Skywatch Almanac Astronomy Blog

Our shortest nights of the year in June still feature some great star gazing, with the Summer Triangle rising in the east - Vega, highest and brightest in the northeast, Deneb nearer the horizon, and Altair to their right, all three within the Milky Way, returning in the eastern skies, stretching south ...

As May welcomes the return of some of the brighter summer stars, including Vega in the northeast, and Antares in the southeast, we watch the rapid descent of Venus, well-placed in the west during the first week, but fading in the Sun's glare by Memorial Day.  On its way, it encounters ...

April starts with Orion and his companions the Big Dog and Taurus, the Bull, standing on the western horizon to start, sinking lower through the month.  The Big Dipper is placed high in the northeast, Leo, the Lion champions the southern skies, and Gemini's Twins settle into the west.  The highlight of the ...

In March, Orion settles into the southwest for some great evening views, appearing to “stand” on the horizon, with Taurus to his right, and the Great Dog to his left. The evenings also feature the Big Dipper rising in the northeast, looking like a giant question mark. ...

Orion dominates our February evenings, striding mid-way up from the southern horizon by 8 o’clock, accompanied by the brightest star in our night skies, Sirius, below and left of Orion, marking the nose of the Great Dog. High in the south, Taurus, the Bull charges at Orion, ...

The winter stars feature the brightest collection of the year. Orion becomes the center of attention, with his three belt stars drawing a line to the right, pointing to the red star Aldebaran, the “eye” of Taurus, the Bull. To the left, Orion’s Belt leads to ...

The longest nights of the year welcome the return of Orion, rising earlier each evening, and dominating the eastern sky, often identified by his line of three “belt” stars. Extending this line to the upper right leads to the red star Aldebaran, the eye of Taurus, the ...

Jupiter settles low, toward the southwest horizon, while Saturn remains higher and to the left. Venus returns to the evenings, passing by Jupiter on the 24th. This month finds the Milky Way high overhead, with the Summer Triangle slipping into the west, while the dazzling Capella ...

As the shorter days give way to longer nights, the Milky Way arches from near the Teapot of Sagittarius in the southwest, through the Summer Triangle high in the southwest, then into the northwest to greeting the rising star Capella.  The waxing Moon interferes with the Draconid Meteor ...