Q-90.1's Backyard Astronomer

Are there any green stars? Astronomers say no, but observers insist that the brightest star in the constellation Libra the Scales, does look green.

During the month of June, about 90 minutes after sunset, look high in the east, almost overhead for a faint semi-circular pattern of stars. This is the constellation of Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown.

At the end of evening twilight, look about halfway up the northeast sky for a bright bluish star. This is Vega, and it’s another sign that summer is on its way.

The week of May 22 offers a perfect opportunity to follow the waxing crescent moon. In this case, “waxing” refers to the crescent shape growing larger each night. It's also a good time to identify some of the dark lava basins called Maria.

The early evening sky remains dark for longer periods as the moon rises later each night. This reveals a really nice target for binoculars called the Coma Star Cluster.

Look for the three stars in the handle of the Big Dipper and you’ll notice they form a curve or arc in the sky that you can use to find the star Arcturus.

This week you can see what’s called the Moon Illusion, that time when the full moon seems so much larger near the horizon than when it’s overhead.

Mid-April to mid-May is a good time to see a collection of bright stars in the west called "The Arch of Spring." Even though they’ve been around all winter, we notice these stars more when they get lower in the sky because they’re closer to the horizon.

After three months of what people call the meteor drought, the annual Lyrid meteor shower comes to a peak this week.

For weeks we’ve been treated to the brilliant planet Venus piercing the western sky after sunset, but during the week of April 10, you’ll have a rare opportunity to glimpse the elusive planet Mercury.

If you look high into the northeast after dark, you can find the seven bright stars of the Big Dipper. This is the time of year when the dipper climbs to its highest point in the north, appearing almost directly overhead by month’s end.

The waxing of quarter to gibbous to full is a good time to see details on the lunar surface. With nothing more than a pair of binoculars, you can make out craters, mountains, and the dark colored plains called "maria," or "seas." Probably the best known maria is the Sea of Tranquility, where Apollo 11 made the first manned lunar landing in 1969.

While you may know Cancer the Crab as one of the constellations of the zodiac, chances are you’ve never seen it because it’s the faintest of the twelve. But Cancer contains one of the best star clusters for binoculars and small telescopes - The Beehive!

This month offers a unique opportunity to see an asteroid with your own eyes - the largest asteroid in the solar system, Ceres!

The sun is headed toward its peak storm activity and that is why there are more reports of Northern Lights right now. Get some tips on how to watch for the "Aurora Borealis"!

All this week, the phase of the moon grows larger and brighter as it moves from First Quarter toward Full. We call this period the “waxing gibbous moon” as the oval shape becomes wider and more rounded.

Look low in the west near the end of evening twilight and you should see two exceptionally bright stars. On closer inspection, you might notice that they don't twinkle very much. That's because you're looking at the planets Venus and Jupiter!

Three bright stars form a giant triangle in the southern sky known as the Winter Triangle. And like Orion’s Belt, it can make for an excellent pointer and guidepost to the winter night sky.

As the moon wanes and rises later each night, the early evening skies are dark again, allowing us to see the faint deep sky marvels of winter. One of the most famous is actually visible to the naked eye – the Great Orion Nebula.

The February Full Moon is often times called the Snow Moon because of the heavy snowfall typical in this month. But it’s also been referred to as the Hunger Moon or Bone Moon by Native Americans because of the lack of food.