Use a bear to find a lion? In late February, the Big Dipper stands on its handle in the northeastern sky at nightfall. The handle is actually the tail of the Great Bear called Ursa Major. Fainter stars extends in short chains from the Dipper to fashion the head, legs and claws.
The next clear night, use the Dipper to help you find the fainter stars that trace out the shape of a bear. There will be a partial lunar eclipse on the early morning of Friday, November 19, as the full Moon passes through part of the shadow of Earth.
It may be partial, but almost total! If skies are clear, all you need is your eyes and patience to watch the eclipse!
Binoculars or a telescope will give you a closer view of the eclipse. Watch as the sky darkens during the eclipse and more stars become visible. Watch a special episode of Nightwatch about the lunar eclipse on our Youtube channel here.
Star Charts. Members Subscribe to our newsletter. Thursdays - Mondays, 10am to 3pm. I'd like to receive newsletters and updates about Adventure Science Center. Search This Site. From Dark Skies Bright outdoor lighting can make it hard to see all but the brightest stars. Early Morning As the Earth orbits the Sun throughout the year, the constellations rise and set just a little bit earlier every day.
Here are the highlights: The eclipse officially begins at am CST, but this part of the eclipse is barely noticeable as the Moon passes into the outer part of the shadow. Only a small sliver of bright moonlight will remain. The pointer stars of the Big Dipper point to the head of Leo, which is made up of stars the form an arc or backward question mark.
Regulus and the second brightest star in the backward question mark form a trapezoid with two other stars of similar brightness nearby. Can you find Leo? Recent exoplanet discoveries in the constellation Leo show a cornucopia of strange words, as well as at least one planet that is potentially habitable. Back in , astronomers found a planet orbiting a dying red giant star known as HD It is about 1, light-years away from Earth.
Astronomers noted that the star was extremely bloated and said that its interactions with the planet would be an interesting topic for a follow-up. Astronomers announced the discovery of a large planet called GJ b in , but things kept getting weirder with more observation.
In , astronomers announced that GJ b, which is roughly 22 times as massive as Earth, had a huge gas cloud streaming away from it for millions of miles.
Follow-up observations announced in revealed the planet's orbit is also bizarre , as it goes over the star's poles. That's very different from our own solar system, where the planets' orbits gather around the sun's equator.
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