It’s wonderful how many things are visible in the night sky — things you can see with the unaided eye, without binoculars or a telescope. All you need to know […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
By the Otherworldly Light of a Partial Eclipse
Outer Cape sky watchers: mark your calendars for June 10
Over the winter, we’ve considered the Moon’s cataclysmic origins four billion years ago, its phases and visible surface features, and how it creates ocean tides. With a partial solar eclipse […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Venus Returns as the Evening Star
Where scientists look for signs of life, we can see signs of summer
After a long absence, Venus has returned as the brilliant Evening Star. It spent some time this winter toughing it out in the frigid predawn sky in its other guise […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
The Star That Points the Way North, For Now
Why Polaris appears to hold still in the night sky
Last month, I encouraged you to venture outside just before sunrise to see the planet Mercury. By way of apology for such an outrageous suggestion about how to spend your […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
A Good Look at the Smallest, Fastest Planet
There is no better place on Earth than the Outer Cape for watching Mercury
Right now is a good time for seeing the planet Mercury, especially if you’re on the Outer Cape, with its wonderful unobstructed views to east on the ocean side. Astronomy […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
How the Moon Pulls Us Into the Tidal Bulge
The Sun adds its weight to spring and neap tides, too
The tide comes in and out twice a day, sometimes a little higher, sometimes a little lower. It’s so much a part of our daily lives that it’s easy to […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
It’s a Marvelous Month for a Moondance
Keep an eye on the near side for maria, terrae, craters, and ray systems
Beginning around mid-month, Earth’s one and only natural satellite will appear in the evening sky. Then, as the days run down to the end of the year, the Moon will […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
What Is the Moon?
Part one of a brief history of the Earth’s constant companion
The Moon is always with us. Even when we can’t see it, it’s there, gently tugging on our oceans and causing our tides. It hasn’t always been with us; the […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Mars Attacks? Not Anytime Soon
But while it’s close by, take a close look at the red planet
In the very first issue of the Independent, I wrote about Jupiter and Saturn, which were prominently in view at the time. After making their way across the sky and […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
How to Watch the Earth Spin Through This Summer’s Stardust
Averted vision can bring a fading comet into view
A few nights ago, I stood on a deck in Truro that looked east over the National Seashore. In the distance, I could hear the Atlantic surf; from the opposite […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Beauty and the Beast
Look up at the wonders of Cygnus; just don’t fall in a black hole
The stars of summer have returned! Step outside after dark and look east, about halfway up the sky. You’ll see three bright stars that form a triangle. If you’re not […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Tilting Toward the Summer Solstice
Through our intergalactic free fall, pause to notice the new season
This month we reach the summer solstice. June 20 will be the longest day of the year and start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it’s […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Comet
Dirty snowballs travel alone in their long orbits
I no longer know what day of the week it is. I have friends and family across the street, or right upstairs, that I haven’t seen in weeks. My wife […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Venus, if You Will
Finding optimism in the night sky
I have never met a pessimistic astronomer.” A New York Times reader recently posted this comment, inspired by another reader’s delighted account of looking through a telescope. I haven’t either. […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Watching a Red Supergiant Die
One of Orion’s stars could blow any time now, or in 100,000 years
Betelgeuse — the star with the funny name. Maybe you know it from the 1988 movie Beetlejuice, about the eponymous poltergeist-for-hire. Or maybe you’ve heard the name in the news […]
