Page 5 - Astronomy Essentials News Today

Comet C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS) will brighten in our skies this summer. You can watch it with a small telescope for

Newly discovered comet C/2021 O3 (PanSTARRS) will sweep near the sun and Earth in April and May of 2022. Charts

The Dog Star, Sirius, is easy to spot because it's the sky's brightest star. Procyon - the other Dog Star - is near its brighter brother on the sky's dome.

Maybe you associate the word "zodiac" with astrology, but it has an honored place in astronomy, too. It's defined by the annual path of the sun across our sky.

Venus comes to inferior conjunction - passing between Earth and sun - in 2022 at 1 UTC on January 9

Learn about the 8-year cycle of Venus in our sky and the petals of Venus, a rhythmic motion of Venus when viewed from an Earth-centered perspective.

One side of the moon always faces Earth. Even so, over time, it's possible to see as much as 59% of the moon's surface, due to lunar libration.

December solstice 2021 comes on December 21. Earth will be closest to the sun just 2 weeks later, on January 4. Coincidence?

There will be a full supermoon on May 16, June 14, July 13, and August 12 for 2022. This year also has 3 new supermoons.

The Dog Star Sirius reaches its highest point in the sky around midnight every New Year's Eve. For this reason, it could also be called the New Year's star.