SkyCaramba

A southern star is known as the loneliest star, although it's well liked by navigators who perform their craft with sextants. And an arrow flies overhead, but it doesn't come from the constellation known as the archer.

The naked eye planets are in order in the morning sky. Uranus and Neptune break the order, but they're there too. And get ready for the solstice.

The naked eye planets are in order in the morning sky. Mercury moves in a little farther. Antares is the heart of the scorpion.

The naked eye planets in our morning lineup can be seen in the same order in the sky that they are in distance from the sun. Old stories tell of the dolphin among the constellations and the animal's service to other beings, including a human in trouble. About two centuries ago, two never previously known star names showed up in a published star catalog. The person who named them took the secret of...

The moon helps you identify the planets in the morning lineup. You've surely heard of Canis Major and Canis Minor. But there are two other celestial dogs: Canes Venatici. An almanac may tell you when the moon is at ascending node or descending node. SkyCaramba tells you what that means.

The morning planet show continues. A reminder about this week's total lunar eclipse. And despite its reputation, the North Star isn't the brightest star in the night sky. But the star with that distinction will eventually be the South Star.

Next week, from Sunday night to Monday morning (exact times vary by where you are), the moon will spend almost an hour-and-a-half in the central part of Earth's shadow. The eclipsed moon will be next to Libra. The constellation represents the scales of justice. The scales don't have claws, but three of Libra's stars' names contain an old word for claw.

That amazing morning meeting of planets continues. Mercury maintains its place in the evening. The most famous comet is almost as far from the sun as it gets, but it's responsible for a meteor shower that doesn't depend much on the comet's closeness. Brush up on your knowledge of Berenice's Hair.

Some South American and southern Pacific Ocean sky watchers get to see a solar eclipse this week. Use eye protection! Who's Virgo? The constellation was different women to different ancient cultures. Astronomy Day is coming.

Morning sky watching continues to be wondrous. Evening isn't so bad either lately. Get ready for the April Lyrids meteor shower. And just why do comets have such long, strange names now?

There's more to sunlight than meets the eye. About two centuries ago, a thermometer next to a prism helped a scientist see our home star in a new light.

Mercury soon returns to the evening sky as a morning planet lineup continues. Expect more sunspots, solar flares, and aurorae over the next few years. Aurorae are mesmerizing sky sights that happen when solar particles hit Earth's upper atmosphere. But sometimes, the sun throws off enough material to cause serious problems on Earth's surface.

Jupiter is leaving our morning lineup. Two stars on opposite sides of the Milky Way stream represent separated lovers. An orange star helped kick off a World's Fair

Some sky watchers may catch Jupiter and Mercury very close this week as the morning planet lineup continues. Uranus remains in the evening sky. The week begins with the solstice and Venus at greatest elongation. Just like latitude and longitude lines on an earth map, there are lines showing where to plot points to represent starts, planets, and other object on a sky map. Find out about the two coo...

One of the most famous star patterns isn't considered a constellation in its own right. But it's so easily recognized, many people have told stories about it and surely will for as long as they can see the stars. Two of the stars in the Big Dipper's handle were said to foretell life or death. That handle is a bear's tail. But for a bear's tail, it's very long. And there's a tale about that.

The morning planet meetup continues. For barely one full day, four planets will be within the boundaries of one constellation. Learn a little about Aries, a constellation that's setting not long after the sun this time of year.

The morning meetup of planets continues. The moon joins the party. How to quickly measure angular distances in the sky.

The naked eye planet watching is very interesting these mornings, especially from near the equator and in the southern hemisphere. The crab remembered in the constellation Cancer did a bold enough thing to be put on the celestial dome, but he didn't earn any medals in the form of bright stars. In fact, his mission failed.

Goodbye, Jupiter. See you some morning. Three planets are still in a morning triangle. Full moon in Leo. The unicorn has existed in stories for thousands of years, but it didn't exist among the constellations until fairly recently.

The naked eye planets continue migrating to the morning sky. Two constellations are named after things you'd look at the sky with. One is the sextant. The old legends say Perseus rescued Andromeda from a sea monster. They still circle the north celestial pole together.

Naked eye planet watching is coming to an end in the evening, but you may see Uranus and Neptune. Find out where Venus and Mars are in the morning. One of them is by a shield. And learn about the hare or rabbit at Orion's feet.

The planet watching continues to migrate to the morning. Astronomers realized in 1844 that Sirius has a companion star. But it took 18 years before anyone built a telescope that could reveal it. Sky watchers of long ago described Sirius as red. Why would they say that when the star is bluish-white?

Venus moves into the morning with Mars. Mercury's leaving the evening with Saturn in its wake. Jupiter's not ready to go just yet. Many of the legends of Gemini say one twin is immortal but the other isn't. Learn about some stars in the constellation. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter claims to have seen a strange light in the sky one night in 1969. He doesn't think it was a spacecraft. Neither d...

Venus begins its ingress into the morning sky. Saturn's on its way out of the evening. A colorfully named asteroid, Iris, is at opposition this week. Orion is the most recognizable constellation and now's the best time of year to get to know him. A river is an important part of many ancient Greek legends whose characters are represented in our constellation maps. So, of course, it makes sense to h...

The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks this week. Earth is closest to the sun. The moon passes in front of planets somewhat often. Planets passing in front of other planets? Every once in a few lifetimes.