Explore the constellation Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia and its distinctive W-shaped asterism rise above the erupting volcano Mount Etna on the island of Sicily, Italy. Credit: ...
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Earth’s closest approach to the Sun
The Sun sets over the Pacific Ocean in this stunning shot taken from the International Space Station. Earth reaches perihelion, ...
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When to see the Full Moon and phases
The phenomenon of a Full Moon arises when our planet, Earth, is precisely sandwiched between the Sun and the Moon. ...
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What’s in the sky this month? The Moon occults Mars and the Pleiades, plus Mars reaches opposition
A composite shows the Dec. 7, 2022, occultation of Mars by the Moon. Although the time-lapse image makes it look ...
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The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks
An all-sky camera at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Hunstville, Alabama, caught this meteor streaking overhead in January 2012. ...
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The ‘drones’ over New Jersey are almost certainly not aliens
Back to Article List Anyone tempted to ascribe the nighttime sightings of aircraft to alien intelligence ought to be dissuaded ...
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The Sky This Week from December 20 to 27: Welcome the winter solstice
Friday, December 20Now that the evening sky is Moon-free, it’s time to aim for fainter targets, including 12th-magnitude Comet 333P/LINEAR. ...
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The Red Planet lights up a famous star cluster this month
The conjunction of Venus and the Beehive was a beautiful, if not dazzling, sight as seen from the author’s home ...
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The Sky This Week from December 13 to 20: 2024’s last Full Moon
Friday, December 13The bright gibbous Moon passes 4° north of Uranus at 5 A.M. EST. At that time, the Moon ...
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The best deep-sky targets in Taurus
NGC 1514 The Crystal Ball Nebula (NGC 1514) was discovered by German-born English astronomer William Herschel in 1790. Credit: Eric ...
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