Regulars (Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll)

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 9/2/10

Summer’s Waning Lights

Less daytime and a waning moon leave plenty to see

With summer on the wane, the sun sets around 7:30 at week’s end, shedding more than a minute of evening sunlight each night. In the morning it’s more of the same, as the sun rises at 6:37 Saturday and almost a minute later each morning. The setting sun reveals three bright objects in its wake: Venus and Mars, and the first-magnitude star Spica, all within five degrees of one another, the field of view of most binoculars. Look to the west immediately after sunset. While closest to...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 8/26/10

Chasing Civilization

One of our greatest feats follows us on four legs

When you look to the constellations, it’s like paging through history. Creatures abound in the constellations, both real and fanciful. We see kings and queens, beasts and heroes, all recounting the travails and triumphs of ancient times. Today, many are obscure and unfamiliar. But testament to perhaps the greatest triumph of civilization survives the test of time in the heavens. There is no constellation in recognition of the harnessing of fire. Nor is their a constellation commemorating...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 8/19/10

Signs of the Seasons

In the water, on the land and in the heavens, fall is on the way

The gibbous moon waxes to full Tuesday, traveling through the rising constellations of autumn. At one time, great sturgeon filled America’s waterways each August as they fattened up for the coming cold, and so this full moon was called the Sturgeon Moon. But these days the fish are so scarce they are off limits to anglers. Today, reflecting our modern, agrarian society, August’s full moon is called the Corn Moon and the Grain Moon. Against the glow of the moon, its neighboring...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 8/12/10

Great Balls of Fire

Goodness gracious!

In the deepening twilight, Venus, Saturn and Mars blink into view above the west horizon. Thursday the waxing crescent moon joins the fray, with none farther than seven degrees from any other. The planets set around 10pm at week’s end, and while Mars and Venus remain just a few degrees apart through most of the month, Saturn drops from sight over the next few days. The moon reaches first-quarter Monday, and only then does its light last past midnight, leaving clear skies for this year...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 8/5/10

Heavenly Dust

Tiny particles add up to bright lights

The sun sets a few minutes after 8:00 this week, revealing a triumvirate of bright planets in its wake. Venus, Mars and Saturn continue their weeks-long dance above the western horizon. Over the next week, watch as Mars and Saturn jockey for position just above brilliant Venus. The three planets are their tightest on Saturday, all within five degrees of one another. As these three planets set in the west around 10pm, Jupiter rises in the east. With Venus gone and the waning crescent moon not...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 8/5/10

Sky Watch - Heavenly Dust

Tiny particles make bright lights

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 7/29/10

Bright Lights, All Tight

Saturn, Mars and Venus vie for position in the west at twilight

The waning moon rises after 10pm at week’s end, then crests the horizon 20-plus minutes later each night, so that by Tuesday, the last-quarter moon rises after midnight. Friday’s gibbous moon rises with glowing Jupiter only six degrees to the south, and the two remain tight through the wee hours before dawn, appearing high in the south with sunrise Saturday at 6:06. The sun sets this week around 8:15, and each day it leaves us more than a minute earlier. As the sky darkens, a bright...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 7/29/10

Sky Watch - Bright Lights, all Tight

Saturn, Mars and Venus vie for position in the west at twilight

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 7/22/10

Sky Watch - Standing Up to the Moon

July’s Thunder Moon deadens all but the brightest lights

The gibbous moon waxes through southern skies this week, becoming full on the 25th. July’s full moon is known as the Hay Moon or the Thunder Moon. Rising at dusk and setting at dawn, the full moon dominates the sky this week, blotting out all but the brightest planets and stars. As the sun sets in the northwest before 8:25 this week, the first light to appear is the evening star Venus, 20 degrees above the western horizon. As dusk gives way to darkness, Venus is joined by ruddy...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 7/15/10

Sky Watch-Twilight’s Alignment

This week, the west is best

The sun this week passes a psychological yardstick, setting at 8:30 Friday and then a little less than a minute earlier each night. The sun’s exit, stage right, is the parting of the night’s curtain, revealing a stage full of luminaries. The waxing moon reveals a shadow of itself even in the glare of twilight, high in the southwest at week’s end. Thursday it shines just a few degrees below Mars and 10 degrees to the right of golden Saturn. Venus, unmistakably brilliant...