February is a great month for the early rising skygazers. Venus has been bright in the morning sky all year, rising just before the Moon. In the minutes before dawn this week, Venus will rise to the upper left of the waning crescent Moon and will be joined by Mars. Over the coming weeks, Venus …
If your New Year’s resolution included more skygazing, you’ll have many fantastic opportunities to view some showstopping astronomical events. Kick off the year by watching the skies on Jan. 17 as the Moon pairs up with Jupiter, appearing high in the southwest, for two evenings. After a near year-long fade from the naked eye, Mars …
The Geminid meteor shower is active for much of December, but the peak occurs the night of the 13th into the morning of the 14th. Meteor rates in rural areas can be upwards of one per minute this year with minimal moonlight to interfere. Bill Cooke, lead for the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA’s Marshall …
The NASA All-sky Fireball Network is a network of cameras set up by the NASA Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) with the goal of observing the brightest meteors called fireballs. However, sometimes creepy, crawly, spooky, strange, and mysterious images also get picked up by their cameras. Do you see the jack-o-lantern in the clouds? Long-legged creepy …
On Oct. 14, 2023, and April 8, 2024, the entire United States and millions around the world will be able to view a solar eclipse. There are three different kinds of solar eclipses: total, annular, and partial. When the Moon is far from the Earth, its size is too small to completely cover the …
On Oct. 14, 2023, an annular total solar eclipse will be visible to millions across the globe as it sweeps through the skies of the northwestern United States through Mexico and Central America and into South America, exiting the continent in Brazil. Even if you are not in the path of annularity, you will still …
Saturn will be located directly opposite of the Sun – at opposition – on August 26-27, 2023, as the Earth orbits between the two. From our vantage point, the Sun’s illumination will allow Saturn to appear bigger and brighter in the sky in the weeks leading up to and after the opposition. In fact, Saturn …
The NASA All Sky Fireball Network is already detecting the first meteors of this year’s Perseid meteor shower! The meteor shower peaks on the night of August 12 as the Earth passes through the dustiest debris of comet Swift-Tuttle’s trails. The Perseid meteor shower is often considered to be the best meteor shower of the …
Fireworks won’t be the only bright objects lighting the sky this month. The next full moon will appear on the morning of Monday, July 3, although it will seem full for up to three days. The July full moon is also called the “Full Buck Moon,” according to the Farmers’ Almanac, as this is the …
Sky enthusiasts, start off summer by witnessing two extraordinary celestial events in June – the Full Strawberry Moon and the summer solstice. These events hold both historical and cultural significance. The Full Strawberry Moon, depending on one’s time zone, will illuminate the night sky on June 3. Although the exact moment of full moon occurs …
