In the lush garden of Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire, England, grows a lone apple tree. This is not just any old apple tree but the very tree where it is said that, in the summer of 1666, Isaac Newton watched an apple fall and... — Updated 3/4/2024

If your January sky has been as cloudy as mine, you might say your recent stargazing efforts have just gone to the dogs. And you'd be right! Hopefully your sky is clear this week, because you can go out to seek two canine... — Updated 2/15/2024

In his 1926 book "The Universe of Stars," the American astronomer Harlow Shapley wrote: "We are therefore made out of star stuff ... we feed upon sunbeams, we are kept warm by the radiation of the sun and we are made out of the... — Updated 2/15/2024

With the moon appearing so bright this week, it'll be hard to see much in the night sky except for the moon itself along with the brilliant planet Jupiter high overhead. Fortunately, at this time of year, our sky is adorned with... — Updated 2/15/2024

As cold as it is in many locations right now, you'll find it a wonderful opportunity for stargazing. The evening sky of January and February is the most dazzling of the entire year, and the stars seem to sparkle like diamonds... — Updated 2/15/2024

The moon returns to our evening sky this week. It begins its trek as a thin crescent in the southwestern sky at dusk and ends the week as a bright gibbous moon high in the east. Before it becomes too bright, however, I encourage... — Updated 2/15/2024

In 1989, filmmaker Matthew H. Schneps released a 20-minute video titled "A Private Universe" in which he interviewed recent Harvard University graduates, faculty members and alumni – some of whom had science backgrounds – and posed... — Updated 2/15/2024

The year begins with brilliant Jupiter dominating the heavens. It will remain in our early evening sky throughout the spring months, though it'll be receding from Earth and will begin to fade a bit by the end of April when we'll... — Updated 2/15/2024

One question I'm asked frequently during my January night sky tours is, "Where the Big Dipper?" Look for it after dark during January and you, too, will discover that it's nowhere to be found. The Big Dipper is one of the most... — Updated 2/15/2024

If you viewed the sky last week and you may have thought that Chicken Little's declaration that the sky is falling is correct. Alas, it's not. What you saw was just the annual Geminid meteor shower that reached its peak this year o... — Updated 2/15/2024

The moon returns to our evening sky again this week, and you can have some fun watching it cross our sky from west to east. Our nearest cosmic neighbor reached its "new" phase on Dec. 12, when it was located between the Earth and... — Updated 2/15/2024

This week we can see something that many beginning sky watchers miss. I say we can "see" it, but in reality, it's invisible except in our imaginations. I'm referring to what astronomers know as the "ecliptic." The ecliptic... — Updated 2/15/2024

Even as a child, I enjoyed heading outdoors after sunset from time to time to watch as the thin crescent moon paired up with the brilliant planet Venus in the waning light of dusk. It all seemed so magical to me. But Venus is... — Updated 2/15/2024

We call it the Demon Star because it winks ominously at us from the sky each evening. Well, OK, it doesn't "wink," but it does vary its brightness over time, and for much of history that was quite a portentous sign. I'm talking... — Updated 2/15/2024

What is that bright light glowing low in the east just after dark? An airplane? The International Space Station? A UFO? The answer is none of the above. It's the planet Jupiter! Jupiter has returned to our evening sky after many... — Updated 11/21/2023

I've always enjoyed Halloween. I mean, how often can we dress up as crazy characters and wander the neighborhood without being locked up? But did you know that Halloween has an origin that's rooted in the heavens? It all goes back... — Updated 11/9/2023

This week, the moon illuminates our evening sky as it drifts in its monthly orbit around the Earth, and it will be accompanied by the four outer planets of our solar system. On Oct. 23, look for the moon to lie just to the... — Updated 11/9/2023

When did you last see an eclipse of the sun? Seems like ages, doesn't it? The last one visible from North America occurred six years ago – on Aug. 21, 2017. If you missed it, you'll have another chance on Saturday, Oct. 14, and y... — Updated 11/9/2023

If I were to ask you what makes the harvest moon so special, would you know the answer? Many stargazers know that the harvest moon occurs during the autumn, around the time that harvests take place. Some might even say that it's no... — Updated 11/9/2023

Seasons come and seasons go, and over our lives we've all become accustomed to this pattern. When I was young, I looked forward to summer because we got a few months off from school and had great weather to swim, travel or just lay... — Updated 11/9/2023

Back in the late 18th and early 19th centuries – long before anyone had any real idea of all that lay out there among the stars – a French astronomer spent his nights scouring the sky for his prey. Charles Messier scanned the heave... — Updated 11/9/2023

One of the tiniest constellations in all the heavens now appears high in the eastern sky after dark. As small and faint as it is, it's not all that difficult to locate, and it's one that I love to share with the public during my... — Updated 9/14/2023

Few sights are as thrilling as the fiery spectacle known as a falling star, also called a shooting star or meteor. Astronomers cannot predict exactly when or where a meteor will appear, but each year during mid-August, skywatchers... — Updated 9/14/2023

If you've ever wished you could travel back in time like Marty McFly in "Back to the Future," you may be out of luck. But if you'd like to stay right where you are and see into the past, well, that's something you can do quite... — Updated 9/14/2023

As August arrives, the full moon will overwhelm our night sky with its light. But once the moon leaves the early evening sky later in the week, you might enjoy getting out and searching for Draco, the dragon. Now, Draco isn't one... — Updated 9/14/2023