Tag: planets

Mars and Saturn are at their brightest and visible from nightfall until before dawn. On May 30, Mars orbits closest to Earth.

Lore has it that the name sundog derives from the sense that the swatch of color is tethered to the sun, like a dog on its master’s leash.

I gazed at the two distinct bands of shimmering colors, one set above the other, with pleasure; they were like the mother of pearl inside an abalone shell.

This reasonably rare alignment of five planets is “essentially a quirk” of the universe, and is well worth seeing.

The Quadrantid meteor shower, cosmic fireworks for Earthlings celebrating the holiday season, is active from today, December 28, through January 12.

At dawn, throw off the covers: Superlative planetary grouping, Orionid meteor shower. The sky is a dream of meteors.

Celestial events that nourish our spirits and become a part of our life histories are at play through the coming weeks.

Whether clear or cloudy, the land is lit by the season’s amazing insect light show. Fireflies! Blinking, streaking lightning bugs elicit in us the wonder of starlight and shooting stars close to the ground and up into the treetops.

I am eager to locate Mercury as soon as it is physically possible for the eye to see it as daylight fades into twilight. It is said that the Greeks tested their eyesight in this way.