This Week's Amazing Sky
March 1, 2020
What are signs of spring in the sky? Perhaps you’ve noticed the earlier sunrises. Let’s observe a few more signs in the sky—including a springtime smile from our very own Moon.
Once spring is under way, nature lovers can find it hard to keep up with the rapid day-to-day changes on the ground. Much less well-known is that the sky starts this process first.
The Sun Shifts Location
Gazing upward, we can actually feel as well as see the current rapid alterations. For, this is the time of year when... more
February 28, 2020
The rumors are true. It’s the earliest spring of your life. Spring, marked by the vernal equinox, will begin on March 19, 2020 in all US time zones. Spring is earlier than it has been in 124 years (since 1896). It’ll even get earlier in a few years. And there’s an amazing story behind this.
The Quirks of Our Calendar
If you went to school in the 60’s, say, you remember how spring reliably began every March 21. So what’s going on?
This earlier-than-usual spring has everything to do with time,... more
February 11, 2020
Mercury is now an evening star hovering at its most prominent position of 2020. It’s definitely worth taking a look. You don’t need a telescope or binoculars, and it’s not hard to find. Here are viewing tips plus a few surprising facts about planet Mercury.
Simply look toward sunset at around 6 PM any time for the the next couple weeks. As the fading light of dusk hugs the western sky, dazzling Venus pops out at you as the brightest thing in the sky. You don’t have to search for Venus – it... more
February 3, 2020
Ever noticed how snow will disappear without melting? Even in sub-freezing weather, the frost on your car or the snow bank will get smaller. How does this happen? It’s called sublimation. Bob explains …
On a cold sunny day, you may have noticed that the huge piles of snow pushed onto the edges of parking lots by plows sometimes look as if they’re steaming. This is one sign that sublimation is underway.
The snow is turning from a solid directly to a gas, bypassing the liquid watery stage.
More... more
January 18, 2020
This past week, the star Betelgeuse (Orion’s “left shoulder”) dimmed. Most reports jumped on the supernova angle. What really happened? There’s nothing like a space mystery to spark interest …
For a quick background: A burst of gravitational waves was detected near the star Betelgeuse. At the same time, Betelgeuse has mysteriously dimmed in recent weeks. So, many folks wondered if the red supergiant was about to explode. Gravitation waves are often related to big cosmic events happening in ... more
January 8, 2020
It’s escaped no one’s attention that this year’s name is also the term for sharp vision—2020. So let’s check out your vision in the sky! Plus, here are some fun facts about how long it takes for our eyes to adjust to darkness and whether your night vision is affected by your eye color.
The human eye is amazing and uses different modes to see during the daytime and to see at night, and can also
Living in Full Color: Photopic Vision
People who move from a city into a rural area are often spooked... more
December 13, 2019
You’ve probably weather forecasts say “80% chance of rain.” What does this really mean? Probably not what you think. Here’s an easy translation of weather speak for all you star gazers.
If you’re a sky watcher, the first step in observing the sky is having decent weather. We probably all check the forecast from time to time. But relatively few of us know how to make sense of it.
If you heard an “80% chance of rain,” would you assume this mean you had an 80% chance of getting rained on? Not... more
November 22, 2019
Are you a stargazer? After your Thanksgiving feast, in this season of dark skies, let’s look up—way up—at beautiful stars, planets, and the amazing universe around us. There are so many reasons to be grateful. Bob Berman gets us started …
(Note: This is a reprint of Bob’s letter on Cosmic Gratitude.)
It would be nice to hold a Thanksgiving star party, where we astronomers could rattle off their own special reasons to be thankful. I’ll go first.
We can give thanks that the Moon and Sun both... more
November 7, 2019
It’s hard to evaluate the major astronomical event coming up on Monday, November 11, 2019. It certainly sounds spectacular: the planet Mercury will visibly cross the face of the Sun. The next such transit won’t occur until 2032. Bob Berman has information on when and how to see this rare astronomical event.
What Does Mercury Transit Mean?
Mercury, the planet closest to our Sun, will “transit” or pass directly in front of the Sun! As Mercury passes beween the Sun and Earth, it appears as a tiny... more
October 30, 2019
This week’s crescent Moon is extra special. On Halloween night, October 31, see the brightest “star” next to the Moon? That’s Jupiter! Then on November 1 and November 2, the Moon travels to Saturn for another planet meet-up. Here are Bob’s viewing tips.
The crescent is the shape most associated with a celestial object. Sure, the full Moon is circular, but when we think of a circle we have so many possible links from eye-pupils to wedding rings that the shape simply doesn’t possess an off-Earth... more
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Welcome to “This Week’s Amazing Sky,” the Almanac’s hub for everything 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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