February 10 - 16, 2014
The Moon is full on Friday, to the right of the bright star Regulus in Leo. The crater Tycho and its amazing ray system are especially bright at full Moon.
February 3 - 9, 2014
The magnificent constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog, is at its highest in the south on February evenings. It is host to Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.
January 27 - February 2, 2014
Mercury and Venus, the innermost planets, are visible all week at dusk and dawn, respectively. The thin crescent Moon visits Venus early in the week and Mercury late in the week.
January 20 - 26, 2014
The Moon visits Mars and Saturn in the predawn sky this week. This is an exciting time to view both planets. Mars is brightening rapidly, and Saturn’s rings are on great display.
January 13 - 19, 2014
This is a great time to view Jupiter, the king of the planets. It’s well up in the east by the time the sky grows dark, and very high by late evening.
January 6 - 12, 2014
Orion floats high in the south on January evenings. Its seven main stars form a pattern that has been likened to a giant man or woman all around the world.
December 30, 2013 - January 5, 2014
At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, is at its highest in the south. And even brighter Jupiter flies high above it.
December 23 - 29, 2013
More bright stars are visible now than at any other time of year. Seven of the sky’s 21 first-magnitude stars are concentrated in a single, amazing formation called the Winter Hexagon.
December 16 - 22, 2013
The December solstice occurs in the early afternoon on Saturday, the shortest day of 2013. After this, days will be getting longer and nights shorter for the next six months.
December 9 - 15, 2013
The Geminid meteor shower peaks on Friday night and Saturday morning. The Geminids are caused by a mystery object that seems to be halfway between an asteroid and a comet.
December 2 - 8, 2013
Comet ISON will reappear this week if it survives its encounter with the Sun. And the Andromeda Galaxy, the nearest big spiral galaxy to our own, soars high in the evening.
November 25 - December 1, 2013
Mercury and Saturn appear amazingly close together in the predawn sky early in the week. And Comet ISON skims just 700 thousand miles above the Sun’s surface on Thanksgiving Day.
November 18 - 24, 2013
Mercury, the innermost planet, appears in the predawn sky as Comet ISON races toward its rendezvous with the Sun. And Saturn, the ringed wonder, joins the action late in the week.
November 11 - 17, 2013
[skyweekvid id="fdo73oc7"]If we’re lucky, Comet ISON will become faintly visible in the predawn sky this week. But comets are notoriously unpredictable, so nobody can say for sure what will happen.
November 4 - 10, 2013
The ancient constellations of the Great Sea fill the southern sky, from Cetus the Sea Monster to strange Capricornus the Sea Goat, whose origin is lost in the mists of time.
October 28 - November 3, 2013
Look to the right of Cassiopeia for a formation that I call the Really Big Dipper. It’s composed of the three brightest stars of Andromeda together with the Great Square of Pegasus.
October 21 - 27, 2013
The Perseus constellation group fills the northeastern sky. The W of Queen Cassiopeia is most striking. Her son-in-law Perseus below is home to one of the sky’s best but least-known star clusters.
October 14 - 20, 2013
Dazzling Venus creeps through Scorpius, passing a short distance above the strikingly red star Antares. And in the predawn sky, Mars passes slightly farther from Regulus, the brightest star of Leo.
October 7 - 13, 2013
Venus passes the star Delta Scorpii this week. In June 2000, Argentine stargazer Sebastián Otero caught Delta in a midlife crisis, changing from a normal star to one that varies in brightness.
Comet ISON Preview (Video)
S&T senior editor Alan MacRobert tells you what you need to know to get ready for Comet ISON.