SUNSET: 
September 30 - October 6, 2013
Jupiter, the king of the planets, passes extraordinarily near the star Wasat in the sky. Although they appear close together, they’re actually totally different kinds of objects at wildly different distances from Earth.
September 23 - 29, 2013
You can view the change of seasons in the evening sky. The signature constellations of summer are setting in the west, while bright Cassiopeia, Perseus, Andromeda, and Pegasus rise in the northeast.
September 16 - 22, 2013
[skyweekvid id="njy8mh4u"]Autumn begins on Sunday, September 22nd. The full Moon closest to this date, called the Harvest Moon, rises just before sunset on Wednesday and sets just after sunrise on Thursday.
September 9 - 15, 2013
The waxing Moon traverses the sky this week. If you want a great project, track its appearance each night as it changes from 20% to 85% lit. Remarkably, we always see the same side of the Moon.
September 2 - 8, 2013
The Moon pairs with Mars early on Monday morning, and it’s spectacularly close to Venus at dusk on the following Sunday. In between, Venus passes a finger’s width above the bright star Spica.
August 26 - September 1, 2013
Deneb, the faintest star of the Summer Triangle, belongs to the magnificent constellation Cygnus, the Swan, which flies along the Milky Way. Cygnus’s brightest stars form the splendid Northern Cross.
August 19 - 25, 2013
Vega, the brightest star of the Summer Triangle, is almost overhead now. Together with five fainter stars, Vega forms the strikingly geometric constellation Lyra, the Lyre.
August 12 - 18, 2013
The Perseid meteor shower winds down this week. Learn about the different kinds of meteoroids, and what happens on the rare occasions when they strike Earth’s surface.
August 5 - 11, 2013
The Perseid meteor shower is ramping up this week, reaching its strongest from midnight on Sunday, August 11th, to dawn’s first light the next morning.
July 29 - August 4, 2013
The Milky Way band is one of nature’s most magnificent sights. But most Americans are unable to see it because of the creeping blight of light pollution.
July 22 - 28, 2013
Two fine constellations are side by side in the south: hook-tailed Scorpius and Sagittarius, the Archer. The center of our Milky Way galaxy lies behind the stars of Sagittarius.
July 15 - 21, 2013
Three spectacularly close approaches take place in the heavens this week. The Moon meets the stars Spica and Zubenelgenubi, and Venus passes close to Regulus.
July 8 - 14, 2013
Magnificent Scorpius is near its highest at nightfall. This is one of the few constellations that really resembles its name. Antares, its chief star, is strikingly bright and red.
Product Videos & Demonstrations
Southern Stars at NEAF 2013
Southern Stars S&T senior editor Dennis di Cicco talks to Southern Stars founder Tim DeBenedictis about his plans to launch a cube satellite from the International Space Station later this year. He also discusses the company's new software for computer and mobile devices for tracking satellites. See…
Product Videos & Demonstrations
Astro-Physics at NEAF 2013
S&T senior editor Dennis di Cicco talks to Astro-Physics technical support staff about the company's recently introduced 1100GTO German equatorial mount, absolute encoder option as shown on the 1600GTO, Right-Angle Polar Alignment Scope, 10x60 Vario Finder with Quick Release Guider Bracket and the Astro-Physics Command Center (APCC) software with Horizons.…
June 24 - 30, 2013
Days are long and nights are short during the first full week of summer. Learn how summer is defined in astronomical terms, and why it matters to all life on Earth.
July 1 - 7, 2013
As the sky grows dark in the evening, the stars of the Summer Triangle are rising in the east: Vega in the constellation Lyra, Altair in Aquila, and Deneb in Cygnus the Swan.
June 17 - 23, 2013
This week features a close pairing of Mercury and Venus, the beginning of summer, and the largest and closest full Moon of the year.
June 10 - 16, 2013
A beautifully thin crescent Moon forms a triangle with Mercury and Venus after sunset on Monday. Then Venus appears a little higher each evening and Mercury a little lower.
June 3 - 9, 2013
This is the best week in 2013 to view Mercury, the elusive innermost planet. And find out how the quasar 3C 273 was first discovered.
