Posts by

Bruce McClure

Venus and Uranus meet March 28

It's the 2nd-closest conjunction of planets for all of 2018. Venus is bright and low in the west after sunset. Uranus is up there, but too faint to be seen with the eye.

Bruce McClure

March 28, 2018

Mars at western quadrature March 24

When Mars is at western quadrature in Earth's sky, Earth is at or near a greatest elongation - greatest distance from the sun on the sky's dome - as seen from Mars.

Bruce McClure

March 24, 2018

Moon in front of Taurus March 21 to 23

On March 21, 2018, the moon is near one of the Bull's most delicate features, a tiny, misty, dipper-shaped star cluster called the Pleiades.

Bruce McClure

March 21, 2018

Moon, Mercury, Venus March 18 to 20

On March 18, the young moon will be tough to spot from Asia or the Southern Hemisphere, but the rest of the world has a shot at it. On March 19 and 20, we should all see the young moon.

Bruce McClure

March 18, 2018

Have you seen Venus and Mercury yet?

Mercury is still in the same binocular field as brilliant Venus, and both are in the west after sunset. Plus, the moon will soon sweep past them.

Bruce McClure

March 15, 2018

Don’t miss the moon and morning planets

The moon has now swept past Jupiter and is headed for Mars, then Saturn. Don't miss them!

Bruce McClure

Deborah Byrd

March 8, 2018

Use Venus to find Mercury in March

Will you catch Venus and Mercury - the 2 planets orbiting closer to the sun than Earth - after sunset on March 3, 2018? If you see them, let us know!

Bruce McClure

March 3, 2018

See all 5 bright planets in March

You can't see them simultaneously. But, especially from the Northern Hemisphere, March 2018 is a great month for catching all 5 bright planets either after sunset, or before dawn.

Bruce McClure

March 2, 2018

March 1-2 is 1st full moon this month

The 1st of 2 March 2018 full moons falls on the night of March 1-2. The 2nd March full moon - a Blue Moon - will come on March 31.

Bruce McClure

March 1, 2018

Moon and Regulus on February 28

Regulus in the constellation Leo the Lion is considered the most important of the 4 Royal Stars of ancient Persia. See it near tonight's moon.

Bruce McClure

February 28, 2018

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.