The moon passes in front of the sun for an annular eclipse this week. There's plenty of planetary action all night. And some people may be able to spot what's been called a false dawn, thanks to dust in the solar system.

Mars passed by Mebsuta and is now approaching Mekbuda. Both stars are named for parts of a lion's paw. Mercury's out of sight. Venus moves alongside Virgo. The September equinox starts the week. The moon is about as far north as it can get. And we have a meteor shower you're more likely to hear with the help of a radio than to see.…

The moon passes in front of Saturn this week. Then it goes through Earth's shadow. Mars passes by Mebsuta, named for a lion in Arabian star lore. And why is red light right for astronomers at night?

Saturn's at opposition. Venus is near Porrima, whose name refers to a goddess of prophecy and normal, headfirst births. Mars passes by Propus in the feet of Gemini. And some observers get to see the moon pass in front of Antares.

Mercury's at greatest elongation this week. Saturn's at opposition next week. You can see these planets on opposite sides of the sky. Venus is in the evening sky. The moon passes in front of Spica.

Some people have claimed that Abraham Lincoln was so desperate to win a hopeless court case he fabricated evidence. Astronomy then and now can prove he was as honest as his reputation holds.

It's been more than four decades since a mysterious signal seemingly came from somewhere in Sagittarius. No signal like it has ever been found again. It didn't seem to contain any information. Mercury's in conjunction with the sun. Venus slowly heads deeper into the evening sky. The moon hides Saturn. Mars continues on its way after passing Jupiter…

The Perseid meteor shower peaks. Start looking for eclipses of Algol again. Mercury is near Regulus. Venus is nearby. Mars and Jupiter rise after midnight.

One of the modern constellations is named for a device you would use to look at stars to figure out where you are. The first sextants were as big as buildings. Eventually, handheld sextants were invented. Mercury and Venus pass each other this week. Mars and Jupiter are close to the Hyades.

Perseid meteors are a possibility. Mercury begins its retreat from the evening sky. The solar cycle may be peaking sooner rather than later. And the lunistice keeps getting farther from the equator.

The Hyades feature prominently in the morning sky watching these days. The asterism's bright star Aldebaran is likened to a torch. Mars shines in a similar color nearby. In the evening, Mercury is at greatest elongation and draws close to Regulus.

A comet may be visible in binoculars this month. It's always hard to speculate just how bright any of these objects will become. See Mars pull away from the Hyades.

How far away would the sun have to be to blend in with the stars at night. Here are some answers to how far away the sun would be to shine as bright as the full moon, Venus, and various stars.

Mercury and Venus in the evening, Saturn late at night, other planets clustered in the morning, Earth at aphelion, and some info on how we know the sun is far away.

For a few years, there was a meteor shower in June that produced faint blue streaks. It doesn't happen anymore. It's not the only meteor shower to have gone extinct. But there's another shower that has come back. Saturn seems to be holding still. Mercury emerges into the evening.

Earth goes through northern solstice this week. Mars went through southern solstice earlier this month. The morning planets march along.

The moon will pass in front of Spica 20 times now through the end of next year. Find out where to see the first occultation. Mercury's turn to go behind the sun. Planet watching continues to be a morning thing.

The sun passes through 13 constellations during the year. The one people are surprised to learn about is the snake-bearer Ophiuchus. Jupiter and Mercury are very close in the morning sky this week. Not many people will get to see them though. Venus is hidden behind the sun.

A long snake slithers across the evening sky, taking a bird and a bowl with it. And some sky watchers can see Saturn disappear behind the moon.

Saturn and Mars are easy to spot in the morning. Some people may spot Mercury. The moon occults Antares this week. And sometimes, successfully finding something in your telescope means blocking something else out. It costs practically nothing to go to the extra trouble.

A star about 3,000 light years away is normally very dim--requiring a telescope and a dark sky to see. About 80 years ago, it flared up to easy naked eye visibility. Some astronomers think it might be about to flare up again. Also, the moon is about to pass in front of one of the stars in Virgo. The event will be visible from most of a continent.…

All the planets will soon by on the same side of the sun. When something like that happened in 1982, some people carried on like the world would come to an end. Most scientists recognized the so-called alignment as an important opportunity.

Mars and Neptune will appear very close. To see this super close conjunction, you will need to be in a place where it's still dark when they're up. And you'll need magnification. How much? Not much. But you need something else too.

Earth is passing through the dust stream that produces the April Lyrid meteor shower this week. There are sometimes bright fireballs. The full moon is interfering though.

What an exciting week that just ended with a total solar eclipse. Red prominences showed in the corona. Why are they that color? And what did scientists learn about the sun by analyzing the corona's spectum?

Several planets are lined up in the morning. The moon is with them at first. One more admonition to protect your eyes during the solar eclipse. Several planets appear close to the sun during the eclipse. Then the moon passes Mercury and Jupiter in the evening.

