When someone says “Milky Way,” do you think of the starry pathway across our sky, or of the great pinwheel-shaped galaxy in space? Both are correct! Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/what-is-the-milky-way-galaxy…
Tag: starry
Science explains why we kiss
Why does kissing feel good? Watch this video to learn why humans are drawn to puckering up. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/video-the-science-of-kissing…
Happy birthday to Galileo, born February 15
One of our greatest astronomers, Galileo Galilei, was born February 15, 1564. His discoveries with the improved telescopes he made changed the way we view the universe – and got him in trouble with the church. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/galileos-birthday-feb-15-1564…
Mercury’s greatest evening elongation January 23-24
Mercury will be at its greatest elongation January 23. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/mercurys-greatest-evening-elongation…
Moon, Mars, Uranus January 19, 20, 21
Over the next several evenings – January 19, 20 and 21, 2021 – let the moon show you the red planet Mars, and then use Mars to find the distant ice giant planet, Uranus. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-mars-uranus-january-19-20-21…
Scientists discover new way to measure turbulence of large planets and exoplanets
The swirls, eddies, and wavy bands of Jupiter and Saturn may remind us of a soothing, starry, starry night—but they reveal these two gas giants to be stormy, turbulent places. The turbulence produces energy cascades, a non-linear transfer of energy between different scales of motion. These are as fundamental to understanding planetary dynamics as the cardiovascular system is to understanding the…
Leonid meteor shower is building to a peak
The peak of the Leonids is likely to be before sunup on November 17, 2020. But people already catching some Leonids. Keep an eye out this weekend. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/leonid-meteors-before-dawn-november-17…
Aquarius? Here’s your constellation
Aquarius lies in a “watery” part of the sky, near Pisces the Fish, Cetus the Whale, Eridanus the River, and Piscis Austrinus the Southern Fish. Source: https://earthsky.org/constellations/aquarius-heres-your-constellation…
Last quarter moon in Gemini, waning moon in Cancer
Last quarter moon comes on October 10. That morning, the moon will be in front of Gemini the Twins. The next morning – October 11 – the moon will be in front of Cancer the Crab. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/last-quarter-moon-in-gemini…
Venus-Regulus conjunction in early October
Brilliant Venus, in and of itself, is worth getting up for, but the tantalizingly close encounter of Venus with the star Regulus won’t happen again for another 8 years. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/venus-regulus-conjunction-in-early-october…