Earthsky Tonight —April 20, Vega marks radiant point of April’s Lyrid meteor shower
The 2010 Lyrid meteor shower is now picking up steam. This shower is expected to produce the most meteors in the dark hours before dawn on Thursday, April 22. The…
Earthsky Tonight — April 19, two stars lead to constellation Hercules
The constellation Hercules the Kneeling Giant can be seen ascending in the east-northeast on these spring evenings. Our chart today shows the sky for late night, when all of these…
Earthsky Tonight — April 18, Spica, your guide star to Omega Centauri
Silvery-blue Spica, the only prominent star in the constellation Virgo, acts as your guide to the Omega Centauri globular star cluster.
Earthsky Tonight — April 17, Heavenly Chariot flies in west at nightfall
As darkness falls, there are several ways to distinguish the brilliant star Capella from the other bright stars in the western half of sky.
Earthsky Tonight — April 16, Moon between Venus and Pleiades
The slender waxing crescent moon sits between the blazing planet Venus and the Pleiades star cluster.
Earthsky Tonight – April 15: Catch the moon and Mercury after sunset
Catch the young moon this evening, and it might be the youngest moon you have ever seen. Try searching for the moon and Mercury about 35 to 55 minutes after…
Earthsky Tonight —April 14: Sundial noon and clock noon agree in mid April
Every year around middle April, time by the sun and the clock both agree. For instance, when the midday sun climbs highest in the sky at this time of year,…
Earthsky Tonight — April 13: Mars and Beehive cluster pair up in mid April
These mid-April evenings provide you with a golden opportunity to see the Beehive star cluster, the crown jewel of the constellation Cancer the Crab.
Earthsky Tonight — April 12: Star-hop from Leo to the Coma star cluster
Two distinctive star patterns make the Lion fairly easy to identify. Leo’s brightest star – the sparkling blue-white gem Regulus – dots a backward question mark of stars known as…
Earthsky Tonight—April 10: Crescent moon above Jupiter at dawn
Jupiter is the largest and most massive planet in the solar system. If Jupiter stood at the moon’s distance from Earth, this great big world would appear some 1,600 times…