Skywatch Almanac Astronomy Blog
October 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 Orionid Meteor shower peaks near the 21st. Saturn lingers in the southwest through the ...
September Astronomy
The summer skies, like the weather, are in transition through September. The Scorpion lowers into the southwest through the month, followed by the Teapot in Sagittarius. Between them Saturn remains in view, getting lower each evening. Earlier evenings feature the Big Dipper sinking lower into the northwestern skies, while the ...
August Astronomy
The obvious highlight this August is a total solar eclipse tracking diagonally across the US on the 21st, covering about 70 percent of the Sun in Vermont. The annual Perseid Meteor Shower brings us shooting stars from the 11th to the 14th, hampered by a waning Gibbous Moon. The evenings ...
July Astronomy
Evenings arrive late, though the days do get a little shorter. Watch for the red star Antares to shine low in the south, marking the “heart” of the Scorpion, with claws stretching to the west, and its tail right along the horizon. To its left is Saturn, nestled in the ...
June Astronomy
Our two largest planets, Jupiter and Saturn, make for great evening viewing, and each get a visit from the Moon (see above). Venus shines low in the east for early risers between 3 and 4 AM. Mars and Mercury remain lost in the glare of the Sun. The Summer Triangle ...
May Astronomy
May welcomes the return of some of the brighter summer stars, including Vega in the northeast, and Antares in the southeast. Leo the Lion prowls the southern skies through the month, with its bright star Regulus, while late in the month, the Summer Triangle begins its annual display, rising in ...
April Astronomy
This April starts with Mercury offering its best views of 2017 during the first week. Jupiter also reaches its peak, though it will remain in the evening skies through late August. Saturn appears after midnight to start, but climbs into the late evening at the end of the month, low ...
March Astronomy
Orion settles into the southwest through March 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, after a terrific winter display in ...
February Astronomy
Orion commands the southern evening skies throughout February, 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, as the Big Dipper begins to lift higher into the ...
January Astronomy
Venus brings a dramatic opening to star-gazing this month, near its highest and brightest in the southwest, accompanied to its upper left by a fading Mars, so wonderfully bright last year. Jupiter rises just before midnight after mid-month, Saturn climbing out of the twilight, and Mercury making an appearance low ...