The Sky, November 13-19: Cassiopeia, Orion and the winter sky

The Sky, November 13-19: Cassiopeia, Orion and the winter sky

Special to CosmicTribune.com, November 13, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13 ■ Perseus is high in the northeast these November evenings, below W-shaped Cassiopeia. The W is standing on end. To find the famous Double Cluster in Perseus, count down the segments of the W starting from the top. The third segment points almost […]

The Sky: November 6-11: Double clusters and double stars

The Sky: November 6-11: Double clusters and double stars

Special to CosmicTribune.com, November 6, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6 ■ Perseus is high in the northeast these November evenings. The Perseus Double Cluster is below W-shaped Cassiopeia; the W is currently standing on end. Count down the segments of the W starting from the top. The third segment points almost straight down. […]

The Sky: October 21-29: Jupiter at its brightest and largest, telescopically

The Sky: October 21-29: Jupiter at its brightest and largest, telescopically

Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 22, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21 ■ First-quarter Moon (exact at 11:29 p.m. EDT). ■ The shadow of Jupiter’s fast-moving moon Io crosses onto the eastern edge of Jupiter’s face at 8:07 p.m. EDT, followed closely by Io itself 20 minutes later. Jupiter’s Red Spot should transit the planet’s central […]

The sky: October 7-15; Venus the ‘Morning Star’

The sky: October 7-15; Venus the ‘Morning Star’

Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 8, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6 ■ Arcturus shines in the west as twilight fades away. Capella, equally bright, is rising in the north-northeast (depending on your latitude; the farther north you live the higher it will be.) They’re both magnitude 0. Higher above Fomalhaut glows Saturn, pale […]

The sky, October 1-8: The Moon-Jupiter duo

The sky, October 1-8: The Moon-Jupiter duo

Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 3, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1 ■ The waning gibbous Moon rises in the east-northeast around the end of twilight. Ten or fifteen minutes later, Jupiter rises just 2° or 3° to the Moon’s lower right. Later in the evening the two shine high, as shown below. These are currently […]

The sky: September 26 – October 1, featuring Cassiopeia and Saturn

The sky: September 26 – October 1, featuring Cassiopeia and Saturn

Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 24, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 ■ High above the Moon this evening, by 3 or 4 fists at arm’s length, shines Altair, the southernmost star of the Summer Triangle. The other two, Vega and lesser Deneb, are nearly overhead. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 ■ By 10 or 11 p.m. bright Jupiter […]

The sky: September 17-24; Tips for observing Saturn

The sky: September 17-24; Tips for observing Saturn

Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 18, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 ■ Look very low in the west-southwest in early twilight for the waxing crescent Moon. Can you see Spica twinkling 3° or 4° lower right of it? Use binoculars. Then look due west, about 25° to the right of the Moon, for Comet Nishimura at […]

The Sky: September 11-17; Comet Nishimura visible with binoculars

The Sky: September 11-17; Comet Nishimura visible with binoculars

Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 11, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 ■ You can see in the stars that the season is changing: We’ve reached the time of year when, just as the stars come out, Cassiopeia has climbed as high in the northeast as the Big Dipper has sunk in the northwest. Cas stands […]

The sky: August 28- September 3; Jupiter rising

The sky: August 28- September 3; Jupiter rising

Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 27, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, AUGUST 28 ■ Different people have an easier or harder time seeing star colors, especially subtle ones. To me, the tints of bright stars stand out a little better in a sky that’s the deep blue of late twilight. For instance, the two brightest […]

The sky: August 20-27; Moon occults Antares on August 24

The sky: August 20-27; Moon occults Antares on August 24

Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 21, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, AUGUST 21 ■ Different people have an easier or harder time seeing star colors, especially subtle ones. To me, the tints of bright stars stand out a little better in a sky that’s the deep blue of late twilight. For instance, the two brightest […]