Mars and Venus straddle Cancer on the evening of June 30 as July is about to begin. Both are moving eastward. Venus moves through the Beehive Cluster or M44 the evening of July 3rd. The chase is on. Venus appears to be swooping in for a quick meetup with Mars. As the planets come close, […]
As June begins, Mercury is retreating into the sunset. If you can find it, it’ll probably be only on the first few evenings of the month. Venus is above it, approaching the feet of Gemini. The constellation itself isn’t particularly easy to see. The bright stars Castor and Pollux stand out, but the rest don’t […]
Mercury and Venus are evening objects, Mars visits the twins, Saturn and Jupiter shine in the morning, and there’s a total lunar eclipse. The month starts with Mercury and Venus in the evening sky. They reach higher into it each evening. The moon is in the neighborhood next to Venus on the 12th and Mercury […]
Venus is an evening object again. But it remains a horizon hugger. Binoculars may help find it, but any obstruction on the horizon will spoil the view. It has a close pairing with Mercury on the 25th. They set just 35 minutes after sunset on that date from 18° north where they may be best […]
Cetus, Pisces, and Pegasus are setting as night sets in. Gemini, Taurus, and Orion are high at sunset. Leo is an all night constellation. Mars is in Taurus when March begins. It passes close to the Pleiades in the first week. Around the 15th through 19th, the red planet passes through a set of stars […]
Mercury starts the month as an evening object. If you can see it after sunset in February, that’s impressive. True to its reputation, the planet is heading sunward quickly. From around 13° north latitude, the planet sets an hour after sunset on the 1st.. That’s where the best viewing is. But even there, it’s impossible […]
Planet watching is likely to be frustrating this month. And last month’s super close conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn is hard to beat. But maybe we can come close. The two planets remain close together next to Capricornus at the beginning of January. As Jupiter leaves Saturn behind, both are heading into the sunset. Mercury […]
The month starts with the moon just past full. While it’s rising, above it is Mars and nearly opposite the moon in the sky are Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter and Saturn own our evening sky show this month. Saturn is east of Jupiter at the start of the month. Both are moving east, but Jupiter […]
As the sun sets at the start of November, Boötes and the orange star Arcturus are setting along with Ophiuchus and Serpens. Jupiter and Saturn are in the south as they draw closer together for their great conjunction in December. Mars is rising alongside Pisces. Orion and Gemini are late evening risers. Venus and Mercury […]
Planet watching is exciting this month as Jupiter and Saturn draw closer to each other for December’s great conjunction. Start watching them evenings just east of Sagittarius. Each planet is moving toward Capricornus. Jupiter is moving eastward faster than Saturn and will catch up to it a few days before the end of the year […]