41–60 of 199 results

SkyWeek TV Archive

February 10 - 16, 2014

The Moon is full on Friday, to the right of the bright star Regulus in Leo. The crater Tycho and its amazing ray system are especially bright at full Moon.

SkyWeek TV Archive

February 3 - 9, 2014

The magnificent constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog, is at its highest in the south on February evenings. It is host to Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.

SkyWeek TV Archive

January 27 - February 2, 2014

Mercury and Venus, the innermost planets, are visible all week at dusk and dawn, respectively. The thin crescent Moon visits Venus early in the week and Mercury late in the week.

SkyWeek TV Archive

January 20 - 26, 2014

The Moon visits Mars and Saturn in the predawn sky this week. This is an exciting time to view both planets. Mars is brightening rapidly, and Saturn’s rings are on great display.

SkyWeek TV Archive

January 13 - 19, 2014

This is a great time to view Jupiter, the king of the planets. It’s well up in the east by the time the sky grows dark, and very high by late evening.

SkyWeek TV Archive

January 6 - 12, 2014

Orion floats high in the south on January evenings. Its seven main stars form a pattern that has been likened to a giant man or woman all around the world.

SkyWeek TV Archive

December 30, 2013 - January 5, 2014

At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, is at its highest in the south. And even brighter Jupiter flies high above it.

SkyWeek TV Archive

December 23 - 29, 2013

More bright stars are visible now than at any other time of year. Seven of the sky’s 21 first-magnitude stars are concentrated in a single, amazing formation called the Winter Hexagon.

SkyWeek TV Archive

December 16 - 22, 2013

The December solstice occurs in the early afternoon on Saturday, the shortest day of 2013. After this, days will be getting longer and nights shorter for the next six months.

SkyWeek TV Archive

December 9 - 15, 2013

The Geminid meteor shower peaks on Friday night and Saturday morning. The Geminids are caused by a mystery object that seems to be halfway between an asteroid and a comet.

SkyWeek TV Archive

December 2 - 8, 2013

Comet ISON will reappear this week if it survives its encounter with the Sun. And the Andromeda Galaxy, the nearest big spiral galaxy to our own, soars high in the evening.

SkyWeek TV Archive

November 25 - December 1, 2013

Mercury and Saturn appear amazingly close together in the predawn sky early in the week. And Comet ISON skims just 700 thousand miles above the Sun’s surface on Thanksgiving Day.

SkyWeek TV Archive

November 18 - 24, 2013

Mercury, the innermost planet, appears in the predawn sky as Comet ISON races toward its rendezvous with the Sun. And Saturn, the ringed wonder, joins the action late in the week.

SkyWeek TV Archive

November 11 - 17, 2013

[skyweekvid id="fdo73oc7"]If we’re lucky, Comet ISON will become faintly visible in the predawn sky this week. But comets are notoriously unpredictable, so nobody can say for sure what will happen.

SkyWeek TV Archive

November 4 - 10, 2013

The ancient constellations of the Great Sea fill the southern sky, from Cetus the Sea Monster to strange Capricornus the Sea Goat, whose origin is lost in the mists of time.

SkyWeek TV Archive

October 28 - November 3, 2013

Look to the right of Cassiopeia for a formation that I call the Really Big Dipper. It’s composed of the three brightest stars of Andromeda together with the Great Square of Pegasus.

SkyWeek TV Archive

October 21 - 27, 2013

The Perseus constellation group fills the northeastern sky. The W of Queen Cassiopeia is most striking. Her son-in-law Perseus below is home to one of the sky’s best but least-known star clusters.

SkyWeek TV Archive

October 14 - 20, 2013

Dazzling Venus creeps through Scorpius, passing a short distance above the strikingly red star Antares. And in the predawn sky, Mars passes slightly farther from Regulus, the brightest star of Leo.

SkyWeek TV Archive

October 7 - 13, 2013

Venus passes the star Delta Scorpii this week. In June 2000, Argentine stargazer Sebastián Otero caught Delta in a midlife crisis, changing from a normal star to one that varies in brightness.

Alan MacRobert previews Comet ISON

Interviews & Excerpts

Comet ISON Preview (Video)

S&T senior editor Alan MacRobert tells you what you need to know to get ready for Comet ISON.