Posts by 

Bruce McClure

The Northern Cross: Find the backbone of the Milky Way

The Northern Cross is an asterism - or recognizable pattern of stars - within the constellation Cygnus the Swan. Here's how to find it in your sky.

Meet Shaula and Lesath, Scorpion’s Stinger stars

Shaula and Lesath, known as the Stinger of the Scorpion, are easy to see at the end of the Tail of the constellation Scorpius.

Epsilon Lyrae is the famous Double Double star

To the unaided eye, Epsilon Lyrae appears as one star. But it’s actually a system with at least five stars. Learn how to find it here.

M5, your new favorite globular star cluster

M5 in Serpens Caput is a refreshing sight through a small telescope, as thousands of stars cluster together into the tightly packed ball of this globular cluster.

Look for equinox shadows in a direct line from west to east

Equinox shadows are unique. On this day - and only this day - the tip of an upright stick's shadow follows a straight path, west to east, all day long.

Look for amazing Omega Centauri, using Spica as a guide

Omega Centauri is the largest globular star cluster visible to the eye alone. In the spring, the star Spica can lead you to the giant globular cluster.

Meet Taurus, home to 2 fabulous star clusters

Taurus the Bull resides near the constellation Orion the Hunter. It contains 2 famous star clusters that are easy to spot; they are the Pleiades and the Hyades.

The mass of a star is determined from binary star systems

Binary stars - a star system consisting of two stars - are extremely useful. They give all the information needed to measure mass of a star. Here is how.

Sirius is a future southern Pole Star

Wait, what? It's true. The sky's brightest star, Sirius aka the Dog Star, will come to within 1.6 degrees of the south celestial pole in the year 66270.

Happy Friday the 13th: It’s the 2nd of 2 in 2024

When a year with 366 days starts on a Monday, it's inevitable Friday the 13th will occur twice. In 2024, Friday the 13th comes in September and December.