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What does opposition mean for an outer planet?
Opposition is when Earth passes directly between the sun and an outer planet, placing the outer planet on the opposite side of the sky from the sun.
January 9, 2026
Venus superior conjunction (beyond sun) on January 6
The moment of the Venus superior conjunction - when it passes most nearly behind the sun as viewed from Earth - occurs today, January 6, 2026.
January 6, 2026
Why no retrograde motion for Mars in 2026?
Mars won't have any retrograde - or westward - motion in 2026. What is retrograde motion? An explanation, and bizarre examples on other worlds, here.
January 3, 2026
Are the December solstice and January perihelion related?
December solstice 2025 occurred on December 21. Earth will be closest to the sun about 2 weeks later, on January 3. Coincidence?
January 2, 2026
How to translate UTC to your local time zone
The Earth has about 24 time zones. Because these differ widely, science uses Universal Time, or UTC. Learn how to translate UTC to your local time zone.
January 1, 2026
Yarkovsky effect: Pushing asteroids with sunlight
The Yarkovsky effect is a minuscule push on a small body in space, imparted by nothing more than sunlight. It can change the direction of asteroids.
January 1, 2026
Learn how to shoot photos of meteors
Want to shoot photos of meteors with your camera? The first step is planning. The next step is to gather your equipment. Then on to the capture process.
January 1, 2026
How far is a light-year? Plus, distances in space
How can we comprehend the distances to the stars and other galaxies? Here's a way to understand a light-year in terms miles and kilometers.
January 1, 2026
Why is Venus so bright in our Earth’s sky?
You can't miss dazzling Venus in the east before dawn. It's the 3rd brightest object in the sky, after the sun and moon. But why is Venus so bright?
January 1, 2026
What’s a Blood Moon? All you need to know
By this definition, Blood Moon is a member of a special kind of lunar tetrad : four total lunar eclipses in a row. Now it's used for any total lunar eclipse.
January 1, 2026
