1–20 of 74 results
Waning crescent Moon passing Venus at dawn, Sept 11-12, 2023Moon

This Week's Sky At a Glance

This Week's Sky at a Glance, September 8 – 17

Comet Nishimura teases us shyly low on the dawn horizon, then low on the dusk horizon. The Milky Way arches high across the evening sky, and Saturn invites your telescope.

a black dot at the center of a swirl of pink, purple, orange, grey, and other colors

Black Holes

Have We Found the First Rogue Black Hole in the Milky Way?

Hubble observations have revealed a stellar-mass compact object — a black hole or possibly a neutron star — wandering our galaxy.

Venus, Mars, Saturn and waning Moon, March 27-28, 2022

This Week's Sky At a Glance

This Week's Sky at a Glance, March 25 – April 2

What constellation trots behind Sirius and Canis Major across the southern sky? Puppis, not a puppy but the poop deck of Argo Navis. In this dark of the Moon, try for the Clown-Face Nebula high in Gemini. And the three dawn planets dance through two more isosceles triangles.

Auriga Taurus Gemini and Orion

Sky Tour Astronomy Podcast

December: Geminid Meteors & Comet Leonard

December’s solstice brings the longest northern nights, and it’s a busy month for stargazers: the Geminid meteors, a visit from Comet Leonard, and a plethora of bright stars and constellations.

Uncategorized

Re: NGC 1647 Visible with the Unaided Eye

Hi Alan,Here's my observation of NGC 1647 with the unaided eye. We do live in a semi-arid area, the southern Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, but my backyard is not on a mountain; it is on the valley floor beside Skaha Lake in a subdivision that 40 years ago voted…

Moon crossing Leo at dawn, Nov. 26-28, 2021

This Week's Sky At a Glance

This Week's Sky at a Glance, November 25 – December 4

While the Jupiter-Saturn-Venus line keeps shrinking, all kinds of deep-sky sights, naked-eye to telescopic, show themselves on these moonless evenings.

Venus and Mercury in twilight, Sept. 5, 2021

This Week's Sky At a Glance

This Week's Sky at a Glance, September 3 – 11

Spica glimmers demurely under showy Venus in the western twilight. Try for Mercury way down to their lower right. Jupiter and Saturn dominate the evening south.

Astronomy & Observing News

AAS Journals Will Switch to Open Access in 2022

Research results in astronomy, solar physics, and planetary science are about to become more widely accessible to scientists and the public alike. The American Astronomical Society (AAS) today announced the switch of the Society’s prestigious journals to fully open access as of 1 January 2022.

Under this change, all articles in the AAS journal portfolio will be immediately open for anyone to freely read. The transition will affect the Astronomical Journal (AJ), the Astrophysical Journal (ApJ), Astrophysical Journal Letters (ApJL), and the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series (ApJS).

Jupiter-Saturn-Moon in mid-August 2021

Sky Tour Astronomy Podcast

Welcome, Jupiter & Saturn!

The Perseids are upon us — and as you're looking out for shooting stars, look for Jupiter and Saturn low in the southeast as soon as night begins to fall.

Astronaut stands to the left of American flag on the lunar surface, with hills in the background

Space Missions

Fifty Years Ago in Photos: Apollo 15 Astronauts Explore the Moon

See photos — some familiar and some rarely seen — from the Apollo 15 mission, which launched place 50 years ago today.

Astronomy & Observing News

Top Astronomy News Stories of 2020

This has been a year rocked by a global pandemic that has left its mark on nearly every aspect of society. Wildfires, social unrest, and loss have only added to our sense of struggle. Yet it has also been a year of celestial wonders, astronomical discoveries, and space successes. We…

Sky Tour Astronomy Podcast

September 2020: Four Planets & More!

Take advantage of September's beautiful evenings to gaze upward as you listen to our guided tour of the star-filled sky.

Uncategorized

Delays in International Deliveries of Sky & Telescope

We are distressed to hear numerous reports from international readers about delays in receiving their issues of Sky & Telescope magazine. Some readers haven’t received their most recent issues at all. Here’s what’s happening and what we can (and can’t) do about it. International Mail Service During the Pandemic The…

Occultations

Chase a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid As It Flies by Earth

Break out your binoculars or a small telescope, we've got a busy week ahead! Watch as a bright asteroid approaches Earth, the Moon steals a star, and Comet ATLAS's last hurrah.

Sky Tour podcast: Moon and planets at dawn April 2020

Night Sky Sights

April 2020: Planets Aplenty

This month's Sky Tour astronomy podcast highlights how Venus flirts with the Pleiades star cluster after sunset, then leads you to views of Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars together in the predawn sky.

Curiosity

Curiosity's Discoveries on Mars

After four Earth years on the Red Planet, the intrepid rover has found evidence of long-gone water and habitable environments.

Astrophotography with Jerry Lodriguss

Experiencing the Total Solar Eclipse

Take it from a seasoned professional — the best way to experience a total eclipse, especially your first, is by eye. Put the camera down!

Mystery Dark Spot?

Moon

Are You Game for April's Lunar Observing Challenge?

With astronomy being celebrated around the globe this month, join the fun by participating in a unique lunar observing challenge: track down 20 features once thought to show evidence of change from weather, geology, and even life.

Uncategorized

How to Make a Simple Backyard Observatory

Dennis di Cicco's "doghouse" observatory progressed from an idea to a working observatory in less than three weeks during the fall of 1982. You too can quickly build a basic telescope shelter.S&T / Dennis di Cicco Home observatories have always been a part of amateur astronomy, but they seem to…

Uncategorized

Dating an Impressionist's Sunset

S&T contributing editor Don Olson writes a feature article in the February 2014 issue connecting astronomy to Monet. We follow his team of celestial sleuths as they travel to Normandy, France to pin down the exact time and location of one of Claude Monet's most beautiful paintings. This gallery of…