Posts by

Bruce McClure

How often do 7 eclipses occur in 365 days?

It's rare to have 7 eclipses in a calendar year. It's less rare to have 7 eclipses in 365 days. There are 7 eclipses in 365 days 29 times in the 21st century!

Bruce McClure

January 1, 2026

What’s the youngest moon you can see with your eye alone?

It has long been a sport for skywatchers to spot the youngest moon after sunset, with the eye alone. What does it take to see a very young crescent moon?

Bruce McClure

Deborah Byrd

January 1, 2026

How often are there three eclipses in one month?

We last had three eclipses in one lunar month in 2020. It'll next happen in the year 2029. From 2000-2050, there are 3 eclipses in one lunar month 14 times.

Bruce McClure

January 1, 2026

The Orion Nebula (M42) is a starry nursery

You can see the Orion Nebula as a fuzzy spot in the sky using just your eyes. It's really a vast cloud in space where new stars are forming. Learn more.

Bruce McClure

December 30, 2025

December has the longest days (wherever you live)

The longest days accompany the winter solstice. In December, a day - a whole cycle of day and night - is about half a minute longer than the average 24 hours.

Bruce McClure

December 18, 2025

The Andromeda Galaxy: All you need to know

The Andromeda Galaxy is the closest large galaxy to our Milky Way. At 2.5 million light-years, it's the most distant thing you can see with the eye alone.

Bruce McClure

December 16, 2025

Your earliest sunset comes before the winter solstice

The solstice comes on December 21, 2025, at 15:03 UTC. Does that coincide with your earliest sunset? Probably not. It depends on where you live.

Bruce McClure

EarthSky Voices

December 7, 2025

Andromeda galaxy: Find it by star-hopping from Pegasus

The 4 stars of the Great Square of Pegasus are easy to find. Ready? Let's star-hop! Use these guide stars to help find the Andromeda galaxy.

Bruce McClure

December 5, 2025

Triangulum galaxy is 2nd-closest to Milky Way

The Triangulum Galaxy, aka M33, is the farthest object you can see with the unaided eye, if in fact you can see it. But seeing it is a challenge.

Bruce McClure

Deborah Byrd

November 15, 2025

The Pleiades – or 7 Sisters – known around the world

The Pleiades star cluster - aka the 7 Sisters or M45 - is visible from almost every part of the globe. It looks like a tiny, misty dipper of stars.

Bruce McClure

November 11, 2025

Bruce McClure

Bruce McClure served as lead writer for EarthSky's popular Tonight pages from 2004 to 2021, when he opted for a much-deserved retirement. You can still find many articles at EarthSky.org that were originally written by Bruce, and which the EarthSky editors still update regularly. Bruce is a sundial aficionado, whose love for the heavens has taken him to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and sailing in the North Atlantic, where he earned his celestial navigation certificate through the School of Ocean Sailing and Navigation. He also wrote and hosted public astronomy programs and planetarium programs in and around his home in upstate New York. Bruce he loves cycles of all kinds! You can still find many articles at EarthSky with Bruce's name on them, exploring the various, intricate cycles of the sky.