On August 14, 2022, Saturn will shine in the sky all night long at its largest and brightest state. The favorable viewing conditions are caused by astronomical opposition. Find out, what this term means, what other planets can be at opposition and why it’s such a good time for stargazing. What does opposition mean in astronomy? …

On August 12, at 01:36 GMT (on August 11, 9:36 p.m. EDT), the Moon will reach its full phase. Let’s figure out why it’s called the Sturgeon Moon, whether it’s going to be a Supermoon, and what celestial phenomena can be observed on the night of the Full Moon. What is the Full Moon in August called? Most…

The Pleiades (M45, the Seven Sisters) is an open star cluster located at a distance of about 444 light-years from the Earth. It is the nearest Messier object to our planet and one of the most prominent deep-sky objects (magnitude 1.6). To the unaided-eyed observer, it usually appears as a…

In August 2022, we’ll see lunar-planetary conjunctions with Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Mars, Venus, and Mercury. Find the exact timings in this article. August 12: Moon-Saturn conjunction On August 12, at 03:55 GMT, Saturn will pass 3°54' from the Full Moon. Both celestial objects will be in the constellation Capricornus. The planet will shine at…

When you are out on a clear night, be sure to look for the three bright and beautiful blue-white stars of the Summer Triangle asterism, which shine high in the eastern sky every July. Once you have it identified, you can find some treasures within it. Summer Triangle stars Find an open area…

Most of us, even those who are not so familiar with astronomy or astrology, know about the 12 zodiac constellations and the 12 corresponding zodiac signs. But some sources claim there are 13 of them or even more. …

Have you ever noticed that you can see faint stars better not looking directly at them? The reason is the averted vision. How does it work, and how to use it “in the field”? Let’s clear this up! What is averted vision? Averted vision is a technique to view faint objects by looking not…

Fifty years ago, on July 15, 1972, Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to reach the asteroid belt. We’d like to use this occasion to talk about this curious region of the Solar System. How did the belt form? Could it be the remnants of a planet disrupted billions of…