Astronomers define the ‘really habitable zone’: Planets capable of producing gin and tonic

A hospitable star that doesn’t kill you with deadly flares. A rocky planet with liquid water and an agreeable climate. Absence of apocalyptic asteroid storms. No pantheon of angry, vengeful and capricious gods. These are the things that define a habitable planet. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-04-astronomers-habitable-zone-planets-capable.html…

A tangle of stars in Berenices’ Hair

Berenice’s Hair – aka Coma Berenices – requires a dark sky to be seen. But it’s worth the effort, a wonderful star cluster! Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/tangle-of-stars-in-berenices-hair…

Pollux: The brighter twin star

Pollux, the brightest star in the constellation Gemini, blazes in a golden light next to its bluish-white heavenly twin, Castor, in the evening skies of the Northern Hemisphere’s spring. Source: https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/pollux-not-castor-is-geminis-brightest-star…

Locate Cassiopeia the Queen

An earlier name for Cassiopeia was Cassiopeia’s Chair. A legend from ancient Greek mythology explains why. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/cassiopeia-is-shaped-like-an-m-or-w…

Ancient Assyrian rock carvings in Iraq show procession of gods riding mythical animals

Stunning ancient rock carvings that portray an Assyrian king paying homage to his gods amid a procession of mythical animals have been unearthed in the Kurdistan region in the north of Iraq. Source: https://www.livescience.com/assyrian-carvings-gods-mythical-creatures.html

See a celestial Chariot in December

The constellation Auriga the Charioteer also has several easy-to-find and very famous star clusters that you can spot with binoculars. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/celestial-chariot-high-overhead-around-midnight…