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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.

Two yellow shining balls.

Capella is sometimes called the Goat Star

Posted by in Brightest Stars | 2 weeks ago
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The 6th-brightest star in the night sky, Capella, is the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere constellation Auriga the Charioteer. This star is also one of the points in the Winter Hexagon.

See a faint star cluster near bright Sirius

Posted by in Tonight | 3 weeks ago
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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.

No leap second for December 31, 2020

Posted by in Human World | 4 weeks ago
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World timekeepers have decreed there will be no leap second on December 31, 2020.
Jupiter and Saturn, annotated, above holidays lights.

Will Jupiter and Saturn appear as one star in 2020?

Posted by and in Astronomy Essentials | Human World | 1 month ago
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Jupiter and Saturn – the 2 biggest planets in our solar system – are very close together on December 21. Will they look like one star? Some answers here. Plus, possible astronomical explanations for the Star of Bethlehem or Christmas star.

The Large Magellanic Cloud, our galactic neighbor

Posted by in Astronomy Essentials | Clusters Nebulae Galaxies | 1 month ago
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The Large Magellanic Cloud is a petite galaxy visible with the unaided eye – all year round – for those in the Southern Hemisphere. This small neighboring galaxy to the Milky Way is somewhere between spiral and irregular in shape.

Find the Geminids’ radiant point

Posted by and in Astronomy Essentials | 2 months ago
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Why is the Geminid meteor shower best around 2 a.m.? It’s because that’s when the shower’s radiant point – near the bright star Castor in the constellation Gemini – is highest in the sky.

Can you see stars’ colors with your eye alone?

Posted by in Tonight | 2 months ago
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December is the perfect time for noticing the colors of the stars. Never noticed them? Today’s sky chart can help guide your eye.

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

Posted by in Human World | 2 months 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 | 3 months 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 | 5 months ago
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The 2 outermost stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper always point to Polaris, the North Star.