Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 31, 2023 SATURDAY, MAY 27 First-quarter Moon (exact at 11:22 a.m. on this date EDT). Jupiter and Mercury low in the dawn, May 27, 2023 By now Jupiter is getting easier to see low in the eastern dawn. And little Mercury is barely coming into view. Bring binoculars. SUNDAY, MAY 28 […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 22, 2023 MONDAY, MAY 22 ■ The waxing crescent Moon shines lower right of Venus this evening, as shown below. The widening trio of Mars, Pollux, and Castor floats above them. WEDNESDAY, MAY 24 ■ Spot Mars a little below the Moon this evening, as shown. Arcturus, which most people have surely seen […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 13, 2023 May is the month when the Milky Way is altogether missing from the evening sky, for those of us living in the latitudes of the continental United States. That’s because the Milky Way now lies all the way around the horizon in a circle, and the North Galactic Pole […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, March 20, 2022 Highlights for the week of March 18-26, 2022 Spot Arcturus very low in the east-northeast after nightfall and higher in the east later in the evening. By modern measurements Arcturus is visual magnitude –0.05, making it the fourth-brightest nighttime star. It’s bested only by Sirius, Canopus, and Alpha Centauri. […]
September 20, 2016 It’s hard to believe that more than 4 years have passed since the Curiosity rover (a.k.a. NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory) dropped onto the broad floor of Gale crater and began its marathon exploration of Mars. Although the craft’s “primary mission” spanned only 23 months, the hope has always been that this durable, […]
[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Sebastian Voltmer] Wandering through this stunning field of view, Mars really is in front of these colorful cosmic clouds. The mosaic contructed from telescopic images is about 5 degrees (10 full moons) across. It captures the planet’s position on Aug. 26, over 7 light-minutes from Earth and very near […]
[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, NASA, JPL-Caltech, MSSS] Where is NASA’s rover Curiosity going on Mars? Its geographical goals are on the slopes of Mount Sharp, whose peak is seen in the background on the right. A key scientific goal, however, remains to better assess when and where conditions on Mars were once suitable […]
[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Yuri Beletsky (Carnegie Las Campanas Observatory, TWAN)] Planet Earth’s horizon stretches across this recent Solar System group portrait, seen from the southern hemisphere’s Las Campanas Observatory. Taken before dawn it traces the ecliptic with a line-up familiar to November’s early morning risers. Toward the east are bright planets Venus, […]
[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Michael Wilson] This was a sky to show the kids. All in all, three children, three planets, the Moon, a star, an airplane and a mom were all captured in one image near Great Salt Lake in Utah, USA in early September of 2005. Minus the airplane, this busy […]
[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION / NASA, JPL-Caltech; Mosaic Processing: Marco Di Lorenzo, Kenneth Kremer] Shortly before Mars’ June 2015 conjunction, the Curiosity Rover celebrated 1000 sols on the red planet. After its Aug. 5, 2012 landing, Curiosity’s 1000th sol or martian day on the surface corresponded to planet Earth’s calendar date May 31, […]
