Astronomy Essentials

U.S. and Canadian Groundhog Day comes every year on February 2. It has its roots in astronomy, and it’s a great excuse for outdoor winter revelry.

Has there ever been a better month for watching planets? Well, probably. But February and March 2012 rank among the best!

Venus will cross the sun’s face as seen from Earth for the last time in this century on June 5-6, 2012. This transit of Venus will be the last of our lifetimes.

The full moons have names corresponding to the calendar months or the seasons of the year.

The next major meteor shower of 2012 is the Lyrid shower in April. Good news! Moon will be out of the way.

The next major meteor shower in 2012 is the Lyrid meteor shower.

Here are some simple tips for creating a link between yourself and the night sky.

Search for Comet Garradd before dawn and in the eastern sky, starting around the December solstice. Look for it with binoculars near the star Lambda Herculis in the constellation Hercules.

The winter solstice is this week for us in the northern hemisphere. After the winter solstice, the days will get longer. Celebration time!