When we reach the nights of August 11 and 12, we will see a meteor every two minutes or so, especially if we’re away from the lights of town. But there’s a secret sinister untold story behind these lovely shooting stars. It involves their origins.
It’s the best comet since Hale-Bopp graced our skies in 1996. And it’s easy to find. From any location with an unobstructed view toward the northwest – just right of where the sun set – look about a quarter of the way up the sky at 10 p.m..
This summer offers lots of Covid-safe entertainment in the night sky. And the price is right.
Click-bait articles try to get readers excited about non-events like lunar eclipse and unremarkable meteor showers. Don’t be fooled.
It’s almost over. Venus has been dazzling and delighting us for months now, the best apparition of the evening star since 2004. It’s still amazingly bright in the northwest during the first couple of hours after sunset. It’s hard to believe that this will now change so rapidly.
This week, Venus has reached its greatest separation from the sun while standing high above where the sun set. These are rare perfect conditions that make Venus appear as high up as is ever possible. But on top of that, Venus is also at its most brilliant.
We all enjoy sky-spectacles, and especially those that do not require a telescope. Some are not too frustratingly rare, such as brilliant meteors and rainbows. And we can greatly increase the odds of seeing these if we know when they’re most likely.
Buy, lease or forget the whole thing? A deep dive into the options faced by solar-curious homeowners in New York State.
Who hasn’t heard of the Seven Sisters,also known as the Pleiades? It’s the most beautiful star cluster and the most famous. It’s obvious to the naked eye and stunning through binoculars, and these nights it’s unusually easy to find.
We are all finding new ways to have fun at home. Naturally and predictably, I’m recommending you step into your backyard and simply look up around dinnertime, just as darkness falls. So happens, this is a most extraordinary time to gaze at the heavens. Halfway up the western sky you’ll see an unbelievably bright “star.” This is of course the planet Venus, also known as the Evening Star.