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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Which naked-eye star is richest in metals and what is the estimated mass of the metal contained therein? ThomasMineral, Virginia In astronomer-speak, metals refer to elements heavier than helium. The first stars that lit up the universe were very metal-poor, since hydrogen and helium were just about the only materials around after the Big Bang. TheseContinue reading "Which naked-eye star is richest in metals?"

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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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