SkyCaramba

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.

Most of the naked eye planets are congregating in the evening sky this week. December evenings are also a good time to see the Andromeda Galaxy. A century ago, astronomers weren't sure what it was. When one astronomer noticed something the rest missed, he blew their minds.

Mercury is an evening object, but you'll have trouble finding it. Comet Leonard enters Microscopium as its orbital position takes it closer to the sun. A popular question this time of year is what was the Star of Bethlehem. Most of the possible answers don't actually involve stars. When they do, they involve planets too.

Fast-moving Comet Leonard becomes an evening object this week. Venus slows its march eastward to turn around. The Geminid meteor shower peaks. If you ever discover an asteroid, you'll get to name it after yourself, someone else, a place, or a thing. But it's not a case of anything goes. And it's not a fast process.

Sooner is better than later for seeing this year's Geminid meteors. Consider the mystery about where the Geminids come from. They're not associated with a comet. Be considerate when using outdoor lighting. It's not just astronomy that depends on a proper light.

Three planets are in our evening sky. Mars is emerging into the morning dome. Try to see Comet Leonard. And Antarctica gets a solar eclipse.

It's been 400 years since the harvest celebration that inspired the American Thanksgiving holiday. What did the pilgrims and the Wampanoag see in the sky in 1621? Antarctica and places nearby get a solar eclipse.

Aquarius has represented spilling water since the Babylonians looked up and saw one of their gods emptying a jug.

Next week, the moon will delve almost as deeply as it can into Earth's shadow without a total eclipse. Find out where you can see it and what time it happens. Also, keep up on what's happening with Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, and Mars.

You certainly heard about Pluto being demoted to dwarf planet status in 2006. But the news about Ceres being promoted to that status didn't get nearly as much attention. (This edition has been edited to remove the incorrect date for Ceres' close pass by Aldebaran. The correct information is they will be closest at 0.1° apart on the 3rd. My apologies for the error.) Venus crosses the teapot lid. Sa...

Venus is getting closer to the sun, but you'd never know that from the way things look lately. The deceptive view of the solar system we get from Earth made it hard for sky watchers to figure out how the planets actually move.

Mercury is emerging into the morning sky and will soon be joined by Mars. Try to spy on Jupiter's "Great Red Spot". It's not actually red. Venus goes through the southern end of Ophiuchus, the zodiac constellation most people don't know about. Get to know the Hyades.

This week's astronomical action: Venus passes through the scorpion's head. The moon passes in front of the archer's bow. Jupiter and Saturn keep hanging out in Capricornus. Naming a new constellation after a reptile turned out to be more popular than naming it after any king. And how did one variable star get the name of something fearsome but another is called wonderful?

Watch Venus and the moon making a nice cluster--or clutter--in Scorpius. Opposite behavior by stars on opposite sides of the sky from the same cause. Not all variable stars are thought to be ghoulish. One is considered to be wonderful.

You won't be able to see it, but there's a meteor shower this week. It happens in the daytime. Venus goes through the Libra diamond. Astronomy tails and tales. Don't panic or you might end up like Capricornus the goat-fish.