SkyCaramba

Mars is passing close to Uranus. Uranus is harder to see, but having something familiar close by can help you identify it. Unfortunately, another familiar object--the first quarter moon--is going to cast a lot of light into the view and make things hard. Listen here for a workaround and to find out more about the red planet and the blue one.

Most planet viewing will be a challenge this month. But you may see Mars close to Uranus. You can also get to know some of the winter constellations at their best.

Did you get a new telescope for the holidays? Get to know it so you can get the most out of it. Here are some tips.

Many people ask this time of year what the Star of Bethlehem was. Most of the explanations don't consider it as a star at all. A comet, a conjunction of two planets, and a lunar eclipse are all considered in this podcast.

The December solstice is the winter solstice to some, the summer solstice to others. Learn why solstices happen and how they relate to certain lines on maps and globes. Also learn about the corresponding lunar phenomenon called the lunistice .

A century ago, universe and galaxy were interchangeable words. And most scientists thought the entire universe was only 30,000 light years across. Then an astronomer noticed something everyone else had missed in photographs of a particular nebula. When he calculated how far away it is, minds were blown. And it turns out, what he saw is even farther away than he thought. And today, a telescope name...

Events this month include a total solar eclipse, the Great Conjunction of 2020, a couple meteor showers, Earth at solstice, and more.

There'll be a penumbral lunar eclipse on November 30th. Here's a reminder about what to look for and when. The moon will be near an orange star called Aldebaran. And a reminder about the great conjunction of 2020 coming in December.

A stellar kite flies high during the evening this time of year. Most people see just six Pleiades with the naked eye. But legends from around the world tell of seven people or other beings represented there. Some cultures have explanations for why one is hiding or missing. Find out what the first nations people of North America and Australia, as well as the Greeks and others say about these stars.

The most famous meteor shower--the Leonids--happens in November. Astronomers never used to be interested in meteors. Then one morning, there was a Leonid meteor shower so intense, it terrified! And it taught. Astronomers learned that meteors are, in fact, astronomical phenomena. They have a relationship with comets.

Jupiter goes after Saturn before their best conjunction in almost 400 years. Mars “swims” with the fishes. Venus and Mercury delight in the morning sky. The Leonid meteors are due for their annual show, but how great will the show be? The month ends with a penumbral eclipse. And maybe we get to see a comet in small telescopes this month.

Venus and Mercury will go through perihelion--their closest points to the sun--just days apart. The timing is a coincidence. But here's why planets have perihelia. Also, you might have heard that besides happening on Halloween, this week's full moon is called a blue moon. That term is popular now because of a mistake in a magazine in the 1940s.

Superior and inferior don't mean better than and worse than when we're talking about astronomical events. Find out what it means when one of the inner planets is at inferior conjunction like Mercury will be soon. And watch the moon pass Jupiter and Saturn this week. The two planets are getting closer to each other until their very close call in December.

Jupiter and Saturn are close together in the evening sky and getting closer. In just a couple months, they'll be the closest they've been in nearly four centuries. You can see this great conjunction for yourself. And with modern technology, you can experience great conjunctions of long ago or a long time from now.

Mars is at opposition on October 14. This happens every two years and provides a good view of the red planet, because it's up all night and it's closest to Earth. We know what we're looking at when we see Mars now. But something an astronomer thought he saw during the opposition of 1877 and someone else's mistake translating his writings got some people thinking there were intelligent beings there...

How often do Halloween full moons happen? Listen to find out that and why the answer is slightly more complicated than you might think.