This month’s episode highlights the close pairing of Venus and Jupiter under way in the western sky after sunset. You'll also learn why astronomers are fixated on a star in Corona Borealis — and how to find a huge but dim constellation that will likely be new to you. So grab curiosity and come along on this month’s Sky Tour.

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The phenomenon of a Full Moon arises when our planet, Earth, is precisely sandwiched between the Sun and the Moon. This alignment ensures the entire side of the Moon that faces us gleams under sunlight. Thanks to the Moon’s orbit around Earth, the angle of sunlight hitting the lunar surface and being reflected back toContinue reading "2026 Full Moon calendar: When to see the Full Moon and phases"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  May 31: Blue Moon, red star Mercury is at its best for the year. It’s now easy to spot in the evening sky, already 10° above the western horizon 30 minutes after the Sun sets. Tonight, it shines at magnitude –0.5 andContinue reading "The Sky Today on Monday, June 1: Mercury at its best"

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Mercury reaches greatest elongation in the evening sky this month. Venus and Jupiter have a spectacular conjunction, and later in the month the Moon occults Venus. Meanwhile, Jupiter drops deeper into twilight as it sinks toward next month’s conjunction with the Sun. The morning sky hosts ever-more-prominent Saturn, while Mars and Uranus meet in Taurus.Continue reading "June 2026: What’s in the sky this month? Venus and Jupiter have a spectacular conjunction, and the Moon occults Venus"

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June evenings offer a great chance to view three bright planets. Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury gather in the northwestern sky as darkness settles in, creating a grand sight to the naked eye and worthy targets through a telescope. Jupiter has been wandering through Gemini the Twins since the dawn of 2026. Shining at magnitude –1.9,Continue reading "June 2026: What’s in the Southern Hemisphere sky this month?"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  May 30: Fly a cosmic kite Full Moon occurs at 4:45 A.M. EDT on May 31, bringing us May’s second Full Moon and the first — and only — Blue Moon of 2026. Shortly after that, at 5 A.M. EDT, the FullContinue reading "The Sky Today on Sunday, May 31: Blue Moon, red star"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  May 29: Split Nu Draconis Already high in the eastern sky an hour after sunset is the constellation Boötes the Herdsman. Easy to find thanks to its brightest star, the magnitude –0.1 red giant Arcturus, the stars of this constellation form aContinue reading "The Sky Today on Saturday, May 30: Fly a cosmic kite"

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As winter’s brilliant stars slip toward the western horizon and the constellations of spring climb higher, Northern Hemisphere observers discover a quieter but richly rewarding sky. Spring is celebrated for its galaxies, yet our own Milky Way offers an equally compelling bounty of open and globular clusters. From youthful, loosely packed groups that still sparkleContinue reading "Observe spring’s star clusters"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  May 28: Scorpius holds M80 High in the northeast this evening, located within the head of Draco the Dragon, is one of the sky’s most famous and easy-to-split double stars. Nu (ν) Draconis appears to shine as a single 4th-magnitude star toContinue reading "The Sky Today on Friday, May 29: Split Nu Draconis"

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Venus and Jupiter grab your eyes in the west in late twilight. The Summer Triangle marks the dark in the east. So will the subtler Milky Way once the glary Moon is gone.

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Venus and Jupiter — the Evening Star and the False Evening Star — draw closer together in the western twilight and point down to Mercury. The waxing Moon shows off its rich telescopic detail.

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