This Week's Amazing Sky
June 24, 2019
Both total solar eclipses AND partial solar eclipses require specialized eye protection. I’ve already written about eye safety, but it never hurts to provide more precaution.
More people will see a partial solar eclipse as it’s rare to be on the path of totality. However, it is never safe to look at a partial eclipse, or the partial phases of a total solar eclipse, without the proper equipment and techniques.
In fact, technically, the only time that the Sun can be viewed safely with the naked... more
June 24, 2019
You can seriously damage your eyes by watching a solar eclipse without proper protection (NOT sunglasses!). Here is information on how to watch an eclipse safely and what kind of eye protection you need—from eclipse glasses to welder’s googles.
First, if you are watching a “total solar eclipse,” do you realize that you can only see totality from a very limited area—the narrow ribbon of darkness? Otherwise, a partial solar eclipse will unfold for you. (Learn about different types of eclipses.)... more
June 18, 2019
In June 2019, the Moon pairs up with three planets, while planets meet other planets! Next up: Tonight, June 18, features a twilight conjunction of Mercury and Mars and, more visibly, a late-night conjunction of the Moon and bright Saturn!
Mercury’s Best 2019 Apparition
Mercury returns to the evening sky between June 3 and July 11. But you do need an unobstructed view toward the west. If you live on the West Coast or in Kansas, you’re in luck. If you’re in mountainous Colorado, you’ll have a... more
June 12, 2019
Jupiter is at its closest to Earth today! This is your best chance of the year to see the biggest planet in our solar system at its very brightest. Even a set of 10x binoculars will be enough to see Jupiter’s four brightest Moons—Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. No telescope needed.
Jupiter’s Opposition
Two days ago (June 10) was Jupiter’s “opposition.” Our planet Earth flew between the Sun and Jupiter, placing Jupiter opposite the Sun in our sky.
On June 12, 2019, Jupiter and Earth reaches... more
May 14, 2019
The Full Flower Moon arrives this Saturday night, May 18. And while this one will be a very special full moon for a few reasons, which we’ll get to in a minute, it’s also an unusual Blue Moon. What does this all mean? Here’s everything you need to know.
A Seasonal Blue Moon
This year, May’s full moon—which the Almanac calls the “Full Flower Moon”—is also a “Blue Moon.”
You’ve more than likely heard this term before, but what does it mean, exactly? Believe it or not, Blue Moon is a fairly modern... more
May 6, 2019
It sounds like a children’s book. But even we grown ups have to say goodbye to loved ones from time to time. On the night of May 7, the Moon and Mars pair up for a striking conjunction, and then we bid farewell to Mars and the winter stars. Here are viewing details.
Moon and Mars Conjunction
Just step out into the evening soon soon after nightfall on Tuesday, May 7 as the last fading fragments of twilight are welcoming in the night. You’ll want to find an unobstructed view of the horizon in... more
March 23, 2019
Few seem to realize that the Sun in April is as strong as it is in August, especially once we hit the middle of the month. Solar fear and confusion still abound. The marketing of ultrablocking sunscreens and special sun-protective clothing plays into these fears. I certainly got repeatedly surprised when I researched the Sun’s health effects.
Sunlight Lifts Your Mood
Everyone probably instinctively senses that sunlight enhances their mood and whittles away depression. This may be due to the... more
March 21, 2019
The Big Dipper is an old friend to most of us. Poetically, it is spring itself, the season of renewal. Just go outside in early evening, and you’ll see stars shaped in a dipper pattern high in the northeastern sky.
Looming large in the night sky, the Big Dipper’s shape is mutating and will appear different in just a few thousand years, but it hasn’t changed a bit since we were kids.
What is the Big Dipper?
Curiously, the Big Dipper is not even a constellation but a so-called asterism, a “... more
February 15, 2019
On Tuesday, February 19, 2019, the full Moon reaches 2019’s closest approach to Earth. The media will call it a supermoon, astronomers will call it lunar perigee. Regardless of the name, it will be the nearest, largest, and brightest full Moon of the year—and will produce the strongest tides.
This nearest full Moon of the year will reach its peak on Tuesday, February 19, at 10:53 A.M. EST. “Perigee,” the official astronomical term for the nearest point in the Moon’s orbit to Earth, is three... more
January 17, 2019
On Sunday evening, January 20, we’ll see the finest total eclipse of 2019, visible from all of North America. How long will the eclipse last? When is the eclipse visible? Here are the times for watching the eclipse on Sunday—and how it will all unfold. This event is definitely worth observing. Kids particularly love lunar eclipses, and remember them vividly their whole lives.
When Earth passes directly between the Sun and the Moon, a lunar eclipse takes place.
Image: NASA
Viewing the Eclipse: ... 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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