The Star of Bethlehem – Found once more!

In the western sky at dusk on June 17, 2 BCE, a strange, brilliant "star" dominates the Bethlehem horizon among the more familiar stars of Leo. (Chart from Starry Nights.) Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, [...]

Moon, Venus, Jupiter – so what?!

Joe Carvalho captured the event nicely from his home in Fall River, MA. Venus is the brighter “star,” Jupiter the other one. I urged folks to take a look at the unusual alignment of Venus, Jupiter and the Moon Monday night and I know several did and were suitably impressed – but I suspect a [...]

Venus, Jupiter and Moon – why so different from Australia?

It was a stunning event and fortunately the clouds held off until we were done observing. Unfortunately, my camera battery died – I had forgotten to check – and I didn’t have a spare with me. So I only got a few shots of the early stages. Later it was a brilliant, awesome display and [...]

Life on a ball – so different, so good – take a look tonight!

Well, wherever you are on this wonderful ball, if you have clear skies when the sun drops below the western horizon, you’ll get a great show tonight! Actually, even if your skies aren’t clear tonight, take a look any time this week and you’ll get a good show. I plan to be out tonight with [...]

Circle December 1- nice sky show – picture opportunity

Hey folks – well folks living in mid-northern latitudes roughly near mine (41.5 N) – circle Monday, December 1 on your calendar, then at 5 pm (or about half an hour after sunset) go out and take a look at the sky to the southwest. You should ses something like this. You should see a [...]