Author Archives: upinthesky

     If you visit Bemidji State University, and walk around the north end of Deputy Hall, on the east side of the building (up the hill from Sattgast Hall) you will find a big concrete slab.   What is that doing there?  Well, … Continue reading →

Cancer is an inconspicuous constellation; its major feature is not its stars but Praesepe, the Beehive Cluster, a fine binocular object. One of Cancer’s dimmer naked eye stars is 55 Cancri, just 41 light years away, a bit cooler and … Continue reading →

Let’s try again. Maybe I can get it to actually print the URLs this time. The Sky & Telescope update that arrived Friday 6 May had more info on the dance of four planets that early risers can see before … Continue reading →

Correction: On those three URLs, the words “May ’11 4-planet dance article”, “4-planet dance movie”, and “= Astronomy Day article.> are NOT parts of the URLs, just identifiers. Sorry, but the blue ink of the URLs didn’t come through when … Continue reading →

The Sky & Telescope update that arrived today, Friday 6 May had more info on the dance of four planets that early risers can see before sunup above the eastern horizon this month. It has three URLs for you to … Continue reading →

There is a Sky & Telescope entry, with a diagram, on using Luna [our moon] as a guide to find Venus in the daytime on Monday 28 Feb. and Tuesday 1 March.  Click the colorful link below to get there.  Enjoy.  I … Continue reading →

Tonight, 9 July, an hour after sunset, Regulus (in Leo) will be a degree to the lower left of much brighter Venus. 13-16 July, 45 minutes after sunset, Mercury, Regulus, Venus, Mars, and Saturn will form a rough diagonal line … Continue reading →