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 19, 2009
The two nearest star clusters to Earth appear in the constellation Taurus, the bull. The Hyades forms the bull's V-shaped face, while the Pleiades forms a tiny dipper north of the Hyades. Look for them high in the east this evening.
November 18, 2009
The Moon will peek into view in the southwest shortly after sunset this evening. It is a bare crescent, although most of its "dark" portion is illuminated by earthshine, which is sunlight reflected off of Earth.
November 17, 2009
November evenings are good times to watch the Milky Way, which is the combined glow of millions of stars in the disk of our Milky Way galaxy. It arches from east to west, with a dip toward the northern horizon. You need a dark sky to see the Milky Way.
November 16, 2009
The Leonid meteor shower should be at its best before dawn Tuesday. The Moon is out of the way, so it won't spoil the show. Although the shower is named for Leo, the meteors can streak across any part of the sky, so you don't have to look at the lion to see them.
November 15, 2009
The Leonid meteor shower peaks this week. It occurs when Earth crosses the orbital path of Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which is strewn with bits of dust from the comet. When the particles hit Earth's atmosphere they vaporize, forming bright streaks of light.
November 14, 2009
Although Pisces, the fish, is one of the faintest constellations of the zodiac, it has one of the reddest stars in the sky. Known as TX Piscium, it is bright enough to see with just the unaided eye, if you get away from city lights.
November 13, 2009
As the Moon clears the eastern horizon a couple of hours before sunrise tomorrow, Spica will stand just to its upper left. And as dawn begins to color the sky, the planet Venus will rise below the Moon. Venus is the brilliant "morning star."
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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