The Sky This Month - Astronomy Magazine

Tune into the most observable events in this month's sky.

June 2012: The word syzygy — the alignment of the Sun and Earth with a third celestial object — ranks among the favorites of many astronomy enthusiasts. This month, observers have a chance to see the word in action twice.

By Martin Ratcliffe, Alister Ling // Published: April 23, 2012

An afternoon ring of fire

May 2012: A partial solar eclipse greets many in North America May 20, but a lucky few in the western United States see an annular eclipse.

By Martin Ratcliffe, Alister Ling // Published: March 26, 2012

Ringed world renaissance

April 2012: Saturn and Mars dominate the April sky nearly all night.

By Martin Ratcliffe, Alister Ling // Published: February 27, 2012

Mars returns to glory

March 2012: The solar system's inner two planets, Mercury and Venus, both put on their best evening displays of the year this month, while Mars arrives at opposition and peak visibility.

By Martin Ratcliffe, Alister Ling // Published: January 23, 2012

Venus joins the Moon

February 2012: Although distant Neptune hides in the Sun's glare throughout February, the solar system's six other planets brighten the nighttime stage.

By Martin Ratcliffe, Alister Ling // Published: December 27, 2011

Venus hits the spotlight

January 2012: Seven planets put on nice displays during 2012’s opening month.

By Martin Ratcliffe, Alister Ling // Published: November 28, 2011

Taking a dip in Earth's shadow

December 2011: With the longest nights of the year upon us, backyard stargazers have plenty of time to enjoy this month's offerings.

By Martin Ratcliffe, Alister Ling // Published: October 24, 2011

Mercury joins Venus at dusk

November 2011: Mercury lurks just 2° below Venus during November's first 2 weeks. You'll need a clear sky and an unobstructed southwestern horizon to see the more challenging innermost planet.

By Martin Ratcliffe, Alister Ling // Published: September 26, 2011

Glorious Jupiter reigns all night

October 2011: In addition to the usual crop of planetary delights, the sky offers two meteor showers, a pair of bright asteroids, and possibly a trio of eye-catching comets.

By Martin Ratcliffe, Alister Ling // Published: August 29, 2011