Draco isn’t heavily populated with great telescopic targets, but the double stars and deep sky objects that do lie within the constellation’s boundaries are widely varied…
Stars
Eastern Hydra and Corvus
The eastern part of Hydra doesn’t hold quite as many outstanding deep-sky targets as the western half of the constellation, but there are several objects here that are worth taking the time to find…
Puppis
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive By the time March comes around in the Northern Hemisphere, Leo is high in the east and Arcturus is rising around dark—both sure signs that spring is...
In Our Skies, March & April 2025
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive March 7 Mars will be <2° S of the Moon. March 8 Mercury will be at its greatest eastern elongation, meaning you can see it just after sunset. March 14...
Cassiopeia
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Cassiopeia lies high in the northern sky in December. Like Cepheus, our target constellation last month, Cassiopeia is a circumpolar constellation. It...
Shooting Star Trails to Capture Auroras
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Here in Virginia, my exposure to northern lights has been rare—very few and far between. The first time we saw them, there was a huge red glow in the...
Chasing Auroras
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Aurora and Milky Way above Route 574, Ohio. Photo © Steven Russell Smith. I could feel the rhythm of my heart intensify to allegro as I fired a test shot...
Cepheus
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Cepheus, the King, sits high in the northern sky between Polaris and the W-shaped constellation Cassiopeia. It lies near enough to Polaris that it is...
One Autumn Night
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Western Veil Nebula. Photo © Kevin and Adrian Shank. Rain was in the forecast, and clouds began to creep up out of the west. But as the sun sank behind...
Covers, November 2024
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Pictures & Poems, October 2024
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Mailbox, October 2024
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Delphinus, Sagitta, and Vulpecula
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive The Summer Triangle, a large triangle of bright stars (Deneb, Vega, and Altair), lies straight overhead on September evenings in the United States....
In Our Skies, July 2024
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive July 2 and 26 Pleiades will be very close to the Moon—less than .5°. July 22 Mercury will be at its greatest elongation east of the sun, meaning it will...
Corona Borealis and Serpens Caput
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive A little semicircle of stars known as Corona Borealis sits high overhead in the early summer sky. Corona Borealis, or the Northern Crown, lies just west...