Solar System (FoS)

This month it’s time to examine the zodiacal light, a white, wedge-shaped spear of light thrusting up above the horizon along the zodiac. The light is visible in very dark sky all year, but September and March are the best times of year to see this glow, which is caused by reflection of sunlight from tiny dust particles in the plane of the solar sy...

The Perseid meteor shower ranks as the main stargazing event this month, as it does every August. The Perseids is the best of dozens of meteor showers that occur each year, with dozens of meteors visible every hour during the evening of August 11 and through to the morning of August 12. Observing meteor showers is an enjoyable way to spend an eveni...

This month you tour the most visible features on the face of the Moon, the dark lunar maria or 'seas'. While their name is misleading-- these seas are bone dry-- these features tell us quite a bit about the early history of the Moon and the inner solar system. After touring these features, you also get a look at the types of craters visible on the ...

The Red Planet made it last opposition on December 8, 2022. The planet only reaches opposition every 2 years and 50 days, so the next opposition arrives on January 15, 2025. So there is no opposition in 2023 and 2024. The planet begins 2024 small and dim in the eastern sky before sunrise, too small to reveal any detail in a telescope. But as 2024 w...

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...