SUNSET: 
This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 11 – 19
The Winter Hexagon hosts the Moon. Then Castor and Pollux nail the Moon. Then the Little and Big Dog stars arc gracefully away from it. Meanwhile in early dawn, Mercury, Venus and Mars continue as a triangle low in the southeast.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 4 – 12
This is the part of the month when the evening Moon is at its telescopic best in many skywatchers' opinions, as the terminator sweeps across the middle of the Moon's disk. And in February, the Moon at these phases rides especially high. Jupiter sinks low in evening twilight, and a triangle of planets displays in early dawn.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 28 – February 5
The Winter Triangle, the Goat Star and the Kids, Orion nearing his peak standing on the giant Hare over the difficult Dove... there's plenty to occupy you in the evening even as most of the planets have migrated over to dawn.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 21 – 29
As Jupiter gets lower now, Orion and Gemini rise high, the Winter Triangle pivots on Sirius, the Great Square sinks and the Big Dipper creeps up.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 14 – 22
Jupiter stands alone at dusk. The Moon dances with Castor and Pollux while Iris creeps in the background. And you can't keep Venus down for long; its tiny crescent reappears at dawn.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 7 – 15
Mercury draws close to Saturn low in twilight, then turns shy and runs away. Jupiter watches from above. The Moon, careless of such goings-on, waxes through first quarter to show off for your telescope.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, December 31 – January 8
As the calendar flips to a new year, the night sky brims with bright stars, planets, and a potential meteor shower to help you celebrate.
Getting Started with Your New Telescope
How to start right using a new telescope — a guide to what you need to know, how to set it up, and things you can start finding with it in tonight's sky.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, December 24 – January 1
Crescent Venus, ever thinner and lower in twilight, dives toward the Sun. Jupiter and Saturn bide their time. The bright winter constellations fill the east after dark. Mars and Antares pair up at dawn.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, December 17 – 25
Dramatic Venus is becoming a dramatically thinner, larger crescent the southwestern twilight. A few people can even resolve the crescent naked-eye. Saturn and Jupiter stay lined up behind it. And the bright winter constellations officially come into their own with the turning of the solstice.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, December 10 – 18
Comet Leonard switches from low in the dawn to low in the dusk this week; you'll need those binocs. The Venus-Saturn-Jupiter line slides westward. And the high full moon of December rides across the sky in Taurus, at the top of the ecliptic.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, December 3 – 11
The crescent Moon at dusk hangs under Venus, then Saturn, then Jupiter. Comet Leonard is at its best before dawn. And welcome in, Orion!
This Week's Sky at a Glance, November 25 – December 4
While the Jupiter-Saturn-Venus line keeps shrinking, all kinds of deep-sky sights, naked-eye to telescopic, show themselves on these moonless evenings.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, November 19 – 27
Orion now rises in the east around 8 p.m. Will Betelgeuse or Rigel be the first of his bright stars to come up? That depends on your latitude; Los Angeles and Atlanta are balance points. The Pleiades and Aldebaran watch this scene from high above.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, November 12 – 20
Venus, Jupiter and Saturn highlight the dusk. Mercury and Mars are a dawn challenge. And get ready for the barely-almost-total eclipse of the Moon.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, November 5 – 13
In the evening sky the waxing Moon walks up past Venus, then Saturn and Jupiter day by day. And we're in the season of the Summer Triangle Effect.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, October 29 – November 6
The moonless evenings this week offer three bright planets and deep-sky riches as deep as you can go. Meanwhile, the waning crescent Moon meets Mercury and Spica low in bright dawn.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, October 22 – 30
As fall proceeds, Jupiter and Saturn shift westward and tilt ever more steeply. Venus gets a little higher and brighter. The waning Moon passes the Pleiades. And as Halloween approaches, Arcturus becomes the Ghost of Summer Suns.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, October 15 – 23
The gibbous Moon shines under Jupiter and Saturn, then waxes to full under the Great Square of Pegasus. Cassiopeia stands on end high in the northeast, as Capella glitters far below.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, October 8 – 16
The crescent Moon returns to the evening sky, passing Venus, then the Saturn and Jupiter pair. Venus itself passes Delta Sco and then Antares. Auroras may shimmer, the Draconids may sputter; the sky never ceases to call.
