Sign Up for Our Amazing Newsletter!
A daily update by email. Science news, great photos, sky alerts.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Posts by
Bruce McClure
Will you see all 5 bright planets?
For the ultimate challenge, try finding all 5 bright planets - Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn - in the late October 2019 night sky.
October 25, 2019
See moon, Leo, and Mars before daybreak
Get up before dawn to see the moon and the starry figure of Leo the Lion in the eastern sky. Then, as darkness gives way to dawn, use the lit side of the waning lunar crescent to find the planet Mars near the sunrise horizon.
October 22, 2019
Will you see Venus and Mercury after sunset?
Can you see Mercury and Venus now, in the western twilight after sunset? It depends on how far north or south you reside on the Earth's globe.
October 18, 2019
Watch after sunrise for a daytime moon
As it orbits Earth once a month, the moon is up during the day half the time, pale against the blue sky. You can see it this weekend, if you look.
October 15, 2019
This weekend’s full Hunter’s Moon
The legacy of the Harvest and Hunter's Moons are the grand procession of moonlit nights in the season of waning daylight. In 2019, watch for the full, or nearly full moon, around October 11, 12, 13 and maybe even 14.
October 11, 2019
Saturn at east quadrature October 7
East quadrature is a hallmark in the ever-shifting 3-D relationship between Earth and another planet. It means, as seen from Earth, the planet is 90 degrees east of the sun. Saturn will reach that point on October 7, 2019.
October 6, 2019
See moon and Saturn close October 5
Tonight - October 5, 2019 - the moon will be at or near its first quarter phase, coupling up with Saturn on the sky's dome. What's more, the lit side of the moon will be pointing at the blazing planet Jupiter.
October 5, 2019
Moon and Jupiter close October 3 and 4
They are the 2 brightest objects in the night sky now, the moon and Jupiter, closest October 3. By October 4, the moon has moved away, but you'll still notice Jupiter as the bright object nearby.
October 3, 2019
Watch for a young moon after sunset
As September ends and October begins, you'll find the moon back in the evening sky. Look west shortly after sunset!
September 29, 2019
Old moon, Regulus, rising times and more
These upcoming mornings - September 26 and 27, 2019 - the old waning crescent moon and the star Regulus adorn the eastern sky before sunrise.
September 25, 2019
