Mars and Saturn shine from the southwestern sky this evening as seen from the Chicago area. (Click the image to see it larger.) On July 12, Mars passed Spica as it moved eastward compared to the starry background. Watch it approach Saturn during… Read More ›
What’s that bright star near the moon this morning? It’s Venus. The image above shows the pair at 4:50 a.m. CDT as seen from the Chicago area. (Click the image to see it larger.) Notice the night portion of the… Read More ›
Mars and Saturn shine from the southern skies this evening as seen in the image above. (Click the image to see it larger.) Mars is less than 2 degrees from Spica. Mars passes closest to Spica on July 12. Tonight… Read More ›
Video Source During the early evening hours of July and August, an assembly of stars arches across the sky. During the evening it slowly marches westward. Even from dark skies, it appears as a cloudy ribbon of light stretching from south… Read More ›
The daylight reaches its maximum this month. On June 1, the sun is in the sky for 15 hours, 1 minute. At the summer solstice on June 21, the sun is in the sky for 15 hours, 13 minutes. The… Read More ›
The waxing crescent moon and Jupiter appear near each other this evening in the west-northwestern sky as seen from the Chicago area. (Click the image to see it larger.) Notice the night portion of the moon is gently illuminated by… Read More ›
Three bright planets appear in the evening sky as seen from the Chicago area. (Click the images to see them larger.) Bright Jupiter shines from the west-northwest from in front of the stars of Gemini, with its bright stars Castor and… Read More ›
Sun May brings about a strong rebirth of plant and human activity in the mid-northern latitudes. With the brutal winter of 2013-2014, plant emergence is slow at the time of this writing as it is about two weeks behind typical… Read More ›
Mars and Jupiter are visible from opposite sides of the sky this evening. As it has been for most of the year, Jupiter shines brightly — tonight from the western sky. (Click the images to see them larger.) It is… Read More ›
This morning the moon is in eclipse. With it are Mars, Spica, and Saturn. (Click the image to see it larger.) Mars, just past opposition appears to the upper right of the moon. Spica is 1.5 degrees to the lower right of… Read More ›