Excellent Jupiter & Saturn Conjunction Way back in 1997 this column carried a summary of explanations for the legendary “Star of Bethlehem.” It won’t be repeated this month. However, one ...
Leonid Meteor Shower and Penumbral Lunar Eclipse This month has a couple of solar system events happening overhead. Also, Mars, although well past it’s favorable opposition that was discussed here ...
Did COVID-19 Come From Space? Few have probably noticed that throughout the current year this column has refrained from referencing or acknowledging the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. The reason for ...
Choppering Around the Titan Moon Space travel is a great way to get from point A to point B when those points are worlds apart. But how do you move ...
Sunspots and Star Spots During an approximately six-month period from October to April, the massive bright star Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion the Hunter dropped by 40% in brightness. Astronomers ...
One April Comet and a Manned Moon Flight Emergency Comet Bennett. Photo Credit: Akira Fujii/David Malin Images Two memorable celestial events occurred simultaneously 50 years ago this month. On the ...
Venus Lights Up Evening Sky Photo Credit: NASA. Venus appears featureless in normal, visible light. Venus is dominating the evening sky high in the west after sunset. Dazzling Venus, the ...
Daytime Moon to Eclipse Mars This month the continental United States will be treated to an eclipse. Is it a lunar eclipse or a solar eclipse? Neither one. On the ...
The Story of Asteroids We take knowledge of the existence of asteroids (a.k.a. minor planets) for granted in our modern world. Ranging in size from boulders to hundreds of miles ...
Mercury to Transit Sun on Vets’ Day Three bright planets are visible in the evening sky in early November. But first, let’s talk about a fourth planet, Mercury, and a ...
Outer Gas Giants We know from last month that this summer was a splendid time for convenient evening viewing of the two largest gas planets, Jupiter and Saturn. Likewise, this ...
Summer of Gas Giants The evening twilight sky is where you will spot with the unaided eye the two largest planets in our solar system – Jupiter and Saturn – ...
