A sure sign of spring for stargazers is to spot the Big Dipper standing on its handle in the northeast. As March progresses, the dipper will climb higher in the northern sky as it circles the North Star. Line up the two end or highest stars in the dipper, Merak and Dubhe, and point to […]
NAKED EYE
Naked Eye – Shining a little light on dark energy
What is the universe made of? Humans have pondered this question for centuries, but now astronomers are coming up with some surprising ideas. Stars are a logical component of everything that is since we see thousands of them when we look up into the night sky. We now know that what we see is just […]
Naked Eye – Start a bright new year by looking up
January is a great time to check out the brightest stars in the night sky. Of course, it is freezing cold out there especially at night, so dress warmly. Stargazing is not an aerobic activity. By 9 p.m. early in the month, the constellation Orion is in plain view in the south. Representing the great […]
Naked Eye – The darkest month is prime time for stargazing
December is the darkest month of the year. The winter solstice happens on Dec. 21, bringing with it the shortest day of the year and the longest night. From that date onward the days will slowly get longer. In December the night sky is spectacular. The brightest stars we see all year are in their […]
Naked Eye – Expect the Northern Lights show to continue
Have you been lucky enough to spot the Northern Lights this summer? Those curtain-shaped patterns of light are one of the most beautiful sights in the night sky, and officially they are known as the Aurora Borealis. Why did they suddenly become a happening thing this year? To answer that question we have to take […]
Naked Eye – The universe is pretty much lost in the dark
Looking up into a dark night sky like we have here in the Methow Valley, we can see thousands of stars. That view is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. In our own Milky Way galaxy there are hundreds of billions of stars, and there are hundreds of billions and even trillions […]
Naked Eye – August nights promise meteors and more
The near and the far. That is what the night skies have in store for us in August. Meteors are the closest astronomical phenomenon we get to see and almost the smallest. Slamming into our atmosphere at 70 times the speed of a bullet shot from a rifle, they have the potential to put on […]
Naked Eye – Make the most of the summer’s short nights
The days are long and the nights short. There is not much time for stargazing, but if you do find yourself out under the stars, there is plenty to see up there. The entire universe is yours to explore. If you can see low into the south, try to spot the constellation Sagittarius, the archer. […]
Naked Eye – A closer look at the sun (but not too close)
This year the summer solstice happens on June 21. If you were standing on the Arctic Circle with a clear view to the north, you would see the sun just touch the northern horizon at midnight. Farther north, the sun would not set at all. Here in the Northwest, the solstice brings us our longest […]
Naked Eye — Set your sights on May’s lunar eclipse
The big astronomical event for May is a total eclipse of the moon on the evening of the 15th. It will be the first of two lunar eclipses this year. An eclipse of the moon happens when the shadow of the earth falls on the moon. Yes, the earth has a shadow, and we actually […]
