Winter begins on Dec. 21, the winter solstice and longest night of the year. It’s the season to chase away the darkness with candles, holiday lights, and gatherings around the […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Watching for Beautiful Bursts of Cosmic Debris
On Friday, Earth will pass through a trail of glimmering dust left behind in 1733
When you think of November, what comes to mind? Gray clouds and biting wind? Thanksgiving? That extra hour of sleep when daylight saving time ends? For me, it’s the annual […]
MILION-YEAR PICNIC
Learning to See the Seasons in the Night Sky
As Jupiter and Saturn take center stage, you know it’s autumn
A range of signals alert you to each season’s arrival. The changing light, the landscape, the weather, and the amount of traffic on Route 6 all tell the time of […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Of UFOs and ETI and Oumuamua
‘Are we alone?’ When the night sky inspires wonder, who can resist asking?
When I set up my telescope for public stargazing events, I enjoy talking with the people who gather around. Mostly, they ask me about the telescope targets we’re viewing. How […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
All About August’s Incandescence
Be patient and the Perseids will offer their summer show
The Earth is plunging through the debris trail of Comet Swift-Tuttle right now. It happens every August. The debris consists mostly of rocks about half an inch across, tumbling through […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
The Cosmic View From the Event Horizon
Understanding a new image of the black hole at the center of our galaxy
There’s a big black hole at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy. It’s called Sagittarius A*, and in May scientists working on the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project released […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
June’s Celestial Choreography
Watching the sky when the planets align
Our solar system put on a spectacular performance back in April. There were several close alignments of the Moon and planets for those intrepid ones willing to head outside before […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Watching the Blood Moon
Why the Moon is red during a total lunar eclipse, and why a sunny sky is blue
Mark your calendars: there will be a total lunar eclipse on the night of Sunday, May 15, visible into the wee hours of the 16th. Lunar eclipses are different from […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
The Gems of the Morning Twilight
April mornings give early risers a glittering spectacle
Astronomy rewards early risers. In the chilly hour before sunrise, darkness gives way to ghostly yellow along the eastern horizon. Look a little higher and the sky is blue. Straight […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Looking Back in Time and Space
The Hubble’s successor, the Webb telescope, will probe the limits of the universe
The full moon you see rising in the east now actually rose 1.3 seconds ago. That’s how long it takes sunlight reflecting off the lunar surface to reach Earth. If […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Orion Embodies Millenniums of Legends in the Winter Sky
Within a stellar nursery, a reminder that we are stardust
Winter is the season of Orion. As darkness falls, this constellation stands tall in the southeast, about halfway up the sky, and you’ll find it migrates higher and more southerly […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
In Search of the Christmas Supernova
Science can’t tell us a lot about that fabled star in the East, but it’s fun to ask
People have been telling stories about the stars for a long time. We have written accounts from the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians from 5,000 years ago and references to oral […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Meet Leonard, a Visitor From Oort
A once-only chance to see a newly discovered long-range comet
As you read this, Comet Leonard is racing towards the Sun. It’s visible before sunrise with binoculars and small telescopes, and there’s a good chance it will become visible to […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
On Seeing Saturn’s Icy Rings
Get a look now, as they’ll be around only for another 300 million years
Saturn was a god of ancient Rome. According to myth, he was usurped by his son, Jupiter, and wandered across land and sea before founding a new kingdom and giving […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Lessons From Looking at the Largest Planet
Watching Jupiter’s moons, Galileo saw the truth, and started a revolution
This is my favorite time of the year for astronomy. The air is clearer than in summer, and the nights aren’t nearly as cold as in winter, which, frustratingly, is […]
