This Week's Amazing Sky
About this Blog
Welcome to “This Week’s Amazing Sky,” the Almanac’s blog on stargazing and astronomy. Bob Berman, longtime and famous astronomer for The Old Farmer’s Almanac, will help bring alive the wonders of our universe. From the beautiful stars and planets to magical auroras and eclipses, he covers everything under the Sun (and Moon)! Bob, the world’s mostly widely read astronomer, also has a new weekly podcast, Astounding Universe!
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July 22, 2018
Venus, the Evening Star, is in her glory from June through August. Our neighbor is the second-brightest object in the entire night sky after the Moon! Discover 10 cool things about the Goddess of Love.
Seeing Venus in Summertime
Venus is the dazzling apparition that now dominates the western sky, shining a hundred times more brightly than the brightest stars.
Look for a super-bright “star” west the first few hours after sunset. Look around twilight. Don’t wait until it’s too dark. See the... more
July 21, 2018
We’re about to see one of the truly great sky events of 2018. Friday night, July 27, is the date of the long-awaited Mars opposition of 2018. It’s the most celebrated planet coming unusually close to Earth. And finding it requires no sky knowledge. It’s extremely bright and very red in the night sky!
In an opposition, on the 27th, Mars is aligned with the Sun with Earth right in the middle. This alignment causes Mars to be very close to us, and to rise just as the sun sets, and then remain out... more
July 20, 2018
The longest total eclipse of the Moon in the 21st century happens this Friday, July 27, 2018. Some folks are calling it a “Blood Moon.” There’s boatloads of celestial hype—but also some truly amazing spectacles unfolding this summer. We’ll help you separate fact from fiction.
Total Lunar Eclipse July 27
First, there’s that “historic lunar eclipse.” The truth: It might not be there at all. It depends on where you live. No eclipse will appear for anyone in the entire Western Hemisphere. In fact,... more
July 4, 2018
On Independence Day, the same scene will be repeated around the country. Crowds will gather as twilight deepens, awaiting darkness and the start of the fireworks. It’s the annual occasion when the maximum number of people are gazing idly up at the sky. This year it brings a special opportunity.
In most places, figure enough darkness will have fallen for the fireworks to start at around 9:30, though some communities wait until 10. Either way, you can do some fascinating sky watching beginning at... more
June 26, 2018
It’s a truly extraordinary conjunction. Saturn reaches opposition—shining at its biggest and brightest for the whole year—next to the Full Strawberry Moon on Wednesday night. It’s cool, it’s amazing, it’s in-your-face, and it happens Wednesday, June 27.
The Honey Moon of June
First, let’s talk about June’s full Moon. You’ll note that many calendars list the full Moon as the next night, June 28. Yes, technically, it’s true, but it crests just after midnight if you’re in the Eastern time zone... more
June 19, 2018
This year, the June solstice falls on Thursday, June 21. Enjoy seven cool (or, is it hot?) solstice facts—and see how many you know!
If you ask friends what happens on the summer solstice, they’re likely to get it right. It’s the longest day of the year, meaning this day has the most minutes of sunshine. And the midday Sun is highest up in the sky, or lowest if you live in the Southern Hemisphere.
June Solstice Facts
Alright, let’s get on with some fun facts about the June solstice:
On the... more
June 13, 2018
Today, June 13, is a New Moon. It’s also a “supermoon” which may interest those of you who live by the tides. For astronomers, New Moon means no Moon. For many cultures, however, the New Moon carries special meaning. Discover more about today’s New Moon.
What is the New Moon?
The New Moon begins every lunar cycle (29.5 days). It happens when the Moon is in line with the Sun, with the Sun and Earth on opposite sides of the Moon.
As the New Moon crosses the sky during the day, rising and... more
June 11, 2018
Keep your eye on Venus tonight! Our wonderful Evening Star Apparition is at its best in years. Here’s how to enjoy Venus through the summer! Get started this weekend (June 15–16, 2018), as Venus hovers near the crescent Moon in the beautiful twilight sky.
Venus will shine brilliantly in the northwest the first few hours after sunset. It’s not high up, but it’s not too low, either, so it easily shines above houses and hills. Beautiful! The brightest of planets will periodically meet the Moon... more
June 4, 2018
Only in astronomy does a Half Moon and a Quarter Moon mean the same thing! And the Quarter Moon is actually more interesting to view than the Full Moon. Bob explains the Moon phases!
We’ve all looked up at the night sky and seen half of the Moon’s disk illuminated. If you had two half Moons and fit them together, you’d get a full Moon. But when you’re looking at a Half Moon, the official name is the “Quarter Moon.” It’s written that way in almanacs and newspapers. Sound confusing?
Think of the... more
May 16, 2018
Sunspots are disappearing more rapidly than usual as the Sun prepares to enter the solar minimum. The last time the absence of sunspots was so prolonged was the “Little Ice Age,” which happened back in the 1600s. Will Earth experience another cold snap?
First, understand that the Sun normally follows sunspot cycles of roughly 11 years; think of sunspots as storms on the Sun. See more about sunspots.
The cycle starts out hot with a “solar maximum” littered with solar storms and sunspots; then... more
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