Tonight the moon and the giant planet Jupiter rise together a little north of East. Jupiter is the bright star to the right of the moon in the early evening sky. Looking at the planet with binoculars on a tripod … Continue reading →

The long days of summer have passed and as we move into autumn months the hours of daylight are fewer while the hours of darkness increase. In the third week of September the sun is above the horizon just as … Continue reading →

On this date in 1933, amateur radio operator Karl Jansky reported that he had detected radio emissions coming from the Milky Way. This discovery began the science of radio astronomy.

The Draconid meteor shower reaches its peak tonight. Shooting stars will streak out of the northwestern sky. Light from a bright, waxing gibbous moon will interfere with observations most of the night.

On this date in 1959, the probe Luna 3 returned the first images of the far side of the moon to the Soviet Space Agency.

Sputnik On this date in 1957 the USSR launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, into orbit around the Earth.

Facing south at 7:30 tonight, look for the first quarter moon over the stars of the Teapot, an asterism or informal star grouping in the constellation Sagittarius.

On this date in 1958 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was established.