Monte Levin and Gary Lazarus of Compass offer an immaculate contemporary lakefront home on the shores of the legendary Stockbridge Bowl. See how architect Pamela Sandler transformed a lake house on the shores of Lake Onota. A report on real estate sales in the first quarter of 2025. Plus, recent sales and gardening columns and a home-cooking recipe.
While the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 moon walk – and we are continually awed by the results of space exploration since – it is sobering to learn that in 85 percent of locations on Earth, only a few stars are visible when looking up to the sky at night.
The concept of a planisphere -- a chart of the sphere of the sky drawn for viewing in two dimensions – originated centuries ago; its hands-on format makes it an exciting introduction to the night sky.
Like preserving natural landscapes for biodiversity, preserving access to clear skies that allow human contact with the cosmos is crucial to quality of life.
Cinching evening darkness, new moon falls on the 29th, followed by evenings enhanced by a waxing crescent moon that sets early leading to long, dark, moonless nights.
There’s much more to lure us outdoors at 4 a.m.: Between catching shooting stars, skim the southern skyline to see one of the most compelling constellations, Scorpius the Scorpion, accented by brilliant, red-orange Mars and golden Saturn.
The instruments scientists have designed to bring human eyes and perception to the edges of our solar system and into the cosmos are contributing to our capacity for knowledge, awe and connection to the natural world beyond ourselves.
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.
Planet Jupiter, visible in the east soon after sundown, dominates the eastern periphery of the crowded field of brilliant stars known as the Winter Circle or Winter Hexagon.
In deepening twilight, above Venus the planet Mars emerges, with its dim but steady, rusty-gold to orange light. The two planets appear closer together each evening, an exquisite show culminating on the 20th when a waxing, eyelash crescent moon joins the pair the day before their closest approach.
In mid-January the northern hemisphere comes out of the darkest days of the year, the days on either side of the winter solstice. At a quickened pace, daylight lifts the late afternoon. An increase to 9 hours 57 minutes will be experienced on January 31.
