Earth will pass between Mars and the sun in October 2020, and the distance between our 2 worlds is now relatively small. And so Mars is very bright now! Thanks to all in the EarthSky Community who captured Mars near the moon this past weekend.

These stunning photos - taken by the talented photographers in our own EarthSky community - are from earlier this month, when the moon was less bright in the evening sky. See the Milky Way - the edgewise view into our own galaxy - plus Jupiter, Saturn and meteors here!

We can't believe it. One of the most popular articles at EarthSky this week is the one asking, will Mars be as big as the moon on August 27? Short answer … no. This hoax has been circulating since 2003.

Astronomer Guy Ottewell offers his insights - and chart-making skills - to you during this 2020 opposition of our solar system's golden and glorious planet of the rings, Saturn.

Mercury is only modestly-bright in mid-July 2020, but let the waning crescent moon and the planet Venus help you to locate Mercury near the horizon as darkness gives way to dawn. If you can't see this world with the eye alone, try binoculars!

Like so much in astronomy, Jupiter's opposition happens in a way that's cyclical. And the cycle of oppositions for Jupiter is especially pleasing to the mind. Astronomer Guy Ottewell offers his insights - and chart-making skills - to you during this 2020 opposition of our solar system's largest planet.

The year's farthest quarter moon - yet the year's closest lunar apogee - both fall on July 12, 2020. Coincidence?

On the heels of the June solstice, the new moon will sweep directly in front of the sun on Sunday, June 21, 2020, to stage an annular - ring of fire - solar eclipse for the world's Eastern Hemisphere.

In the view of modern cosmologists, the Big Bang is the event that marked the birth of our universe. What was it - when was it - and what are modern theories?

When the lunar nodes pointed directly at the sun on June 20, 2020, the event marked the middle of the eclipse season. Shortly thereafter, an annular eclipse of the sun took place on June 21, 2020.