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February 11, 2026Radio: Today’s Episode
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New Identity
A dark mystery in the great bear
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Radio: Yesterday’s Episode
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Pleiades Complex
The Giant Pleiades Complex
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Stargazing
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Orion Reigns
The beautiful constellation Orion the hunter strides across the southern sky this evening. It is in the southeast as darkness falls, with its brightest star, Rigel, to the lower right of its prominent three-star belt.
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Pleiades Complex
The Pleiades star cluster is high overhead at nightfall, at the bull’s shoulder. It looks like a tiny dipper. Recent research says the cluster was born along with several smaller groups that have gone their own way. Together, they formed the Giant Pleiades Complex.
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Moon and Antares
The gibbous Moon slips past Antares, the bright heart of the scorpion, the next couple of mornings. The star will be to the left or lower left of the Moon at dawn tomorrow and a little closer to the upper right of the Moon on Wednesday.
Moon Phases
At the new Moon phase, the Moon is so close to the Sun in the sky that none of the side facing Earth is illuminated (position 1 in illustration). In other words, the Moon is between Earth and Sun. At first quarter, the half-lit Moon is highest in the sky at sunset, then sets about six hours later (3). At full Moon, the Moon is behind Earth in space with respect to the Sun. As the Sun sets, the Moon rises with the side that faces Earth fully exposed to sunlight (5).
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Star Teachers
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Stars and Galaxies
Galaxies contain billions of stars. Do galaxies collide? Do the stars within them collide?