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

Will the solar system planets align on December 21, 2012?

The image in this post shows the planets in our solar system on December 21, 2012. Do they look aligned to you?

Bruce McClure

December 21, 2012

Planet Nibiru is not real

Nibiru, sometimes called Planet X, is not going to collide with our planet this year - or ever - because it doesn't exist.

Bruce McClure

September 26, 2012

Did Earth cross the galactic equator in 2012?

Earth didn't physically cross the plane of our Milky Way galaxy in 2012. But Earth did cross the galactic equator in 2012. That's something we do every year - twice.

Bruce McClure

July 19, 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. 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.