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Posts by
Editors of EarthSky
Astronomy Essentials
Venus in the daytime: Best ways to see it
You can spot Venus in the daytime. One of the best ways is when its near the moon. Here are the tips to help you spot the brilliant planet Venus in daylight.
January 23, 2026
Voyager 2 met Uranus 40 years ago
Voyager 2 met Uranus on January 24, 1986. The spacecraft sent data that revealed 2 new rings, 10 new moons, radiation belts, and a very unusual magnetic field.
January 23, 2026
Which Milky Way spiral arm contains our sun?
Where do we live in the Milky Way galaxy? We lie between the major arms in a smaller spiral arm known as the Orion Arm. See diagrams here.
January 22, 2026
See Mira the Wonderful waking up!
Catch elusive wonderful Mira, a famous variable star in the constellation Cetus, at its maximum brightness in February or March 2026.
January 8, 2026
Capella is one of the sky’s brightest stars
The 6th-brightest star in the night sky, Capella, in the Northern Hemisphere constellation Auriga the Charioteer, is also a point of the Winter Hexagon.
January 8, 2026
Cassiopeia and the Big Dipper in January skies
Watch the celestial clock and its 2 great big hour hands - Cassiopeia and the Big Dipper - as they swing around the North Star each and every night!
January 7, 2026
Venus superior conjunction (beyond sun) on January 6
The moment of the Venus superior conjunction - when it passes most nearly behind the sun as viewed from Earth - occurs today, January 6, 2026.
January 6, 2026
January birthstone: The colorful garnet
Garnets, the beautiful January birthstone, are often thought to be red gemstones. But they also come in yellow, green, orange, brown and black.
January 4, 2026
Why no retrograde motion for Mars in 2026?
Mars won't have any retrograde - or westward - motion in 2026. What is retrograde motion? An explanation, and bizarre examples on other worlds, here.
January 3, 2026
How to translate UTC to your local time zone
The Earth has about 24 time zones. Because these differ widely, science uses Universal Time, or UTC. Learn how to translate UTC to your local time zone.
January 1, 2026
