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Larry Sessions

Larry Sessions

Larry Sessions has written many favorite posts in EarthSky's Tonight area. He's a former planetarium director in Little Rock, Fort Worth and Denver and an adjunct faculty member at Metropolitan State University of Denver. He's a longtime member of NASA's Solar System Ambassadors program. His articles have appeared in numerous publications including Space.com, Sky & Telescope, Astronomy and Rolling Stone. His small book on world star lore, Constellations, was published by Running Press.

Seeing things that aren’t there? It’s called pareidolia

Posted by in Human World | 4 days ago
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Seeing a dragon in a patch of clouds or a face on the moon, are examples of what’s called pareidolia. Take a look at these photos to test your own abilities to recognize patterns.
A star map showing how to find the Andromeda Galaxy from Alpheratz.

Alpheratz belongs to Andromeda, but is part of the Great Square

Posted by and in Astronomy Essentials | Brightest Stars | 1 month ago
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Alpheratz, the brightest star in the constellation Andromeda, can help you locate the Andromeda Galaxy, the closest large spiral galaxy to our Milky Way home galaxy.

Use the Big Dipper to find the North Star

Posted by in Tonight | 3 months ago
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The 2 outermost stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper always point to Polaris, the North Star.
Near 1st quarter moon.

Quarter moon or a half moon?

Posted by in Moon Phases | 3 months ago
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Half the moon always faces us. And half the moon is always lit by the sun. But, in the language of astronomers, there are no ‘half moons.’

Deneb is distant and very luminous

Posted by in Brightest Stars | 4 months ago
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When you gaze at the bright star Deneb, you’re gazing across thousands of light-years of space.
Sun in blue sky between 3 buildings.

It’s summer. What’s noon to you?

Posted by in Earth | 5 months ago
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What do you mean by noon? Do you define it by your clock or wristwatch? Or the gnawing in your stomach? Here’s how astronomers think about noontime.

Vega: Brilliant blue-white star in the Summer Triangle

Posted by in Astronomy Essentials | Brightest Stars | 7 months ago
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Vega is 1 of 3 stars in an asterism – or noticeable star pattern – called the Summer Triangle in the early evening sky.

A single bright star, Regulus. Above it is a faint smudge of light, the dwarf galaxy Leo I.

Meet Regulus, the Lion’s Heart

Posted by in Brightest Stars | 7 months ago
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The bright star Regulus is very prominent in the evening sky in May. It looks like a single point of light, but is really 4 stars. It’s the brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion.

How Leo the Lion lost his tail

Posted by and in Astronomy Essentials | Constellations | 8 months ago
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And how we gained a new constellation. Read about the Lion and the Queen’s Hair, one of skylore’s most famous legends, here.

Leo loses his tail. We gain a constellation

Posted by in Tonight | 8 months ago
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The constellation Leo once had a tail, a clump of faint stars. Now these same stars are known as Coma Berenices, the hair of a queen.