Saturn, Full Moon, An Eclipse
Thursday evening on 25 April the full Moon will be close to the planet Saturn, passing within about 4 degrees from the ringed planet. Both will be close enough to be viewed within the field of view...
View ArticleSaturn at Opposition
On Sunday April 28th Saturn will reach a point along its orbit around the Sun that places it on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun, or at opposition. At opposition, with the Earth between...
View ArticleWarp Speed!
Click on image for more examples The Zooniverse web site is the home for a wide ranging variety of Citizen Science projects of which the most recent for Astronomy is called Spacewarps. As a...
View ArticlePlanets ‘Close Dancing’
This evening, Sunday 26 May, the three planets, Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus, will be at their closest to each other during this series of conjunctions. All three planets are moving eastward...
View ArticlePreview June Issue of Qué tal
As the subject line states, the June preview issue of Qué tal in the Current Skies is now online and available at this temporary web address: http://currentsky.com/2013/jun13/index.html It will...
View ArticleEarthKam Opportunity
Students and educators are invited to join NASA for the Sally Ride EarthKAM Summer 2013 Mission from July 9-12, 2013. Guide your students in hands-on research as they program a camera aboard the...
View ArticleSuper Moon – Super Bad Science
Graphic Credit: Heart Touching Fun File this under the ‘here we go again’ category on Facebook and other social media where this piece of misleading science is floating around. According to...
View ArticleJune Solstice
Sun’s Apparent Motion Along the Ecliptic – from Taurus to Gemini Northern hemisphere spring comes to an end and its summer begins at 12:04 am CDT (05:04 UT) on 21 June as the Sun ‘reaches’ the...
View ArticleThe Twins, Venus, and Vesta
Click on image to see it full size. This evening, 22 June, look toward the west for two stars, more or less side-by-side. These are Pollux and Castor, the ‘twin’ stars of the constellation Gemini....
View ArticlePreview July Issue of Qué tal
As the subject line states, the July preview issue of Qué tal in the Current Skies is now online and available at this temporary web address: http://currentsky.com/2013/jul13/index.html It will...
View ArticleSuper Mini-Sun
Sunrise – 5 July This Friday, 5 July, the Sun will be its smallest appearing and most distant for the year as the Earth reaches aphelion, the point in its orbit around the Sun where the Earth is at...
View ArticleMartian Flight-Seeing
The ESA, European Space Agency, recently released a short 5 minute video of a fly over of the Hebes Chasma, a canyon lying along the Martian equator near the Mariner Valley. This canyon is around...
View ArticleMars – Jupiter Conjunction
22 July – 5:30 am CDT Tomorrow morning, 22 July, the planets Mars and Jupiter will be less than 1 degree apart. Look toward the east-northeast horizon for the bright Jupiter and the dimmer Mars...
View ArticlePreview August Issue of Qué tal
As the subject line states, the August preview issue of Qué tal in the Current Skies is now online and available at this temporary web address: http://currentsky.com/2013/aug13/index.html It will...
View ArticleMercury Goes to Extremes
Today the innermost planet Mercury reaches a point along its orbit around the Sun where it is more or less at a right angle from the Earth and the Sun, as the banner graphic at the top of the page...
View ArticleIt’s the Time of the Season
A Martian Year – at One Earth Month Intervals Today is the northern hemisphere spring equinox on the planet Mars as the planet transitions from winter to spring during its 684 Earth day orbit around...
View ArticleCrescent Moon and Venus
Click on image to see full size This evening, 9 August the thin 3-day old waxing crescent Moon will be within about 4-5 degrees from the planet Venus. Both will easily fit within the 7 degree field...
View ArticleSun Not in Virgo Today
Along the ecliptic with the Sun from 10 August until 14 September According to the pseudoscience of astrology the Sun enters the constellation of Virgo the Harvest Maiden today, 22 August. When in...
View ArticleMercury Behind the Sun
19 to 31 August Today the innermost planet Mercury reaches the point along its orbit around the Sun where it is on the opposite side of the Sun from the Earth. This position is referred to as...
View ArticlePreview September Qué tal
As the subject line states, the September preview issue of Qué tal in the Current Skies is now online and available at this temporary web address: http://currentsky.com/2013/sep13/index.html It...
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