Skywatch Almanac Astronomy Blog
Star Struck: Defunct space station falls from sky
In this Star Struck, Bobby Farlice-Rubio tells us all about the Chinese space station that was lost in space until it crashed into the Pacific Ocean Monday. Watch the video for the full interview.
The experimental space lab Tiangong 1 was launched ...
March 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. After the winter Venus returns to the ...
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
The planets should be perfect for night owls, all of them appearing after midnight, starting with Jupiter and Mars fairly close together in the southeast by the dawn’s twilight. Saturn barely rises by late in the month, while Mercury is at its morning best through the 10th. Venus is lost in ...
December Astronomy
The longest nights of the year offer the greatest variety of stars and constellations. Through the month, Orion rises earlier each evening, and dominates the eastern sky, often identified by his line of three “belt” stars. Extending this line to the upper rights leads to the red star Aldebaran, the ...
November Astronomy
November sees a return to Standard Time, (on the 5th), the earlier arrival of evening gives us a parting view of Saturn, inching lower in the southwest, and briefly joined by Mercury after Thanksgiving. November finds the Milky Way high overhead, with the Summer Triangle slipping into the west, while ...
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 ...