Starwatch 2008 March
Our moon put on quite a show during February's lunar eclipse. In March the moon can't reproduce that kind of glory, but it seems to make an effort by pairing itself with stars and planets all month long. In fact, we can get a good picture of the night sky just by tagging along with the moon as it makes its rounds.

Starwatch February 2008
Dead of winter? Not this February. The shortest month packs in so many events we hardly have space to talk about them, so let's get to it.

Starwatch January 2008
The weather may be cold, but January is a hot month this year for spotting celestial objects that have made news. First is none other than Mercury, the elusive messenger of the gods.

Starwatch December 2007
Mars takes the role of December's featured performer. After brightening all year, the planet finally reaches its pinnacle of glory on the 18th, when its irregular orbit brings it within 56 million miles of us--closer than it will be again until 2016.

Starwatch November 2007
In the midst of cold, gray November, Mars stands out like a beacon. Our ruddy neighbor appears earlier each evening this month, rising less than two hours after sunset by month's end. It also brightens noticeably as Earth closes in, en route to a Christmas Eve sweep past the fabled Red Planet. Mars, now sojourning among the stars of Gemini, comes up about the same time as Orion, its famous neighbor to the south.

Starwatch October 2007
Now that the fall equinox has come and gone, we're moving into the season when skies do some serious darkening. October nights reap this benefit in spades, while still retaining enough heat to make watching the stars a pleasure.

Starwatch September 2007
As the summer sun recedes, it makes way for the autumn stars sweeping in. Many belong to water constellations like Pisces, Capricornus, and Aquarius, which are now chasing the Milky Way westward. Late evenings are graced by a furiously brightening Mars, and approaching morning sees Venus soar to a lofty throne, there to preside until the break of day.

Starwatch August 2007
This year's hot August nights have lost Venus and Saturn, but they make up for it in plenty of other ways. Let's start with the scorpion and the archer.

Starwatch July 2007
"Planets at play" could be the theme of July's sky show, except that stars also play some pretty boffo supporting roles.

Starwatch June 2007
The short June nights leave the stars and planets little chance to show their stuff, but this year they make the most of it. To the east, Jupiter rises at sunset to dominate the night. To the west, a parade of planets and stars pays its respects to queenly Venus. Elsewhere, the brilliant star Arcturus hangs high in the south and the Summer Triangle of bright stars rises in the northeast.

Starwatch May 2007
Watching that brilliant evening star come out in the west, it's clear that the night belongs to Venus. Shining at full wattage, our sister planet lingers for three-and-a-half hours past sunset.

Starwatch April 2007
This year April belongs to Venus. After sunset our brilliant sister planet vaults to nearly its highest position in the evening sky, while all around it the stars of winter flow by en route to temporary oblivion behind the sun.

Starwatch March 2007
March may not come in like a lion, but it certainly starts out in spectacular fashion. The fun begins around 6 p.m. on the 3rd, when the full moon rises in the midst of a lunar eclipse.

Starwatch February 2007
We tip our hat to Saturn this month--especially on the 10th, when Earth "laps" its ringed neighbor in the race around the sun. At that moment Saturn will be like the full moon: directly opposite the sun in the sky and visible all night.

Starwatch January 2007
Like the sash worn by the new year's baby, January sports a diagonal ribbon of its own.

Starwatch December 2006
Three planets gather among the stars of Scorpius this month, and Venus makes a comeback in the evening sky. Even so, easy views of bright planets are few. As we enter the December installment of the theater of the seasons, it becomes clear that the stars are the real stars of the show.

Starwatch November 2006
In June 2004 Venus made headlines by sailing gracefully across the face of the sun in a spectacle astronomers call a "transit." This month Mercury follows suit--but with a few differences.

Starwatch October 2006
It's harvest moon and Halloween month, so get ready for lots of light, natural and otherwise. There may even be a bonus light show, courtesy of the Orionid meteors.

Starwatch September 2006
The sun has been dropping through the sky since the June solstice, but it really picks up speed in September. This month we lose 90 minutes of daylight, compared to only 49 minutes during July. The shorter days may be bad news for sunbathers, but they mean more time to watch the stars and planets.

Starwatch August 2006
The warm, lazy nights of August are perfect for exploring the richness of the night sky. This month the planets all hug the horizon, as if standing back to let the perennial beauty of the stars shine through.

Starwatch July 2006
With Jupiter the only bright evening planet, this July is a good time to enjoy the stars. For starters, we get the best view of two famous and easily recognized constellations, Scorpius and Sagittarius, denizens of the sky's nether region.

Starwatch June 2006
If you've never seen the Beehive star cluster, or even if you have, here comes a great chance to catch it in the company of luminaries. Through most of June, the Beehive consorts with the likes of Saturn, Mars and a thin crescent moon.

Starwatch May 2006
In May the night sky shrinks at both ends from the relentless onslaught of the climbing sun. But it takes more than that to dim the brilliance of Jupiter, the king of planets. Earth glides straight between Jupiter and the sun on the 4th, an event called opposition because it places the giant planet directly opposite the sun in the sky. At that time Jupiter will be at its biggest and brightest for the whole year.

Starwatch March 2006
The young moon that heralds the arrival of March waxes to a mature full moon on the 14th.

Starwatch February 2006
On the 28th, sharp-eyed viewers may be able to use Mercury to spot a razor-thin crescent moon sitting just above the horizon to the lower left of the planet.

Starwatch January 2006
Look to the setting sun on New Year's Day and you'll see a thin crescent moon poised above the horizon. But you may not see a second, much smaller crescent in the same patch of sky. Venus, now angling closer to us, appears as a long silvery sliver of light, just like the young moon and about nine degrees to the right of it.

Starwatch December 2005
Like a seasoned performer, Venus saves its climactic performance for the end. In December, as our sister planet prepares to drop out of the sky and hurtle between Earth and the sun, it reaches maximum height and brilliance for its current stint as an evening "star."

Starwatch November 2005
In November the bright winter constellations like Orion, Gemini and Taurus begin their slow march across the evening sky.

Starwatch October 2005
After long months of waiting, we finally get to see Mars in its full glory. Rising just ahead of the Pleiades, the Red Planet glows a soft pumpkin color during October.

Starwatch September 2005
At our latitude, we lose about three minutes a day in September. If you think that's bad, consider the Icelanders, who watch a good six minutes of daylight "go south" each day in the middle of September.

Starwatch August 2005
The Perseid meteor shower will arrive on schedule during the second week of August, reaching a peak around noon on the 12th. We won't see anything at that time, of course, but on the night of the 11th-12th, the moon will have set by the time the constellation Perseus rises and the meteors start flying. Get comfortable and watch for fireballs hurtling through the sky from the northeast.

Starwatch July 2005
This year July 4 delivers double fireworks. On that day we get not only the usual show, but a historic crash landing of a NASA probe on a comet.

Starwatch June 2005
Starwatch June 2005