Last Minute Astronomer

Send us Fan Mail Social Media Links Full text available at the Cosmos Safari Blog      Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus, and the Eta Aquarid Meteor shower shine during May 2025. I’m Rob, your Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare.   We’ll start by talking about this month’s big events, then highlight the naked eye planets, and finish up with the lun...

Send us Fan Mail Social Media Links Full text available at the Cosmos Safari Blog      April of 2025 brings us the annual Lyrid meteor shower, all the naked-eye planets, and plenty of lunar close encounters. I’m Rob, your Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare.   We’ll start by talking about this month’s big events, then highlight the naked eye p...

Send us Fan Mail Social Media Links Full text available at the Cosmos Safari Blog      March 2025 says goodbye to Saturn, welcomes a total lunar eclipse, and continues hanging out with the rest of the planets Hi everybody, I’m Rob, your Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare.   We’ll start by talking about this month’s big events, then highlight...

Send us Fan Mail February 2025 is a phenomenal continuation of January’s planetary-ness! You’ll get chances to see all the planets before going to bed and a conjunction of Mercury & Saturn. FULL TEXT WITH PICTURES HERE Hi everybody, I’m Rob, your Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare.   We’ll start by talking about this month’s big events, t...

Send us Fan Mail Social Media Links Full text available at the Cosmos Safari Blog January 2025 is a PLANETARY month! Mars gets big, Mars gets occulted, Mars gets outshined by Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter, then Venus and Saturn pass right by each other, and a brief but intense meteor shower shows up.  Hi everybody, I’m Rob, your Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with li...

Send us Fan Mail Social Media Links Full text available at the Cosmos Safari Blog      Get out under the stars in December of 2024 to see ALL THE PLANETS!  Especially on Christmas night.  Plus a bunch of close encounters between the Moon and those planets, and the annual Geminid meteor shower. I’m Rob, your Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare....

Send us Fan Mail Social Media Links Full text available at the Cosmos Safari Blog      What is gracing the November 2024 skies?  A couple occultations, a meteor shower, and a veritable parade of planets, especially on Thanksgiving.  We’ll start by talking about November’s big events, then highlight the naked eye planets, and finish up with the lunar phases, so you can plan ahead better than me.  ...

Send us Fan Mail Full text available at the Cosmos Safari Blog What is gracing the September 2024 skies?  A juuuuust barely partial lunar eclipse, the best viewing for Saturn, 5 lunar close encounters, and the transition to fall. Hi everybody, I’m Rob, your Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare.   We’ll start by talking about September’s big eve...

Send us Fan Mail Full Details at Cosmos Safari Blog , quick details below:     What is gracing the August 2024 skies?  A rare conjunction of Jupiter & Mars, great conditions for the annual Perseid Meteor Shower, and all the naked-eye planets visible.  BIG EVENTS 11th – 12th – Perseid Meteor Shower – EXCELLENT year for the Perseids, given the first-quarter Moon sets before midnight.  In decent...

Send us Fan Mail July’s fireworks include Saturn coming back around closer to being an evening planet, Mercury and Venus dancing low in the evenings, and some magic between the Moon and Spica. Naked-eye PLANETS Sunset  Mercury, Venus - Finally a little excitement in the evenings.  Mercury will be around 10-15° above the W horizon all month right at sunset, challenging you to find it in the glare o...

Send us Fan Mail       With April being SUCH a packed month of events that were dependent on precise timing, May brings us reliable sights with slow-rolling changes. Mercury, Mars, Saturn, and the Moon all dance in the morning twilight all month as we gear up for Spring and Summer constellations.   Naked-eye PLANETS Sunset - None Throughout the night - None Morning - Saturn, Mars, Mercury – These...

Send us Fan Mail Social Media Links April of 2024: Finally the month of the eclipse! A wonderful experience for North America, the Lyrid Meteor Shower, and lots of planetary action makes April of 2024 one of THE best months in a LONG time. Naked-eye PLANETS Sunset Jupiter – LAST CALL FOR JUPITER!  SUPER bright in the SW, about 30˚ up in the sky, setting before 10:30pm at the beginning of April, bu...

Send us Fan Mail  Last Minute Astronomer March 2024 Social Media Links March of 2024: Spring will start, Venus gets real close to Saturn, Jupiter is on its way out, and the mornings tease us with some challenging encounters between 3 planets.   I’m Rob, your Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare.  As usual, we’ll start by talking about where the...

Send us Fan Mail January of 2024  has some slight changes to Saturn and Jupiter in the sky, 4 visible naked-eye planets, and a couple of close encounters. Naked-eye PLANETS Sunset Saturn – Starts off January about 30˚ above the horizon in the SW, and sinks to about 15˚ by month’s end. Fairly dim, but still brighter than all the stars around it. Jupiter – SUPER bright in the SSE, about halfway up t...

Send us Fan Mail Some slight changes to Saturn and Jupiter in the sky, the start of a big change for Venus, and even more rocks fall from the sky this December here on the Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare.  Let’s start by talking about the naked eye planets visible this month, the lunar phases, and then the meteor shower and other events, s...