Pointer Stars News Today

Conditions are less than favourable for the 2023 Ursid meteor shower, so you’ll need to know exactly when and where to look to maximise your chances.

Spend some time with the deep sky and catch a rare stellar occultation from December 16 to 23.

"I would rather be adorned by beauty of character than jewels. Jewels are the gift of fortune, while character comes from within." -Plautus

"It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small." -Neil Armstrong Here on our little wet rock in our Solar System, we often remind ourselves what a small world Earth actually is. The farther out in space we reach, the more this appears to be true.

On January 29 and 30, 2021 – before going to bed – look in a general eastward direction to see the brilliant waning gibbous moon pairing up with Regulus, the brightest star and Heart of the Lion in the constellation Leo. From most places worldwide, you’ll see the moon and Regulus by mid-evening, that is, midway between your local sunset and midnight. The moon will be very near Regulus on the evening of January 29. By January 30, the moon will have moved onward in its orbit – cruising ev...

January 8, 2021 How do skywatchers measure distances in the night sky? Here’s how to understand it when they speak of objects as being several degrees (or several arc minutes or arc seconds) apart. Use this “handy” guide to measure degrees on the dome of the sky. Image via Fort Worth Astronomical Society. The handiest measuring stick for the sky’s dome is the one on the end of your arm. You can use the width of your pinky, fist and more to gauge the distance between sky objects. That c...