Today:
Today marks the anniversary of the discovery of Pluto. Clyde Tombaugh was examining pictures taken through the telescope at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona in January, 1930, over a period of days. One of the “stars” in the image moved while the stars remained in place, revealing the frozen world for the first time.
Monday:
At 7:10 this evening, looking straight up, a bright star marks the zenith, very top of the sky. Capella is the fourth brightest star we can see, though it is past its prime. Astronomers estimate it was the brightest star in the sky some 200,000 years ago.
Tuesday:
A growing, bright waxing Gibbous Moon starts the evening about halfway up in the east, climbing even higher through the darkening evening skies. With the darkness, a pair of stars are revealed to be the Moon’s companions tonight, the Twins of Gemini. Just above and left of the Moon shines Pollux, while his twin brother, Castor, looks on from above.