Mercury's leaving the evening sky. Jupiter is heading toward Uranus. Three planets are leaving the morning sky, but there's time for the moon to meet up with them. And here's some more advice on how to experience the total solar eclipse.

Legends abound about seven stars and why only six of them are visible. We review what the ancient Greeks said about the Pleiades and which Pleiad is missing. As Comet Halley is at the halfway point between appearances, another comet with an orbit almost as long is showing in the evening sky. Find out about Comet Pons-Brooks. And planets keep workin…

Evening planet viewing isn't so bad right now. It's getting hard to see the morning planets. There will be a penumbral lunar eclipse next week.

There are a lot of things to think about if you will travel to see the total solar eclipse next month. Do you need a place to stay? Where will you eat while you're there? How will you keep everyone in your party occupied during the trip? Maybe you should try to DX the eclipse. Listen for radio stations coming in from farther than usual during the d…

An asteroid is at opposition this week. It's one of the asteroids discovered by the "celestial police" who looked over areas of the sky for objects between Mars and Jupiter. And there's a reason they expected to find something there. But maybe it's just a coincidence that they did.

Jupiter still rules the evening. Venus and Mars are leaving the morning sky. The moon will soon pass in front of Antares. And part of a famous but long lost star catalog has been found.

An evening planet is heading into the sunset. Three morning planets are heading into the sunrise. And there will soon be a conjunction of two planets with each other and with the sun!

The moon will pass in front of Elnath for viewers in part of Australia and Indonesia next week. Scientists can learn a lot about a star that's hidden that way. And several planets are on their way out of the night sky.

Southern hemisphere observers can take a double challenge--try to see some meteors and then figure out which of two overlapping showers they came from. It's not easy. Both radiate from the same constellation and neither shower produces a lot of meteors. Learn about the Centaur constellation. Three planets are on the way out of the morning sky. One …

You may have noticed that the sun rarely crosses the meridian when the clock says it's 12pm. High noon is about as late as it gets this time of year. Some planets are leaving the morning sky. Some are leaving the evening sky.

Saturn's disappearing from the evening sky. The moon's approaching full phase and northern lunistice. It's Venus's turn to apparently pass by a very distant star. And the morning planetary action lately deserves applause, because it's associated with a figure said to have started the tradition of hand-clapping to show appreciation.…

The moon goes through first quarter. Orion and Gemini are becoming prominent. Three planets are in the morning sky. Mercury is about to (appear to) pass by a star nearly 30,000 light years away.

As three planets move in the morning sky this week, the moon passes them by.

In 2024, the moon will pass in front of bright stars several times, there'll be a total solar eclipse, increasing solar activity could mean more aurorae, and the moon will reach its farthest north and south since 2006. In just the next few weeks, three planets will cross the Sagittarius teapot in the morning sky. And Saturn is heading into the suns…

There's planet watching in the evening and morning. Venus passes through Libra. And there's a star, not very far away as cosmic distances go, that might be almost as old as the universe. You can actually see it with binoculars.

Linda Salzman Sagan, who designed the plaque on the Pioneer 10 and 11 probes, died last month. Her art sure got people talking. The asteroid Vesta is at opposition this week.

It's been 38 years since the solar system's most famous comet was closest to the sun. It'll be 38 more before it's back. Comet Halley was farthest from the sun this month.

Mercury's at greatest elongation this week. Saturn's still up in the evening. Jupiter's about to turn around. Venus and the moon pair with a dragon star. Mars is still missing. English speakers say the moon is at first quarter or last quarter. People who come from non-English speaking cultures have another view. It's not often that an asteroid pass…

It's been a half-century since Pioneer 10 went by Jupiter. And it's been 20 years since anyone last heard from the probe. Whatever's next for it will probably be in almost 40,000 years.

Mars just went through solar conjunction. Not only can ordinary observers not see the red planet, scientists can't stay in touch with the space probes there either. That's not a small concern. Missions to Mars have been hard. Here's the story of the first successful Mars probe to report back and what finally did shut it down.…

Mercury's slowly making it into the evening sky. Saturn rules the evening. Jupiter's still up all night. So is Uranus as it's at opposition this week. Venus dominates the morning. Mars is hidden in the sun's glare. A listener wants to know why the moon always seems to pass or over certain stars but not others. The answer goes back billions of years…

The first known crowdsourced scientific study began one morning 190 years ago when it looked like the stars were falling from the sky. Nobody knew yet just what meteors are. A professor's letter asking people to tell him what they saw set scientists on the path to figuring it out.

Jupiter will be up all night this week. This opposition isn't as close as last year's, but it'll be the closest for about a dozen years.

Stars zoom by the spacecraft in sci-fi movies and TV shows. Just how fast would you have to go for that to happen? Even light doesn't go anywhere near fast enough for it to look like the stars are barely moving.