Last Week's Stargazing Tips
What did you see in the sky last night? Check out the previous week of stargazing tips for the answer.
November 6, 2009
Deneb Kaitos, the "tail of the whale," swims through the southern sky. The moderately bright orange star forms the tail of Cetus, the whale. Around 10 p.m., it appears about halfway between the southern horizon and the point directly overhead.
November 5, 2009
A myriad of bright stars twinkles across the firmament early this evening. High in the west, look for Vega, Deneb, and Altair, the stars of the Summer Triangle. Fomalhaut is low in the south, with yellow-orange Capella low in the northeast.
November 4, 2009
Cassiopeia, the queen, soars high overhead on autumn evenings. Its brightest stars form a letter W. The star at the middle point of the W, Gamma Cassiopeia, is the most impressive of them. It is far larger, brighter, and more massive than the Sun.
November 3, 2009
Cassiopeia, the queen, sits high in the northeast at nightfall this month. The constellation represents a woman sitting on a throne, although its brightest stars look more like the letter M or W.
November 2, 2009
The Hunter's Moon highlights the sky tonight. In most years the Harvest Moon comes in September, with the Hunter's Moon in October. But this year October's full Moon was closer to the fall equinox, so both the Harvest and Hunter's moons were pushed back a month.
November 1, 2009
Although November is the eleventh month of the year, its name means ninth month because in the earliest Roman calendar the year began with March. To the ancient Celts, however, November 1 was the start of a new year, which was celebrated with a festival known as Samhain.
October 31, 2009
Today is Halloween, which is a celebration of a "cross-quarter" day. These dates, which fall roughly half-way between a solstice and an equinox, mark the middle of the seasons on the modern calendar. In ancient times, though, they often represented a season's beginning.
Unless otherwise specified, viewing times are local time regardless of time zone, and are good for the entire Lower 48 states (and, generally, for Alaska and Hawaii).
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