Alison Klesman

Writer at Astronomy Magazine

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Articles

The Sky Today on Thursday, June 5: Summer Triangle rising

2 days ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

Now rising in the east after sunset is the famous Summer Triangle, so called because it sits high overhead on summer nights. As we head for the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice later this month, the three stars that make up this asterism will rise earlier and earlier each night. Tonight around 11 P.M. local daylight time you’ll see the Summer Triangle some 30° high in the east. The lowest star, Altair, shines at magnitude 0.8 in Aquila the Eagle.
The Sky Today on Wednesday, June 4: Pallas swims with the Dolphin

3 days ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

Asteroid 2 Pallas is visible in the late evening and overnight into the early morning. Around local midnight, you’ll find this main-belt world some 16° high in the eastern sky, a few degrees east of the four-star lozenge in Delphinus also called Job’s Coffin. This small, diamond-shaped asterism is made from four 4th-magnitude stars: Alpha, Beta (β), Gamma (γ), and Delta (δ) Delphini. You’ll find it about 14° east-northeast of bright Altair in Aquila.
The Sky Today on Tuesday, June 3: A trio of craters

4 days ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

Already high in the sky at sunset, the Moon is some 45° high in the southwest an hour after the Sun disappears. Fix your telescope on the center of the Moon, near the terminator dividing lunar night and day. Just south of the lunar equator is a series of three craters, starting with Ptolemaeus. About 95 miles (153 kilometers) wide, its floor appears at first glance quite smooth except for one notable pockmark in the northeast.
The Sky Today on Monday, June 2: The Little Lion

5 days ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

The smaller constellation Leo Minor lies to the upper right (north) of Leo in the west this evening. Leo Minor appears crouched above its larger counterpart, sandwiched between Leo and Ursa Major. The easiest way to find it is to search the space between two famous asterisms: the Sickle of Leo and the Big Dipper.
The Sky Today on Sunday, June 1: The Moon passes Mars

6 days ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

The Moon passes 1.4° north of Mars at 6 A.M. EDT; the two are visible together this evening, slowly setting in the western sky and visible for a few hours after sunset. Both now lie in western Leo, with the Moon close to the Lion’s bright heart, Regulus (Alpha [α] Leonis). This magnitude 1.4 star lies some 79 light-years away, making it one of the relatively closer star systems to our Sun. And it is indeed a system of stars: Regulus is a quadruple star.
The Sky Today on Saturday, May 31: Venus at greatest western elongation

1 week ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

Venus reaches its greatest western elongation (46°) from the Sun at midnight EDT. Earth’s sister planet is now visible in the early-morning sky, and today Venus rises in the east at 3:30 A.M. local daylight time — roughly two hours before the Sun. That gives observers plenty of time to view the bright morning planet, now shining at magnitude –4.4.Venus is now in southeastern Pisces. It’s the brightest object in the sky, impossible to miss.
The Sky This Week from May 30 to June 6: All eyes on Venus

1 week ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

Venus not only reaches greatest western elongation in the sky this week, but dichotomy as well. Dichotomy is the moment the planet appears 50 percent lit; this 2017 image captured the planet when it was 49.9 percent lit. Credit: Shahrin Ahmad (Flickr, BY-NC-SA 2.0) Sky This Week is brought to you in part by Celestron. Friday, May 30The crescent Moon lies in Cancer this evening, just a few degrees from the stunning Beehive Cluster (M44).
The Sky Today on Friday, May 30: Saturn and Neptune rise together

1 week ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

Take a peek at the early-morning duo of Saturn and Neptune, rising together in Pisces around 2:30 A.M. local daylight time. By 4 A.M. local daylight time they are some 15° high, with blazing Venus visible to their lower left. Saturn stands out well to the naked eye at magnitude 1.1, but Neptune (magnitude 7.8) will require binoculars or a telescope to see. The two planets are now 1.7° apart and will fit well within the field of view of binoculars, a finder scope, or a wide-field telescope.
The Sky Today on Thursday, May 29: Pull out binoculars for Upgren 1

1 week ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

Binocular observers, this one’s for you: Upgren 1, a small grouping of stars discovered in 1963 within the constellation Canes Venatici. High in the west around 10:30 P.M. local daylight time, the Hunting Dogs lie beneath the curve of the Big Dipper’s long handle. Upgren 1 contains about 10 stars in an area roughly 14’ wide. It sits 5° southwest of 3rd-magnitude Alpha (α) Canum Venaticorum, also called Cor Caroli, and appears like a tiny triangle in binoculars.
The Sky Today on Wednesday, May 28: Glimpse Jupiter and its Galilean moons

1 week ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

The Moon passes 5° north of Jupiter at 9 A.M. EDT. Just six percent illuminated by this evening, you can try to spot the young crescent Moon hanging above the gas giant in the western sky after sunset. An hour after the Sun disappears, Jupiter (shining at magnitude –1.9) is just 4° high in the west. Some 8.5° above it is the crescent Moon, near the border of Gemini and Auriga.