EYES TO THE SKY July 12 – 25, 2021 A rare event – Venus and Mars snuggle at dusk today and tomorrow Don’t miss the gorgeous evening tableau from July 12 to 14, 2021. The slim lunar crescent will guide your eye to the 2 close-knit planets, Venus and Mars. Published with permission EarthSky.org This evening […]

Eyes to the Sky April 19 – May 2, 2021 Wildly twinkling stars Astrophotographer’s statement “I threw Sirius out of focus and took this series of short exposures (1/25-second) with a 150mm telephoto lens on a Canon 5D Mark IV earlier this month [January, 2021]. The images are raw right out of the camera and […]

Eyes to the Sky March 22 – April 4, 2021 Turn-of-the-season dazzle: brightest stars, vivid constellations, and rusty-gold Mars The calendar in the night sky marks Spring Equinox evenings with the rising of golden Arcturus, the second brightest star in our sky. Sunset is at 7:11 this evening and about a minute later each day […]

Eyes to the Sky January 25 – February 7, 2020 Sirius, The Big Dog and Thor’s Helmet Above: Thor’s Helmet, NGC2359 Emissions nebula. Astrophotography by Mario Motta, MD. All Rights Reserved Below: The constellation Canis Major contains Sirius, the brightest star. The constellation suggests the outline of a dog, sometimes fancied to be the dog […]

Eyes to the Sky January 4 – 17, 2021 Early nightfall and late sunup beckon to stargazers before days lengthen The last of the longest nights of the year are bookended by planet Venus taking final bows in early morning twilight in the southeast and planets Jupiter and Saturn poised at the edge of the […]

Eyes to the Sky Jupiter and Saturn closest meeting in centuries on the 21st: get ready! Artist’s concept of Jupiter and Saturn in December of 2020, as viewed from a space-based perspective. Their conjunction will be December 21. See the moon in this drawing? It’ll be along our line of sight to the planets around […]