View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Moon and Venus, June 17, 2026. Photo © Adrian and Kevin Shank. “Did you hear there will be an occultation?”“An occul what?”“An occultation! The Moon will...
Mars
In Our Skies, May and June 2025
Astronomy highlights for May and June 2025
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...
In Our Skies, November & December 2024
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Hopefully comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) will be a highlight for viewing. See the chart above for its position at several dates. Nov. 5 is the peak...
In Our Skies, May 2024
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive May 3: Saturn is .8° N of the moon.May 5: Mars is .2° S of the moon.May 9: Mercury is highest in the early morning sky due to its greatest western...
Deep Sky Surprises
M78. Photo © Dogwood Ridge. Anxiously I scanned the sky as I stepped outside the door. Supper was over, and I was headed to the barn to do some chores. Darkness was falling across the valley, and...
In Our Skies, January 2023: Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
Comet Neowise 2020. Photo © Cheryl Shank. If you look over a list of the year’s best meteor showers, the Quadrantid meteor shower will likely catch your attention. First, the Quadrantid shower sits...
In Our Skies, November 2023: Meteor Showers
The second total lunar eclipse of 2022 will take place on the night of November 7–8. The eclipse will be most visible from eastern Asia, Oceania, and western and central North America. The eclipse...
In Our Skies, July 2022: Planets
Moon. Photo © Shaphan Shank. This month, nearly all the bright planets are strung across the early morning sky. Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are all easy to find, thanks to their brilliance....
In Our Skies, May 2022: Lunar Eclipse
Meteor activity is divided quite unevenly between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, with the Northern Hemisphere getting a better view of nearly every meteor shower of the year. The Eta Aquarid...
In Our Skies, March 2022: Planetary Conjunctions
Where I live in Virginia, March brings the signs of a new season. The days are slowly warming, and the evenings, which were quiet all winter, are now enlivened by the calls of spring peepers and...
Planets and Moons of Our Solar System
In Our Skies, July 2021, Venus and Mars Conjunction
Throughout July, Venus and Mars will be visible low in the west just after sunset. The planets will start and end the month a little distance from each other, but on the evening of July 12, they...