Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Today: Looking due east at 6:25 this evening, Leo the Lion begins to climb above the horizon, with the Twins of Gemini much higher. About halfway between them, search for a faint sprinkling of stars, called the “Beehive”, a swarm of stars in the faint constellation...

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Today: By 8:30 PM this evening, the “twin” stars of Gemini appear quite high in the south-southeast, two-thirds of the way up from the horizon, and ride very high across the southern skies. Pollux, a bit brighter and on the lower left, and Castor, on the...

Monday, February 24, 2025

Today: Mercury and Saturn will appear very close together just shortly after sunset, and right along the horizon, just south of west, at 6:15. With difficulty, they will be viewable only for a matter of minutes, until the pair sets at 6:30. For ideal viewing you would...

Sunday, February 23, 2025

Today: Retrograde motion of Mars ends tonight, which started late last year as the faster Earth passed Mars in our respective orbits. We are now far enough past Mars that its direct, west to east motion resumes. Forming a triangle with the bright Twin stars of Gemini,...

Saturday, February 22, 2025

Today: Facing south at around 7:40 reveals a host of bright objects along or near the ecliptic. In the east appears the star Regulus, within the constellation Leo. High in sky, and just east of south appears Mars, still in the company of Castor and Pollux. Just west...

Friday, February 21, 2025

Today: George Washington’s actual birthday (not the holiday) would have seen the same stars in the same places in 1732, though the planets would have been different. Thanks to modern computer calculations, we know that Venus and Saturn were amazingly close in...