Articles by J. Alex Knoll

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 12/6/12

All Lined Up In a Row

Three planets and the moon greet the dawn

The waning crescent moon rises around midnight at week’s end and is high in the south come dawn. By the weekend, it rises in the wee hours of the night. Look for it just one degree below blue-white Spica before dawn Sunday. The next morning the moon rises later and is just a few degrees away from golden Saturn. Tuesday it is a thin crescent in the east, just two degrees below Venus. The moon isn’t alone in the pre-dawn skies Monday and Tuesday, as it aligns...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 11/29/12

Orion’s Mothering Nature

Within the great hunter’s sword is a celestial nursery

A waning gibbous moon brightens much of our nights this week, reaching last-quarter Wednesday, December 6th. But as of Thursday, the near-full moon rises amid the shadows of twilight, around 5:30pm, with golden Jupiter roughly 10 degrees higher, about the span of your closed fist at arm’s-length. Look the same distance behind the moon for the star Betelgeuse, which makes the third point with the moon and Jupiter to form a nice equilateral triangle. Betelgeuse marks the...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 11/22/12

Tracking the Beaver Moon

November’s full moon reminds us to prepare for winter

As the evening sky darkens, Mars appears briefly, low in the southwest, a red-orange glimmer as bright as any star. This is the best view of the red planet we’ll have for many weeks. As Mars sinks from view, Jupiter rises in the northeast, far brighter than any star. Jupiter is surrounded by the stars of Taurus, midway between the bull’s glaring red eye, Aldebaran, and its horns, El Nath and Al Hecka. Surrounding Aldebaran are the stars of the Hyades cluster, the...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 11/15/12

What Some Tourists Leave Behind

You won’t mind picking up after comet Tempel-Tuttle

The young crescent moon appears in the southwest at twilight Thursday and Friday, with ruddy Mars a half-dozen degrees to the east the first night and to the southwest the next. Through the weekend the waxing moon sets well before midnight, providing a dark backdrop for the annual Leonid meteor shower. This year’s Leonids should be most active before dawn Saturday, November 17, but you might well see meteors a couple days before and after. The meteors look as if they...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 11/8/12

From Fireballs to Neighboring Galaxies

Look for Andromeda while waiting for meteors

The moon wanes through morning skies before reaching new phase in the nether hours between Tuesday and Wednesday. Before then, look for the waning crescent near brilliant Venus before dawn over the weekend. By early morning Sunday, a thin sliver of moon is just five degrees below the dazzling morning star in the east. If you have a clear view of the horizon, scan it for Saturn, reemerging from the sun’s glare. Monday before dawn, the ringed planet is a half-dozen degrees below the razor-...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 11/1/12

Looking for the Lonely Star

Fomalhaut glows in the south

Shortly after the sun sets, test your eyes searching for Mars low in the southwest. To the right shines similarly colored Antares, the heart of Scorpius, the gap between the two widening noticeably over the coming week, but they both set before 7pm. Around the same time, Jupiter rises in the east-northeast, with the red eye of Taurus the bull shining to its right. Thursday and Friday the moon visits old Jove, with the stars of the Pleiades cluster between the two Friday....

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 10/25/12

A Sky-full of Halloween Treats

No goody bag needed

As the sun sets Friday, see if you can spot Mercury dangling low against the southwest horizon before it too sets within a half-hour. While fleeting, this is Mercury’s best evening apparition. At this point, Mercury is at its greatest eastern elongation, meaning that, as seen from Earth, the innermost planet is its farthest to the east of the sun, in this case 24 degrees. Even at its best, Mercury is a tough target, often easier to spot scanning the horizon with binoculars. ...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 10/18/12

Vestiges of Halley’s Comet

You won’t have to wait 50 years to see the spawn of this comet

It’s been 26 years since Halley’s comet visited back in 1986, and it won’t come this way again until 2062. But each year at this time we get a postcard of sorts from Halley in the form of the Orionid meteor shower, which peaks in the pre-dawn hours Saturday and Sunday. Halley’s comet travels in a deep, oblong loop through our solar system every 76 years. As it travels, it leaves a wake of countless bits of rock and ice. Annually, Earth plows through...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 10/11/12

The Moon at Dusk and Dawn

A thin crescent straddles either edge of darkness

The moon wanes in pre-dawn skies through the weekend. Friday and Saturday the last of the crescent moon hovers just a few degrees below brilliant Venus. Even without the moon, you should have no trouble finding this morning star, as it is the brightest light in the sky besides the sun and moon. The next-brightest object is the star Regulus, the heart of Leo the lion, within 10 degrees of Venus, although the two are fast pulling away from one another. With the new week...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 10/4/12

Will the Dragon Awaken?

October’s Draconids are typically sleepers, but every now and then …

Sunset reveals Mars low in the southwest. Its ruddy glow is usually quite distinct, but it is only a dozen degrees from its rival, orange Antares, blinking to its upper left. You’ll have a harder time spotting Saturn, so low in the west that it’s almost lost in the glare of the setting sun. Venus rises in the northeast around 4am, and it blazes ever-so bright high in the east before sunrise. Wednesday before dawn, Venus is only a fraction of a degree from Regulus...