Cosmic Perspectives from Amid the Stars:
Astronomy Blog

In some parts of the world on August 12, 2026, day will temporarily turn to night as the Moon passes in front of the Sun, blocking its light during a rare solar eclipse. Throughout history, solar eclipses have been viewed with a unique combination of awe and fear. As wonderful a spectacle as they are, equally interesting is the science behind them and the series of coincidences that allow them to exist.

Nothing in stargazing quite beats the experience of spotting a shooting star. For just the briefest of moments, a bright light streaks across the sky in a dazzling display. With the Perseids Meteor Shower starting this week on July 17 and lasting until August 24 it’s a great time to go hunting for shooting stars.

Take a look into the early evening sky any night this summer, and you’ll see a bright light over the western horizon, just above where the sun set. It looks like an incredibly bright star, but it’s actually the planet Venus. Venus has often been called Earth’s sister planet. It’s a rocky planet with about the same size and mass, as well as being the closest planet to Earth, but the similarities end there. Venus is actually about as different from Earth as a rocky planet can g

Ask any number of people what the single most important tool in astronomy is, and almost universally, they will claim the telescope as their answer. With telescopes, we’ve been able to peer beyond our world and out into the distant reaches of the universe. The name literally means far-seeing. How is it that these rather simple contraptions are able to show us so much? How do telescopes work?

The solar eclipse is the well-known event when the Moon passes between the Earth and Sun, blocking the Sun from view. Less known is the lunar eclipse, where the Earth passes between the Sun and Moon, blocking the light of the Sun that usually reflects off the Moon. The morning of March 3, 2026, at around 3:00 am PST, will provide this special show of celestial alignment.

Social media is buzzing with news of a so-called “planet parade” on Saturday, February 28. But before you get your hopes up, let’s separate the astronomical reality from the viral hype.

When you look up at the night sky, you’re not only looking out into space, but also back in time. You’re seeing stars that exist hundreds to thousands of light-years away, and that means you’re looking back hundreds to thousands of years into the past.

Stargazing is a simple pleasure, but also a rewarding one. It is nature’s light show and in its simplicity, it hides realms of complexity. It is simply looking up into the sky that led to many scientific understandings throughout history. But how exactly does one go about stargazing? There’s no right or wrong way. Just look at the stars. But, if you want to enhance your experience, there are factors to consider. The Right Location In the modern age of dense cities and streetl

We live in an age of light. At night, we travel by streetlight and read by lamplight. The dark of night no longer hinders our ability to simply live. As much of a blessing as this feels, it can also be a curse. Less than a hundred years ago, anyone, anywhere, could look up into the sky and see the bright swath of the Milky Way, but that becomes less and less true every day for those living in the modern age of electric lighting.