Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  August 17: Mars at Gemini’s feet Wait until after about 10 P.M. tonight to begin your deep-sky observing and the Moon won’t be a bother. An excellent target is NGC 6939, an open cluster in Cepheus the King. This cluster is quiteContinue reading "The Sky Today on Tuesday, August 18: Stars and sparklers"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  August 16: The Moon hangs with Venus Mars has been making its way eastward through the constellation Gemini, pulling away from open cluster M35 and approaching the two bright stars Eta (η) and Mu (μ) Geminorum. Eta shines at magnitude 3.3 and MuContinue reading "The Sky Today on Monday, August 17: Mars at Gemini’s feet"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  August 10: Open cluster NGC 7243 In the evening sky, Venus is reaching dichotomy, the moment when it is exactly half-lit. You’ll find magnitude –4.4 Venus some 20° high in the west as the Sun sets. It’s so bright, it will beContinue reading "The Sky Today on Tuesday, August 11: Venus, half-lit "

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  August 9: The Moon and Mars This evening, the small constellation Lacerta sits just below cross-shaped Cygnus in the eastern sky after dark. The zig-zagging outline of the Lizard lies roughly 20° east (to the lower left early in the evening) ofContinue reading "The Sky Today on Monday, August 10: Open cluster NGC 7243 "

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  August 8: Sagittarius’ Little Gem The Moon passes 4° north of Mars at 2 A.M. EDT; the pair is visible together in the early-morning sky, some 30° high in the east an hour before sunrise. They straddle the border of Gemini andContinue reading "The Sky Today on Sunday, August 9: The Moon and Mars"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  August 7: A lunar occultation of the Pleiades Let’s spend tonight with the Little Gem, a planetary nebula also cataloged as NGC 6818. It is highest in the sky around 11 P.M., when it is some 35° above the southern horizon. It’sContinue reading "The Sky Today on Saturday, August 8: Sagittarius’ Little Gem"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  August 6: Mercury moves south of Pollux The Moon passes 5° north of Uranus in Taurus at 1 P.M. EDT. The pair is visible earlier in the morning, with the Moon rising shortly before midnight on the 6th along with the PleiadesContinue reading "The Sky Today on Friday, August 7: A lunar occultation of the Pleiades"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  August 1: Open cluster NGC 6709 Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation at 4 A.M. EDT, standing 19° from the Sun. The tiny planet reaches an altitude of almost 5° above the eastern horizon an hour before sunrise, glowing at magnitude 0.2.Continue reading "The Sky Today on Sunday, August 2: Mercury at greatest western elongation"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  July 31: Mercury brightening With the Moon rising later each night as it wanes, there’s a slightly longer dark window tonight for deep-sky observing. Let’s use it to track down NGC 6709, a lovely open cluster in the constellation Aquila the Eagle. Continue reading "The Sky Today on Saturday, August 1: Open cluster NGC 6709"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  July 24: The Moon passes Antares Rising in the east around 10:30 P.M. local daylight time is the Great Square of Pegasus, made up of four stars: Algenib, Markab, Scheat, and Alpheratz. But of these four, only the first three on theContinue reading "The Sky Today on Saturday, July 25: Great Square rising"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  July 23: Mercury’s retrograde path ends The Moon passes 0.6° south of Antares, the heart of Scorpius the Scorpion, at 6 P.M. EDT. This evening, the two remain nestled close, a lovely sight in the southern sky after sunset.  About 90 minutesContinue reading "The Sky Today on Friday, July 24: The Moon passes Antares"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  July 22: Dione passes north of Saturn The planet Mercury is stationary at 1 P.M. EDT. Located in the constellation Gemini, the tiny world is now rising before the Sun, visible for a short time in the east before sunrise. However, it’sContinue reading "The Sky Today on Thursday, July 23: Mercury’s retrograde path ends"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  July 15: The Summer Triangle overhead The nearly three-day-old Moon passes 0.5° south of Regulus, the heart of Leo the Lion, at 9 P.M. EDT. Just after sunset, you’ll be able to spot the delicate crescent Moon in the west, with brightContinue reading "The Sky Today on Thursday, July 16: The Moon passes the Lion’s heart"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  July 14: Mars sits north of Aldebaran Now that summer is in full swing, let’s check in with the season’s most famous asterism: the Summer Triangle. By late evening, this celestial shape is high in the southeast, bounded by the bright starsContinue reading "The Sky Today on Wednesday, July 15: The Summer Triangle overhead"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  June 23: Try out the Turtle Nebula Now shining at magnitude 10.6, main-belt asteroid 21 Lutetia is sliding just south of a 9th-magnitude field star in Scorpius. The best time to observe is late in the evening in the hour or twoContinue reading "The Sky Today on Wednesday, June 24: Look for Lutetia’s light"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  June 22: Visit the North America Nebula Mercury passes 7° due south of Pollux in Gemini at 3 P.M. EDT. By evening, Mercury, Jupiter, and Pollux create a skinny, tall triangle with the two planets forming the base and the star atContinue reading "The Sky Today on Tuesday, June 23: Try out the Turtle Nebula"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  June 21: A summertime lineup If you’re up late after midnight, you’ll have the chance to check in on a summertime favorite: NGC 7000, the North America Nebula in Cygnus. Reaching nearly 70° high in the east by 2 A.M. local daylightContinue reading "The Sky Today on Monday, June 22: Visit the North America Nebula"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  June 20: Libra’s Ghost Cluster The summer solstice occurs at 4:25 A.M. EDT. This is the time the Sun reaches its northernmost point in the Northern Hemisphere sky, which also means our star takes its longest path across this hemisphere’s sky onContinue reading "The Sky Today on Sunday, June 21: A summertime lineup"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  June 19: Dione crosses due north of Saturn Highest in the south around 10:30 P.M. local daylight time is the constellation Libra, whose brightest star is Beta (β) Librae, also called Zubeneschamali. Nearly 12° below (south) of this star at that timeContinue reading "The Sky Today on Saturday, June 20: Libra’s Ghost Cluster"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  June 18: The Moon and the Sickle Saturn rules the early-morning sky, shining at 1st magnitude in otherwise dim Pisces the Fish. One of the ringed planet’s many moons, Dione, passes due north of Saturn the morning of June 19. The 10th-magnitudeContinue reading "The Sky Today on Friday, June 19: Dione crosses due north of Saturn"

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