, it is due to the fact they are 180 degrees apart, called "opposition." Jupiter reaches opposition this year on May 4th.

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Golden Saturn near moon next two nights

Wednesday, April 5, 2006

Looking West-Northwest In Late Evening

The shiny golden orb near the first quarter moon for the next two evenings is none other the ringed-planet Saturn. Just look towards the west-northwestern direction in late evening tonight or tomorrow night to catch Saturn high in the sky with some other bright objects. The brightest light in this area of the sky is the dogstar Sirius low towards the southwest. The other, less bright dogstar, Procyon, can be found to the upper right of Sirius, and to the lower left of the moon.

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Next major meteor shower

Friday, April 7, 2006

Looking North-Northwest After Midnight

If you're wondering about that bright golden star near the moon tonight, that's the planet Saturn -- see yesterday's chart for more information. We recently got this question: "When is the next meteor shower in the southeastern U.S.?" Well, the next major annual meteor shower, the Lyrids, peaks this month on the early morning hours of April 22nd. Meteors in annual showers take their names from the constellations from which they appear to radiate. The Lyrid meteor shower appears to radiate from a point in our sky near the bright star Vega, in the constellation Lyra the Harp. We have given you a point of reference with which to find Lyra in the late hours of the night -- just use the Big Dipper handle to point your way. While the shower itself will be best viewed after midnight of the 21st, you can see Vega ascend over the northeastern horizon in late evening around now. Today's chart shows Vega around 2 AM. If stars can be said to have personalities, then Vega is graceful and kind. This star rises in the evening each year when spring is blooming all around us. What's more, Vega is the bluest of all the bright stars. Your binoculars will accentuate its blue color. Vega is relatively nearby at only 26 light-years away, and its intrinsic luminosity is 52 times that of our sun.

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Moon between Lion, Saturn

Friday, April 7, 2006

Looking High in the Southeast in Early Evening

In todays chart, we are still following the movements of the waxing gibbous moon, but at a different time than our chart for April 5th -- in early evening. Thus todays chart is set in the southeast. Todays chart shows a closer view, so that you can identify not only the planet Saturn located to the upper right of the moon, but also the stars in the constellation Leo the Lion, which will be the sickle-shaped group of stars located to the moons lower left. See if you can at least pick out Regulus, Leos brightest star and Denebola, the star representing the Lions Tail.

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Stars of the Lion

Saturday, April 8, 2006

Looking Southeast in Early Evening

If you look back at yesterday's chart, you can see that the moon has moved eastward into the constellation Leo the Lion on the sky's dome. Yesterday, we pointed a few of the Lion's brighter stars -- Regulus, which marks the heart of the Lion, and the star Denebola, which marks the Lion's Tail. In fact, whenever you see the word "deneb" in a star name, you can be sure it means "tail." For example, there's a star named Deneb representing the Swan's Tail in Cygnus. And there's a Deneb Algedi representing the Tail of the Sea Goat in Capricornus. Another bright star of Leo -- Algeiba -- represents the Lion's head. The hindquarters of the Lion is seen as the triangle of stars marked by Denebola, Zosma and Chort (also called Chertan).

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Venus fading for northern viewers

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Looking East-Southeast Shortly Before Dawn

We get many questions from people who notice bright objects in the sky (such as Venus -- now the in the east-southeast before sunrise) and who say these objects remain stationary for hours in the sky. That, of course, isnt possible, any more than its possible for the sun to stand still in the sky. All objects in the night sky move westward throughout the night, in the same way and at the same rate of speed that the sun moves during the day . . . and for the same reason. That reason is that Earth is spinning eastward under the sky, causing the westward shift of our skys dome. Todays chart shows the planets Venus and Mercury just before sunrise tomorrow morning. Venus is now rising less than two hours before sunrise for Northern Hemisphere skywatchers, making tracking it a bit more difficult than more favorable Southern Hemisphere skywatchers -- who have three and a half hours to see Venus before the sun rises for them. It will continue to rise earlier throughout the rest of the year, as well as rise to a lower angle in our skies until September when it disappears into the suns glare on its way to superior conjunction with the sun on October 27th.

