Posts by

Bruce McClure

See three planets tonight

Jupiter, Mars, Saturn can all be seen easily on these June evenings.

Deborah Byrd

Bruce McClure

June 3, 2014

How do astronomers know Jupiter’s mass?

Astronomers use the orbiting moons of Jupiter - largest planet in our solar system - to find Jupiter's mass.

Bruce McClure

April 21, 2014

Mercury returns to the eastern, predawn sky

Mercury has returned to the east before dawn. It'll have a long apparition extending through April. Start watching Mercury now, and enjoy it for a month!

Bruce McClure

Deborah Byrd

February 28, 2014

Venus brightest in mid-February for all of 2014

What's that very bright star or planet in the east before sunrise now? It's the planet Venus, now near its time of greatest brilliancy.

Bruce McClure

Deborah Byrd

February 14, 2014

Use Big Dipper to find bright star Capella in fall

You can use the Big Dipper to find the bright star Capella in the constellation Auriga. The top two bowl stars point toward Capella. Chart here.

Bruce McClure

November 15, 2013

Best photos of Comet Lovejoy near Beehive star cluster

Comet Lovejoy has been visible with binoculars in the predawn sky, near the famous Beehive star cluster. How to spot it, plus best photos, here.

Bruce McClure

November 7, 2013

Hybrid solar eclipse on November 3

Much of the world can see at least a partial solar eclipse on Sunday, November 3. From North America's east coast, the eclipse will be in progress at sunrise.

Deborah Byrd

Bruce McClure

November 2, 2013

Planetary trio has ended. Where do the planets go next?

Jupiter, Venus and Mercury are no longer within a 5-degree circle. But you can still see all three in the west after sunset for a few more days.

Deborah Byrd

Bruce McClure

May 30, 2013

Waxing moon lights up Cancer the Crab on March 22

Use the moon to locate the constellation Cancer tonight, and in late March and early April, use key stars to star-hop to Cancer in a dark sky.

Bruce McClure

March 22, 2013

Did our solar system cross the galactic plane on December 21, 2012?

Did our solar system cross the plane of our Milky Way galaxy in 2012? Nah. That event is another 30 million years away.

Bruce McClure

December 21, 2012

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. He's 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.