Mercury's at greatest elongation this week. Saturn's still up in the evening. Jupiter's about to turn around. Venus and the moon pair with a dragon star. Mars is still missing. English speakers say the moon is at first quarter or last quarter. People who come from non-English speaking cultures have another view. It's not often that an asteroid passes in front of one bright star. But it will happen twice next week ..read more

It's been a half-century since Pioneer 10 went by Jupiter. And it's been 20 years since anyone last heard from the probe. Whatever's next for it will probably be in almost 40,000 years ..read more

Mars just went through solar conjunction. Not only can ordinary observers not see the red planet, scientists can't stay in touch with the space probes there either. That's not a small concern. Missions to Mars have been hard. Here's the story of the first successful Mars probe to report back and what finally did shut it down ..read more

Mercury's slowly making it into the evening sky. Saturn rules the evening. Jupiter's still up all night. So is Uranus as it's at opposition this week. Venus dominates the morning. Mars is hidden in the sun's glare. A listener wants to know why the moon always seems to pass or over certain stars but not others. The answer goes back billions of years ..read more

The first known crowdsourced scientific study began one morning 190 years ago when it looked like the stars were falling from the sky. Nobody knew yet just what meteors are. A professor's letter asking people to tell him what they saw set scientists on the path to figuring it out ..read more

Jupiter will be up all night this week. This opposition isn't as close as last year's, but it'll be the closest for about a dozen years ..read more

This is the week of the annular solar eclipse that crosses the Americas. You don't have much time to get ready to see it. Find the times for your location with the eclipse visibility map. Mars and Mercury disappear, the moon makes it to 28.3° south, and this week's moon-Venus pairing gets a little more sparkle than usual in the heart of Leo ..read more

The celestial dragon may deliver some fireballs courtesy of Comet Halley next week. If you're in the Americas, you want to prepare for the solar eclipse on the 14th ..read more

Mars continues riding into the sunset. The moon passes by Saturn. Venus approaches the lion. The Daytime Sextantid meteor shower peaks. See a star when the sun is up ..read more

Mars keeps getting harder to see. Saturn gives a lonely star a little company. Jupiter and Uranus hang out between Cetus and Aries. Venus sparkles in the morning. Mercury at its greatest viewing. Neptune up all night. A quick guide to figure out when you can see the moon ..read more