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Moon reaches full today

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Looking Southeast in Mid-Late Evening

The April full moon is commonly called the Seed Moon. But traditionally -- back in Colonial times -- this moon was known as the Planters Moon, or Egg Moon. This is due to the fact that around this time of year, the days in the Northern Hemisphere become longer, thus making the season ripe for farming. The egg connotation also comes from the longer spring days. Before the widespread use of artificial lighting, hens tended to lay fewer eggs in the winter because of the shorter days. And so traditional farmers had more than one reason to celebrate the advent of the April full moon! Tonight, near the luminous moon, you will find many bright objects. Among them, brightly shining Spica from the constellation Virgo can be found close by to its upper right. A few locales (southern Asia, northern Australia) will not see this star tonight. Low in the sky in the east-southeast is the planet Jupiter, which will be the brightest object up next to the moon. High and to the upper left of the moon will be the star Arcturus of the constellation Bootes the Herdsman.

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Jupiter, moon, other stars

Friday, April 14, 2006

Looking Southeast in Mid-Late Evening

What is that bright object near the moon tonight? It is none other than the planet Jupiter. Jupiter has been located near the constellation Virgo the Maiden all this year. Since Jupiter takes 12 years to orbit the sun, it moves all the way around our sky in that same length of time. And since the ancient stargazers deemed it appropriate to divide the ecliptic (or pathway of the sun, moon and planets) into 12 Zodiacal constellations, Jupiter moves into a new constellation of the Zodiac approximately every year. In a way, its as though Jupiter is taking giant steps around the Zodiac from year to year . . . appropriate for this giant planet. For more about Virgo, see our chart for April 12th.

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Moon, Scorpion in southeast

Monday, April 17, 2006

Looking Southeast Shortly After Midnight

In the very late evening/very early morning sky, the moon can be seen travelling with the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. If you are up and about around midnight tonight, look to the southeast and try to locate the reddish star Antares near the moon. See if you can follow the scorpion shape right down to the end of the stinger -- which is rounded out by the star Shaula. Those in northern lattitudes will have difficulty with this if you dont have a clear southeastern horizon. Night owls can wait an hour for Scorpius to rise in their horizon, or try to catch the Scorpion in the early morning hours before sunrise in the south-southwest.

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Ancient vision test

Monday, April 17, 2006

Looking Northeast In Early Evening

Heres the northern hemispheres most famous star pattern, the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major the Greater Bear. Go back to our chart for March 28th for a wider field of view. A reader wrote, I can remember my mom showing me a bright star with a barely visible smaller star next to it. She said ancient sailors used the smaller one as a vision test. It seems to me it was in Orion. If so my eyes are too old to see it now. . . I use to be able to. Where is it? Its possible you can still see this star! We say that because, if its the star were thinking of, it isnt in Orion. Instead, its on the opposite sky of the skys dome on these April evenings . . . not in the southwest as Orion is . . .but in the northeast. Its the second-to-last star in the handle of the famous Big Dipper. These two stars are called Mizar and Alcor, and theyve been used as a vision test for centuries. Can you see little Alcor right next to brighter Mizar?

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Highlight of west in evening

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Looking West-Southwest in Early Evening

If you have a clear sky tonight, look towards the western horizon, where many bright objects and familiar patterns are visible. Shining very brightly, and perhaps dominating the west is the dogstar Sirius, of the constellation Canis Major, the Greater Dog. To the west of Sirius will be a familiar pattern of three stars in a straight line, making up the famous belt asterism of the constellation Orion. If you look high in the west-southwest, you will find a bright star, but its actually not a star at all -- its the planet Saturn. If you look to the northwest of Saturn, the bright white object that you encounter there is the alpha star Capella from the constellation Auriga, the charioteer. If you turn your gaze back to Saturn, and then turn to the southwest of the planet, the shiny object that you will find there is the star Procyon, which is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor, the Lessor Dog.

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Flashing star in the east

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Looking East in Early Evening

We recently got this question: "We see a star...in the eastern sky around 8-9 PM which flashes different colors. What is this star or planet?" We think you may be referring to the bright star Arcturus in the constellation Bootes, which can now be found shining bright and strong low in the eastern sky around the time that you mentioned. When people see this orange star (a giant star with an estimated distance of 37 light-years) low in the sky it often appears as a multicolored shining star in that area of the sky. Its colorful appearance when seen low in the sky isn't unusual. Any bright star can appear to flash different colors when near the horizon -- because then you're looking at the star through a greater thickness of Earth's atmosphere than when the same star is overhead. Also, you sometimes glimpse a bright star through polluted air, or even just haze or clouds low in the sky. These factors, too, can distort the light of stars and planets seen near the horizon. Arcturus is special because it's not moving with the general stream of stars, in the flat disk of the Milky Way galaxy. Instead, Arcturus is cutting perpendicularly through the galaxy's disk at a tremendous rate of speed . . . some 150 kilometers per second.

