BellaOnline Forums Education Astronomy Start observing - look up!

Angie, I have long thought that the celestial sphere could be greatly improved by some smart labeling!

But have a look at the website Heavens-above. You can get a sky chart not only for your location but for the time you were observing. That would give you a good idea of what you were seeing. I doubt that the bright star was Polaris, as it's not all that bright. Might even have been another planet. I haven't seen anything but clouds - an occasional glimpses of the Moon - for so long, I can't really visualize it. I do know I haven't seen any stray Perseids.

If you have questions about the website which the article doesn't cover, just ask.

It was pretty bright - the sky was clear last night but I saw only the planets, I guess. Stars don't really show up well.

The night sky app showed the moon, two planets to its left and one bright object to its right. There are so many trees on my street. Guess I will have to drive to an open location but there are few of them.

I sent my son the email about the night sky and they did go out to look. Today people tend to stay indoors; many are watching the Olympics. Tonight I will try again and with binoculars.

Brian Ventrudo tells us what to look for in the October sky. As the nights are getting noticeably longer in northern skies, there are more opportunities for looking up!

Sierra Club's Kelly Kizer Whitt offers some October viewing highlights. (Click on the link to see the full article. The following is a summary.)

1. The Orionid Meteor Shower
It will peak overnight from October 21 to 22, but you might catch Orionid meteors any night between October 2 and November 7. The dust and debris burning up in Earth’s atmosphere is left over from Halley’s Comet.

2. The Moon
October’s full moon (Hunter’s Moon) is on October 15. Being mid-month, there are - in some places - new moons at the beginning and end of October. The first one was actually on September 30 in the USA, but on October 1 farther east. On October 30 there is another new moon, sometimes called a “black moon”. On Halloween night, you may catch a sliver of the young crescent moon in the west just before it sets. Bright Venus will also be in the west, with Saturn to its upper right.

3. Moon Pairings
On October 18, the moon rises in the constellation Taurus—specifically in the Hyades cluster of stars. Over the course of the evening and into the morning hours, the moon will get closer and closer to the bright star Aldebaran, actually passing in front of it or just skimming by, depending on your location.

4. The Galaxy Next Door
Fall is the season for seeing our nearest spiral galaxy, Andromeda. It’s part of the constellation of the same name. To find it, locate the W shape of the nearby Cassiopeia constellation, and follow the right half down to its end point. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) can be seen without any optical aid, but it’s best to look with a telescope or binoculars first to nail down the location.

If you have a clear fairly dark sky, you should be out looking for Orionids this week. You're most likely to see them in the late evening - for insomniacs and shift workers, around midnight can be good!

The peak of the Orionid meteor shower is expected on either Thursday night/Friday morning or Friday night/Saturday morning. Either night should produce some meteors if the sky is clear. In fact, there have been Orionids around for the last two weeks.

Brian Ventrudo tells us about November highlights. There are three meteor showers, though probably none of them are likely to be spectacular. I'm looking forward to seeing a bright Venus reappear after sunset, always a beautiful sight.

Were you looking up at the sunset sky last night (November 2)? The crescent Moon, Venus and Saturn made a lovely triangle, bright enough to be seen even in urban areas.

Photo credit: Jingpeng Liu, Lincoln, Nebraska USA

Wow, beautiful picture!