July 22 - 28, 2013
Two fine constellations are side by side in the south: hook-tailed Scorpius and Sagittarius, the Archer. The center of our Milky Way galaxy lies behind the stars of Sagittarius.
July 15 - 21, 2013
Three spectacularly close approaches take place in the heavens this week. The Moon meets the stars Spica and Zubenelgenubi, and Venus passes close to Regulus.
July 8 - 14, 2013
Magnificent Scorpius is near its highest at nightfall. This is one of the few constellations that really resembles its name. Antares, its chief star, is strikingly bright and red.
June 24 - 30, 2013
Days are long and nights are short during the first full week of summer. Learn how summer is defined in astronomical terms, and why it matters to all life on Earth.
July 1 - 7, 2013
As the sky grows dark in the evening, the stars of the Summer Triangle are rising in the east: Vega in the constellation Lyra, Altair in Aquila, and Deneb in Cygnus the Swan.
June 17 - 23, 2013
This week features a close pairing of Mercury and Venus, the beginning of summer, and the largest and closest full Moon of the year.
June 10 - 16, 2013
A beautifully thin crescent Moon forms a triangle with Mercury and Venus after sunset on Monday. Then Venus appears a little higher each evening and Mercury a little lower.
June 3 - 9, 2013
This is the best week in 2013 to view Mercury, the elusive innermost planet. And find out how the quasar 3C 273 was first discovered.
May 20 - 26, 2013
The planets Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury form an amazingly tight triangle by the end of this week. This is the closest conjunction of three bright planets until January 2021.
May 27 - June 2, 2013
The three-planet conjunction continues this week. And Virgo the Maiden takes center stage in the south. It’s home to the quasar 3C 273, the most distant object visible through most backyard telescopes.
May 13 - 19, 2013
Stargazers throughout the contiguous U.S. can see parts of the huge, ancient constellation Centaurus poking above the southern horizon. From Hawaii or southern Florida this constellation is splendid indeed.
May 6 - 12, 2013
The faint constellation Coma Berenices hosts one of the closest star clusters in the sky. It has a fascinating history and is a splendid sight through binoculars.
April 29 - May 5, 2013
The Big Dipper is now at its highest in the northern sky. Galileo discovered the double star Mizar in its handle because he was looking for parallax, trying to prove that Earth goes around the Sun.
April 22 - 28, 2013
Saturn is the second-biggest planet in our solar system, big enough to fit 800 Earths inside. Its most prominent feature is its magnificent ring system, made of countless chunks of ice.
April 15 - 21, 2013
[skyweekvid id="l1g788k2"]Three bright lights dominate the late-spring sky: Spica, the brightest star of Virgo the Maiden, Arcturus, the brightest star of Boötes the Herdsman, and the ringed planet Saturn.
April 8 - 14, 2013
[skyweekvid id="rg39y8ac"]The Moon pairs beautifully with Jupiter on Sunday, April 14th. Take a good look at Jupiter, the king of the planets, because it’s getting lower each evening.
April 1 - 7, 2013
[skyweekvid id="h377vq0q"]The constellation Puppis floats lower left of dazzling Sirius. It’s just the tip of the gigantic ancient constellation Argo, the ship that carried Jason and the Argonauts on their quest for the Golden Fleece.
March 25 - 31, 2013
[skyweekvid id="knl12r5c"]The Big Dipper, the sky’s best-known star pattern, is now high in the northeast. Find out how you can use it to tell the directions and the time of night.
March 18 - 24, 2013
[skyweekvid id="uc6vv3l2"]Spring begins this week on Wednesday morning. This is the day when the Sun rises due East and sets due West all over the world.
March 11 - 17, 2013
[skyweekvid id="gqfu6wgs"]If we’re lucky, comet PanSTARRS will shine low in the west shortly after sunset this week. But comets are notoriously unpredictable, so we won’t know for sure until the day arrives.