Posts by

Bruce McClure

Watch these 3 planets on June evenings

Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are all bright and beautiful in June 2016.

Bruce McClure

June 1, 2016

Mars closest to Earth on May 30

We passed between Mars and the sun 8 days ago, on May 22. Yet Mars is closest on May 30, 2016. Why?

Bruce McClure

May 30, 2016

First quarter moon and Regulus on May 21

The moon will be at or near its first quarter phase, and near the star Regulus, as darkness falls on May 25, 2015.

Bruce McClure

May 25, 2016

Brightest Mars in 10 years

Earth passes between Mars and the sun on May 22, and the red planet shines from dusk until dawn. Our two worlds will come closest together on May 30.

Bruce McClure

Deborah Byrd

May 22, 2016

Blue Moon and red Mars on May 21

The moon is blue in name only, but spectacular near the red planet Mars tonight, just one day before Mars' first opposition in two years!

Bruce McClure

May 21, 2016

Tonight … nearly a Blue Moon

The moon - nearly full on May 20 - will be sweeping past Mars and Saturn this weekend.

Bruce McClure

Deborah Byrd

May 20, 2016

Bright moon still close to Spica May 18

The waxing gibbous moon has moved eastward in its orbit around Earth, but it's still close to Spica, Virgo's brightest star.

Bruce McClure

May 18, 2016

Bright moon close to Spica on May 17

Practiced stargazers look along the Zodiac to find planets, and you can, too. The trick is learning to identify key Zodiac stars, such as Spica.

Bruce McClure

May 17, 2016

Moon and Jupiter on May 14

Watch for them. Really. The moon and Jupiter will be a sight to see in the sky on May 14, 2016.

Bruce McClure

May 14, 2016

Do you have friggatriskaidekaphobia?

May 13 is 2016's lone Friday the 13th. Here’s the story behind Friday the 13th superstition and numerology.

Bruce McClure

May 13, 2016

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.