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Lyrid meteor shower preview

Friday, April 21, 2006

North-Northeast After Midnight

The Lyrid meteor shower appears to radiate from a point in our sky near the bright star Vega, in the constellation Lyra the Harp. Which makes sense when you realize that meteors in annual showers take their names from the constellations from which they appear to radiate. The Lyrid meteor shower peaks tomorrow morning and the next day. Lyrid meteors will appear in all parts of the sky, but if you trace their paths backwards in the sky, you can see that the meteors all appear to radiate from the constellation Lyra the Harp. Lyra's brightest star is Vega. You can see Vega ascend over the northeastern horizon in late evening around now -- although today's chart shows it overhead in the wee hours of the morning (around 2 AM) -- consequently one of the best times to see meteors!

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Lyrid meteor shower peaks tonight

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Looking North-Northeast After Midnight

If you want to watch tonights Lyrid meteor shower, the same rules apply as for other meteor showers. Most importantly: get away from city lights! Find an open area in a country location. Recline comfortably while looking up in a relaxed way at all parts of the sky. Most meteor showers are best after midnight, so the later you can stay out the better. Or get up in the wee hours and do your meteor-watching before dawn. Lyrid meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Lyra the Harp, which is shown on todays chart. This constellation is now overhead before dawn, so, if youre out at that time, the meteors will be streaking down from the top of the sky. You dont need to identify Lyra to see the meteors! But if youre curious about this radiant point of the Lyrid meteor shower, the constellation Lyra is pretty easy to pick out. Its tiny and has a distinctive shape. The brightest star seen overhead in the hour before dawn is Lyras brightest star, Vega. Youll easily pick out a tiny quadrilateral of stars near Vega. This little pattern of stars is the rest of the constellation Lyra.

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Find North Star; advice on northern lights

Monday, April 24, 2006

Today's chart faces north. From 40 degrees N. latitude, the North Star (known as Polaris) lies 40 degrees above the northern horizon. Likewise, from 30 degrees N. it lies 30 degrees up in the north. From 50 degrees N. it lies 50 degrees up, and so on. From any latitude, at any time of night, the two outer stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper in Ursa Major point to the North Star. Many readers have asked, "When is the next possibility of viewing the northern lights?" The answer is that no one knows precisely when there will be a spectacular display of the aurora, or northern lights. The northern lights happen when there are storms on the sun, which send charged particles our way. The charged particles take a couple of days to arrive. So there is some advance warning, and observatories around the world do monitor the sun for such events. The wrinkle is that our sun has an 11-year cycle of activity, and the peak was around the year 2000. So, although solar storms can and will occur in the coming years, they won't occur as frequently as in the past several years.

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Identify Hercules, "Keystone" pattern

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Looking East-Northeast in Mid-Evening

Hercules the Kneeling Giant can be seen ascending in the east-northeast by around 9 p.m. Notice that Hercules lies on a line between two bright stars -- Arcturus in the constellation Bootes the Herdsman and Vega in the constellation Lyra the Harp. These two markers in the sky can help you identify Hercules, whose most noticeable pattern is a square-ish figure in the center of the constellation. This sky pattern, or "asterism," is known as the Keystone in Hercules-- which is a helpful pattern for more reasons than one. First, it's noticeable on the sky's dome, so can lead your eye to Hercules. Also, it can help you find the most fascinating telescopic object within the boundaries of this constellation. This object is a "globular" star cluster. It's an inhabitant of our Milky Way galaxy, but -- unlike our sun -- it lies outside the galactic plane. Known to stargazers as M13 or the Great Cluster in Hercules, it's barely visible the eye alone in the darkest of skies. Binoculars show it as a nebulous patch. And telescopes show stars both on the periphery of the cluster and toward its center. This beautiful object is one of the galaxy's oldest inhabitants -- a tightly packed spherical collection of some one million stars.

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Spotting the Summer Triangle

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Looking East-Northeast in Late Evening

In the east-northeast in late evening, you'll find a famous asterism, or noticeable pattern of stars, known as the Summer Triangle. The Triangle consists of three bright stars in three different constellations . . .Vega in the constellation Lyra the Harp, Deneb in the constellation Cygnus the Swan, and Altair in the constellation Aquila the Eagle. It's called the "summer" triangle, because, for us in the Northern Hemisphere, summer is the season in which these stars are most prominent. Every summer, this Triangle of stars soars overhead. Tonight, Vega, the brightest of the three, rises first in the east-northeastern horizon around sunset, and so will be easy to spot first. Second to cross the horizon will be the star Deneb about an hour later. The complete triangle will be up after about 10 PM, when the star Altair will cross the horizon.

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