Sign Up for Our Amazing Newsletter!
A daily update by email. Science news, great photos, sky alerts.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Posts by
Larry Sessions
Meet Regulus, the Lion’s Heart
The bright star Regulus in Leo the Lion is prominent in the evening sky in May. It looks like a single point of light, but is really four stars.
May 9, 2023
Mimosa, 2nd-brightest star in Crux, the Southern Cross
To see Mimosa, you need to be in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is a prominent star, or at the latitude of New Orleans, Hawaii, Cairo or New Delhi.
May 8, 2023
Coma Berenices: How Leo the Lion lost his tail
Coma Berenices is the constellation of Queen Berenice's Hair. It used to be the tail of Leo the Lion before it became its own constellation.
April 30, 2023
Brightest Stars
Alpha Centauri, the star system closest to our sun
Our closest stellar neighbors are the 3 stars that are the Alpha Centauri system. They lie just over 4 light-years away (25 trillion miles or 38 trillion km).
April 16, 2023
The Coma Berenices galaxy cluster, best in April and May
Myriads of galaxies, visible only to those with telescopes, shine among the stars of the constellation Coma Berenices. This is the distant Coma Berenices galaxy cluster.
April 13, 2023
Acrux is the brightest star in the Southern Cross
You have to go far south on Earth's globe to see the Southern Cross constellation. Bluish Acrux, aka Alpha Crucis, is its brightest star.
April 2, 2023
Notice the colors of the stars
Winter is the perfect time for noticing the colors of the stars. Start with Capella, then move on to Taurus and Orion. Check out some colorful stars tonight!
February 16, 2023
Capella is sometimes called the Goat Star
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 26, 2023
M41: A faint star cluster near bright Sirius
Sirius is easy to find. It's the sky's brightest star. If you have binoculars and a dark location, look near it for the star cluster M41.
January 24, 2023
Was the Christmas star real? What was it?
What was the Christmas star? Some scientific explanations attempt to explain the Star of Bethlehem, including a planetary conjunction, comet or supernova.
December 23, 2022
