SUNSET: 
March 11 - 17, 2013
[skyweekvid id="gqfu6wgs"]If we’re lucky, comet PanSTARRS will shine low in the west shortly after sunset this week. But comets are notoriously unpredictable, so we won’t know for sure until the day arrives.
March 4 - 10, 2013
[skyweekvid id="x0wbp2b6"]Cancer the Crab is home to the Praesepe, or Beehive. It looks like a cloud of light to the unaided eye, but binoculars show that it’s a glorious star cluster.
February 25 - March 3, 2013
[skyweekvid id="qtqjea0e"]Splendid Leo the Lion rears up on its hind legs in the evening sky. Most constellations bear little resemblance to their names, but Leo really does look like a lion.
February 11 - 17, 2013
[skyweekvid id="r54g705p"]A beautifully thin crescent Moon floats upper right of Mercury on Monday. This is a great week to spot Mercury, something few people have knowingly done.
February 18 - 24, 2013
[skyweekvid id="ps30ac2k"]The constellation Gemini, the Twins, flies almost overhead in late February and early March. Its brightest stars are Castor and Pollux, named after the famous twins of Greek and Roman mythology.
February 4 - 10, 2013
[skyweekvid id="rlq46qsu"]Mars is spectacularly close to Mercury shortly after sunset on Friday February 8th. Spot the two smallest planets side by side in the sky — but nowhere near each other in space.
January 28 -February 3, 2013
[skyweekvid id="pxuh6086"]Look just below Orion’s Belt for his Sword. It’s centered on the Great Orion Nebula, which is currently giving birth to hot young stars at a furious rate.
January 21 - 27, 2013
[skyweekvid id="a81g601t"]The Moon forms a spectacular pair with Jupiter high in the southeast. They’re in the constellation Taurus the Bull, which was the first constellation of the zodiac at the dawn of history.
January 14 - 20, 2013
[skyweekvid id="iv63013r"]This is a great week to observe the Moon, our closest neighbor in space. It shows lots of detail to the unaided eye, and it’s amazing through binoculars and small telescopes.
January 7 - 13, 2013
[skyweekvid id="qg18628k"]Auriga the Charioteer is nearly overhead in the evening sky. Its prominent pentagon includes dazzling Capella, meaning She Goat, the sixth brightest star in the night sky.
Dec. 31, 2012 - Jan. 6, 2013
[skyweekvid id="a49o77lm"]A splendid vista of bright stars and one dazzling planet greets stargazers on the stroke of the New Year. And two remarkable stars that vary in brightness are high in the northwest.
December 24 - 30, 2012
[skyweekvid id="g3xui089"]The Moon pairs spectacularly with Jupiter on the evening of Christmas Day, December 25th. And Sirius, the night sky’s brightest star, is at its highest at midnight as the year winds to its end.
December 17 - 23, 2012
[skyweekvid id="dob227s9"]Winter starts on Friday, and coincidentally the ancient Mayan calendar flips over to a new “baktun.” Contrary to the doomsayers, nothing unusual will happen. But some astronomical phenomena are genuinely dangerous.
December 10 - 16, 2012
[skyweekvid id="a277kts7"]The Geminid meteor shower will be strongest from Thursday evening through Friday morning, though more meteors than usual will fall all week. Conditions are perfect this year, with no Moon to blind you to the faintest meteors.
December 3 - 9, 2012
[skyweekvid id="oupnstl7"]Three of the sky’s finest star formations are climbing the southeastern sky. The Pleaides lead the way, then Jupiter with the Hyades, and magnificent Orion rounds out the group.
November 26 - December 2, 2012
[skyweekvid id="l8ljf459"]Saturn glows very close to brilliant Venus before sunrise on Monday, November 26th. And the Moon is spectacularly close to bright Jupiter on Wednesday evening.
November 19 - 25, 2012
[skyweekvid id="b380ci5q"]Dazzling Jupiter blazes near the sky’s two most spectacular star clusters — the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, and the Hyades, the closest rich star cluster to Earth.
November 12 - 18, 2012
[skyweekvid id="eii1wl60"]A superthin Moon floats below Venus before sunrise on Monday, November 12th. And you might be able to spot the reborn crescent on Wednesday or Thursday evening.
November 5 - 11, 2012
[skyweekvid id="t2x7jadc"]The Andromeda Galaxy is on fine display these evenings. It’s the most distant object you’re likely to see without binoculars or a telescope, but it’s right next door in cosmic terms.
October 29 - November 4, 2012
[skyweekvid id="l2cqf8d0"]Jupiter’s four biggest moons are whole worlds in their own right. They include the most active volcanoes known and a suspected habitat for life.
