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Arcturus, brightest star of the northern sky
Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern half of the sky. It's easy to find in spring in the Northern Hemisphere near the handle of the Big Dipper.
May 29, 2026
Meet Mimosa, a star of the Southern Cross
Mimosa is the 2nd-brightest star in Crux, the Southern Cross. It's circumpolar - up all night - from much of the Southern Hemisphere.
May 28, 2026
Spica, the bright beacon of Virgo, is 2 stars
Spica is the brightest star in Virgo and a scorching-hot pair of stars, whirling very closely around one another. One of them may go supernova someday.
May 26, 2026
Meet Regulus, Leo the Lion’s Heart and brightest star
The bright star Regulus in Leo the Lion is prominent in the evening sky in May. It looks like a single point of light, but is really 4 stars.
May 22, 2026
Polaris is the present-day North Star of Earth
Many people think Polaris is the brightest star, but it's only 48th in brightness. Still, Polaris is famous because the entire northern sky wheels around it.
May 12, 2026
Alpha Centauri, the star system closest to our sun
Our closest stellar neighbors are the 3 stars that make up the Alpha Centauri system. They lie just over 4 light-years away from us.
April 17, 2026
Lonely Alphard is the brightest star in Hydra
Alphard is the "heart" and brightest star in the constellation Hydra the Water Snake, and it represents a welcome sign of spring for the Northern Hemisphere.
March 29, 2026
Mizar and Alcor in the bend of the Big Dipper
Mizar and Alcor are a famous pair of stars located at the bend of the handle of the Big Dipper. But what we see as 2 stars are really 6 stars!
March 10, 2026
The Winter Triangle stands out in the night sky
The Winter Triangle is a distinct pattern of stars in the night sky formed by 3 of the brightest stars: Sirius, Betelgeuse and Procyon.
March 4, 2026
Castor – the twin star – is 6 stars in one
The bright blue-white star Castor, in the constellation Gemini, appears to our eyes as a single star. But it’s really a family of 6 stars.
February 26, 2026
