Featured Article Archives

March 11, 2020March 11, 2020 by David Dickinson

Following the Inner Worlds: Mercury and Venus in 2020

Venus and the Moon — Venus Meets the Crescent Moon on February 27th, 2020. Image credit and copyright: Roger Hutchinson

Where have all the planets gone in early 2020? While most of the naked eye planets are hiding in the early dawn sky, one world dominates the evening: brilliant Venus.

March 3, 2020June 1, 2021 by David Dickinson

Introducing Analog Sky’s 3D-Printed Giant Binoculars

Sky scanner — A set of Analog Sky binoculars, set up for a night's worth of observing. Credit: Analog Sky.

Update: we’re happy to announce that Analog Sky is making a special offer just for Universe Today readers for its new giant binoculars.

A unique, crowd-sourced, 3D-printed telescope is poised to revolutionize how we look at the sky.

Late last year, we announced Oregon-based innovator and amateur astronomer Robert Asumendi’s plans to release the Analog Sky telescope system, featuring a set of giant space binoculars. Now, we’re happy to announce that Robert has officially launched the project as a crowd-funded campaign on Indiegogo.

February 25, 2020March 29, 2020 by David Dickinson

Comet Y4 Atlas in Outburst: First Good Comet for 2020?

Comet C/2019 Y4 ATLAS in Ursa Major on February 15, 2020. Credit: Hisayoshi Kato.

Good news: Though we’ve been going through a cometary dry spell as of late, we may have our first good naked eye comet for 2020: Comet C/2019 Y4 ATLAS.

February 13, 2020April 30, 2020 by David Dickinson

Catch Comet T2 PanSTARRS This Spring

Ready for the next great comet? First, the bad news. there is not (as of yet), a good naked eye comet in the cards, for 2020. The good news is… there is a fine binocular comet currently well-placed for northern hemisphere viewers: Comet T2 PanSTARRS.

January 8, 2020January 8, 2020 by David Dickinson

Our Guide to this Friday’s Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

Penumbral Eclipse — A subtle penumbral lunar eclipse from 2016. Image credit and copyright: Dave Walker.

Ready for the very first lunar eclipse of the year? The first eclipse season of 2020 comes to an end Friday, with a penumbral lunar eclipse. This season overlaps with 2019, when it kicked off with the Boxing Day annular solar eclipse of December 26^th, 2019.

December 30, 2019December 30, 2019 by David Dickinson

Top Astronomical Events for 2020

Mars Opposition — Bright yellow Mars approaching a close opposition in July 2018 shines over the waters of Middle Waterton Lake in Waterton Lakes National Park in southwest Alberta on the Alberta-Montana border. Mars is so bright it produces a glitter path on the water. The Milky Way is at right. This was from Driftwood Beach, windy as always this night. The sky is tinted green with bands of airglow, though there was a dim aurora to the north this night as well, quite unexpected. Waterton Lakes is a World Heritage Site and a Dark Sky Preserve. This is a stack of ten exposures for the ground to smooth noise (and blur the wind-rippled water) at f/3.2, and a single exposure for the sky at f/2.2, all 30 seconds with the Sigma 24mm Art lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 6400. Taken July 11/12, 2018 at the end of a 6-hour session training the Dark Sky Guides staff. It was a superb night, with everything to see in the sky.

Ready for another amazing year of sky watching and astronomy in 2020? Hard to believe, were already a fifth of the way into the 21^st century. 2020 rounds out the final year of the second decade, promising an amazing year of skywatching to come.

December 26, 2019December 26, 2019 by David Dickinson

Waiting for Betelgeuse: What’s Up with the Tempestuous Star?

Have you noticed that Orion the Hunter—one of the most iconic and familiar of the wintertime constellations—is looking a little… different as of late? The culprit is its upper shoulder star Alpha Orionis, aka Betelgeuse, which is looking markedly faint, the faintest it has been for the 21^st century.

December 23, 2019December 23, 2019 by David Dickinson

Our Guide to the December 26th Annular ‘Ring of Fire’ Eclipse

Mid-eclipse, perfectly centered ring of fire. Image credit and copyright: Kevin Baird.

Ready for the final ‘Ring of Fire’ solar eclipse of 2019? The final eclipse of the year kicks off this week on Wednesday, early on December 26^th the day after Christmas, with an annular solar eclipse spanning the Indian Ocean region from the Middle East to the western Pacific.

December 19, 2019December 19, 2019 by David Dickinson

Will Blanpain Perform? Comet Prospects for 2020

Getting brighter... Comet T2 PanSTARRS from December 6th. Image credit and copyright: Efrain Morales Rivera.

Looking forward to the next bright comet in 2020 or beyond? You’re not alone. Though we’ve had a steady string of decent binocular comets over the past few years, we haven’t had a good naked eye comet since W3 Lovejoy beat solar death during its blistering perihelion passage in 2011. But this survivor turned out to be bashful, and headed for southern hemisphere skies… Comet P1 McNaught followed suit in 2007, hiding from northern hemisphere observers at its best. And we all remember what happened to Comet S1 ISON—touted as the next great ‘Comet of the Century’ on U.S. Thanksgiving Day 2013. Here it is almost 2020, and you have to go allll the way back nearly a quarter of a century to Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake to remember just how brilliant a good naked eye comet can be.

December 10, 2019December 10, 2019 by David Dickinson

December Meteor Squalls: Prospects for the 2019 Geminids and Ursids

December means chillier climes for northern hemisphere residents, a time to huddle inside near the campfire, both real and cyber. I’ve always thought this was a shame, as the cold crisp nights of winter also offer up sharp, clear skies. Over the past decade or so, December gives observers another reason to brave the cold: the Geminids.