Page 13 - Search "planets"
- December 27, 2023
We’ve all seen them - an apparently random streak of light across the night sky that often vanishes as suddenly as it appears. Meteors, or shooting stars as they’re popularly known, are nothing more than tiny clumps of dust and rock particles, no larger...
- October 11, 2023
Our Sun gives us a unique opportunity to study a star up close, but while we’ve been observing it for hundreds of years, there’s still much that remains only partly understood, or even a complete mystery. One thing we don’t fully understand is the solar...
- September 06, 2023
If there’s one natural phenomenon that everyone should witness at least once in their lifetime, it’s a total solar eclipse. Quite simply, there’s nothing else like it. The temperature drops, the sky goes dark, the stars and planets briefly shine and all...
- August 16, 2023
Rockets can carry robotic spacecraft to the planets, communication and weather satellites, resupply spacecraft to space stations, and - most famously - human beings into space. After photographing hundreds of rocket launches from Cape Canaveral - we’re...
- August 09, 2023
Everyone wants to look at the stars. When you buy a telescope, chances are the purpose is for stargazing. Astronomy is thought of as a night-centered discipline, and to a large extent, it is. But by focusing solely on the planets and outer stars, we’re...
- July 12, 2023
Astronomers and amateur astronomers alike are likely familiar with the term “seeing conditions”. This term typically refers to the atmospheric conditions or level of atmospheric turbulence in the local area. You have almost certainly heard the song “Twinkle...
- June 14, 2023
There’s nothing quite as awe-inspiring as a total eclipse. Both solar and lunar eclipses have captivated millions of people across the world for thousands of years, with many civilizations attributing the phenomena to gods or netherworld spirits.
- June 01, 2023
Venus and Mars spend most of the month in Cancer. Mars appears near the center of the Beehive Cluster on the 2nd, while Venus will be closest on the 13th, but with the cluster low in the sky, its stars might prove difficult to spot.
- April 05, 2023
The late 1800s saw the first commercially produced electric lights, and mankind has since embraced the technology with open arms. As much as artificial lighting has helped us progress forward by effectively giving us more usable hours in the day, it has...
- March 02, 2023
Dew can be an absolute nightmare for any amateur astronomer; this includes visual astronomers as well as astrophotographers. Looking through your eyepiece, you’ll notice that the views will be significantly less clear, with what appears to be a film drawn...
- March 01, 2023
Neptune is too close to the Sun to be visible this month, while Venus and Jupiter continue to shine in the evening twilight.
- February 15, 2023
Setting up a telescope can take some time, especially if you’re in a hurry. Indeed, stargazing can be a very uncomfortable experience with the wrong gear. It can be hot, muggy, and the air filled with mosquitoes; or it can be frigid cold and your fingers...
- February 08, 2023
It can be a little confusing trying to learn about telescopes when you’re just starting out in astronomy, and you may be afraid of appearing clueless at your club’s next observing night. Besides the seemingly endless hardware choices, there are a lot...
- December 01, 2022
There’s a rare opportunity to see every planet in the evening sky this month. Mercury appears low in the southwest from about 15 minutes after sunset, with Venus remaining to its lower right throughout the month.
- November 09, 2022
The number of inventions that have changed the world is staggering, but one, in particular, has been able to change our view of the world—literally. When humans had nothing but their eyes to use as stargazing tools, questions abounded. What are the stars...