mrwebb

May means it’s getting warmer, but the nights are getting shorter.  This year we have two good conjunctions in the sunset sky that don’t happen very often, as well as some lunar close encounters as usual. EVENTS… Last Quarter Moon - 2nd (Visible from midnight into the morning) New Moon - 9th (darkest skies) 10th - [...]

April is not the most exciting month, especially after Comet PanSTARRS.  However, the Moon will be very close to Jupiter for a night and Saturn another, the Lyrid Meteor Shower will make its quiet presence known, and you might be able to see Comet PanSTARRS (see my best pics here) and the Andromeda Galaxy in [...]

March brings us Daylight Savings time, the astronomical first day of spring, some lunar close encounters with the planets, and, most spectacularly, the likely best comet in many years for those of us in the northern hemisphere! EVENTS… 2nd - Close Encounter - Saturn & Moon - Get up after 1am and before sunrise on the [...]

My apologies to all those who were expecting a podcast in January.  My wife and I have been excited and very busy getting ready and planning for the new astronomer being born into our family in July. Not much going on this month, although it’s a beautiful month for lunar encounters and constellations, since the winter [...]

December’s got the strong Geminid meteor shower, some good lunar encounters, and a nice Christmas evening very close encounter between the Moon and Jupiter. EVENTS… Last Quarter Moon - 6th (Visible from midnight into the morning) 10th - Close Encounter - Saturn & Moon - Get up before sunrise, look ESE, and if you have a [...]

Before getting into November’s events, planets, and constellations (that’s lower in this post), here’s a repeat of last November’s advice of telescope buying if you’re looking into getting your first one. Special Question of the Month: My kid (and/or I) want a telescope for Christmas. What telescope should I buy? First of all, there are PLENTY of [...]

October brings us the annual Orionid meteor shower, some longer nights, the fading away of Mars, and longer viewing times for Jupiter. EVENTS… 5th - Close Encounter - Jupiter & Moon - Starting at 11pm on the night of the 5th, look for the gibbous Moon in the East.  Just 5Ëš above it will be bright [...]

No special events this month, however the Moon is getting very close to Jupiter, Venus, and Mars this time around (not as close to Saturn, and Mercury isn’t even visible this month).  The rate at which daylight is decreasing is at its greatest, thus we are able to start seeing the winter constellations in the [...]

Four planets, two of them getting close together, an annual meteor shower, as well as a few interesting events, mark August as a very good month to go out observing as you’re finishing up your summer vacations. Check out the images I was able to get (pre-processing) at my recent trip to Cherry Springs State Park [...]

Astronomy calms down a bit this July - pretty much just the normal planetary and lunar encounters, but that’s not to say that these aren’t exciting in their own right.  Last month’s Venus Transit was spectacular, and you can see photos from the PV event here and here. EVENTS… 1st - 7th [...]