Posts by 

Bruce McClure

Last full moon of season this weekend

March 2017 full moon is the 3rd of 3 full moons between the December solstice and March equinox. Harbinger of spring for Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere's Harvest Moon.

Moon sweeps into Leo on March 9

The moon will spend several days traversing the large constellation Leo the Lion. Notice our moon, and Leo's stars, and contemplate the Earth and moon's long and varied history.

Moon hides Aldebaran on March 4

From the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean - during the evening hours tonight - you can watch the star Aldebaran disappear behind the moon's dark edge, then reappear on its illuminated side.

Venus’ retrograde starts March 2

And so a transition begins, which will end only after Venus has left the western evening sky and appears in the east before dawn.

Moon close to Mars on March 1

You'll notice Venus near the moon first, because it's so dazzlingly bright. But the "star" closer to Wednesday's moon is Mars. Plus, Uranus and Mars are in the same binocular field.

Don’t miss moon and Venus February 28

The crescent moon and planet Venus are close on February 28, 2017. If you could see Venus through a telescope, you'd find it in a crescent phase, too.

February 26 ring of fire eclipse

The annular eclipse of the sun on February 26, 2017 takes place in the Southern Hemisphere, along a very narrow path that runs through South America and Africa.

Ring of fire eclipse on Sunday

The February 26, 2017 annular solar eclipse - aka a ring of fire eclipse - will be visible from parts of Earth's Southern Hemisphere.

Moon, Saturn, Antares early Monday

If you see them, notice the colors of Saturn and Antares. Saturn is golden, and the star, Antares, is reddish. Plus you might notice Antares twinkling, while Saturn shines steadily!

Star brightness versus star luminosity

Some extremely large and hot stars blaze away with the luminosity of a million suns! But other stars look bright only because they're near Earth.