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.
July 30, 2010
The planets Saturn, Mars, and Venus team up low in the west in early evening. Venus is the "evening star." Saturn and Mars look like fainter stars to the upper left of Venus, with Saturn a little above Mars.
July 29, 2010
The planets Mars and Saturn snuggle close together tonight. They are to the upper left of Venus, the "evening star." Golden Saturn stands just a little above orange Mars, which is the fainter of the two worlds.
July 28, 2010
The Moon stands farthest from Earth today for its current orbit around our planet, at a distance of more than 252,000 miles, or about 14,000 miles farther than average. The gibbous Moon rises in early evening.
July 27, 2010
Deneb, the star that represents the tail of the swan, is high in the east-northeast at nightfall, at the left point of the Summer Triangle. The rest of the swan stretches to its right, with the body parallel to the horizon and the wings spread above and below.
July 26, 2010
One of the prettiest sights in the night sky is Cygnus, the swan, soaring gracefully through the Milky Way. The swan is high in the east as darkness falls tonight. Its brightest star, Deneb, marks its tail, with its body stretching to the right.
July 25, 2010
Around 2,000 years from now, Earth's north pole will aim toward the star Gamma Cephei instead of Polaris, which is the current North Star. Gamma Cephei is one of the brightest stars of Cepheus, which is in the northeast this evening.
July 24, 2010
The North Star is one of the most important beacons in the night sky. It serves as a compass, pointing the way due north. And it also serves as the hub of the night sky -- all the other stars appear to circle around it as Earth turns on its axis.
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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