Category: Eye on the Sky | Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium's Blog

May Weather

Posted: May 1, 2019| Categories: Eye on the Sky, Skywatch Almanac Weather

May’s beauty is more than just a poet’s notion. Apples and lilacs perfume the air, the trees and meadows display every shade of green possible, and the fresh blue skies are not yet spoiled with summer haze. The gardens are being planted, and the first fields are mown for hay. … Read More

Skywatch Astronomy

Posted: March 4, 2019| Categories: Eye on the Sky, Skywatch Almanac Astronomy

In March, Orion settles into the southwest for some great evening views. The evenings also feature the Big Dipper rising in the northeast, looking like a giant question mark. Follow the “handle” toward the horizon, where the star Arcturus rises by 9 o’clock. Venus sits quite low in the east… Read More

March 1, 4:00 – 5:30PM

Posted: February 22, 2019| Categories: Eye on the Sky, Fairbanks Museum

125 years of weather observation! On March 1st, 1894, the Fairbanks Museum was officially accepted as an observation site for the US Weather Bureau. Join us as we celebrate this milestone! At 4:00 our Eye on the Sky team marks the anniversary by taking the daily weather observations. A reception… Read More

January Weather

Posted: January 8, 2019| Categories: Eye on the Sky, Skywatch Almanac Weather

The month of January is named after the Roman god “Janus”, the two-faced deity, often associated with doors. Of course we could also apply this to January’s weather, which commands the coldest and snowiest weather most every winter. Yet within the month is winter’s contradiction, the January thaw. Though it… Read More

December Weather

Posted: December 4, 2018| Categories: Eye on the Sky, Skywatch Almanac Weather

More so than any other month during the winter, snow is welcomed by most in December. Perhaps it is because the cliché of a white Christmas is thrust upon us with every greeting card and every holiday advertisement. But I suspect there is more to it than that. Consider the… Read More

November Weather

Posted: November 2, 2018| Categories: Eye on the Sky, Skywatch Almanac Weather

November was known to the Anglo-Saxons as “winde monathe”, a tribute to the increase of storms this time of year. Lingering warmth in the southern states and in the oceans, represents a lot of energy and moisture. Should an early outbreak of cold collide with the warmth, then a major… Read More

October Astronomy

Posted: September 28, 2018| Categories: Eye on the Sky, Skywatch Almanac Astronomy

October nights lengthen, welcoming a great view of the Milky Way arched from southwest to northeast, its subtle beauty anchored by the Summer Triangle in the southwest, and the rising star Capella in the northeast. The Draconid Meteor shower peaks near the 9th, while the Orionid Meteor shower peaks near… Read More

August Weather

Posted: July 31, 2018| Categories: Eye on the Sky, Fairbanks Museum, Skywatch Almanac Weather

Even as the summer becomes more entrenched over the region, the signs are there that summer’s glory will not last much longer. Is that a reason to dampen summer plans? Hardly! In so many ways there is a full half of summer yet to go, with temperatures averaging as warm… Read More

August Astronomy

Posted: July 31, 2018| Categories: Eye on the Sky, Skywatch Almanac Astronomy

Four planets span the evening skies—Venus low in the west, Jupiter higher in the southwest, Saturn above the “teapot” in Sagittarius in the south, and the fiery Mars in the southeast. The annual Perseid Meteor Shower brings us shooting stars from the 11th to the 14th, with the New Moon… Read More

July Astronomy

Posted: June 28, 2018| Categories: Eye on the Sky, Skywatch Almanac Astronomy

Evenings arrive late, though the days do get a little shorter. The southern skies are busy this month, with the red star Antares marking the “heart” of the Scorpion, with claws stretching to the west, and its tail right along the horizon. To its left is Saturn, just above the… Read More