Brian Ventrudo

Science of Stargazing – Star Formation and Classification

This month you move deeper into the science of stars. You find out how stars form and what they're made of and the basics of how they operate. Then you find out how astronomers classify stars by color, temperature, and brightness, and what this means to you as a stargazer when you actually observe stars in the night sky for yourself.
This month is ...

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Deep Sky Tours – May

Filed Under: Fundamentals of Stargazing

Needle galaxy
This month the Earth’s northern night sky points into the blackness of intergalactic space. We see a few foreground stars here from our own galaxy, but with a telescope you can see dozens or even hundreds of galaxies flecked through the constellations of April and May. You will meet a handful of the brightest and most accessible galax...

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Sky Tours (South) – May

Filed Under: Fundamentals of Stargazing

This month you continue following the arc of the southern Milky Way from Carina and Vela into the famous constellations Crux, the Southern Cross and Centaurus, the Centaur. You also peer over the northern horizon, where bright stars are scarce, to see the ancient constellations Bootes, Coma Berenices, and Canes Venatici. These constellations are wo...

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Sky Tours (North) – May

Filed Under: Fundamentals of Stargazing

This month you continue the tour of the northern night sky with a look at the relatively star-poor skies around Ursa Major and the Big Dipper asterism, Ursa Minor, and the small but important constellations Coma Berenices and Canes Venatici. You also meet the great celestial Herdsman, the constellation Bootes, and the brilliant star Arcturus, the b...

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Solar System Observing – Tour of the Planet Saturn

Filed Under: Fundamentals of Stargazing

The planet Saturn is in conjunction with the Sun on Feb. 28, 2024, then emerges slowly in the early-morning sky in March and April in the constellation Aquarius where it remains throughout the year. It grows in apparent size and rises a little early each day until it reaches opposition on September 8, 2024. The month before and after this date will...

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