Q-90.1's Backyard Astronomer

About 90 minutes after sunset, look low in the south for the medium bright star, Fomalhaut. At only 25 light years away, astronomers have found a disk of material that could be new planets forming.

The holidays are one of the most popular times of year for buying a telescope. So, what's the best one to look for?

Right now is the best time to see the seventh planet from the sun. Uranus is at its closest approach to earth right now, which makes it barely visible as a faint star to the naked eye if you know exactly where to look under dark skies.

Look low the east after dark and you should see a pretty little cluster of stars. Its shape might remind you of a miniature little dipper, but it’s actually the famous Pleiades Star Cluster.

Also called the “sister spiral” to our own Milky Way Galaxy, Andromeda is the most distant object you can see in the entire night sky without a telescope.

Low in the east, soon after dark, you’ll find a star so bright that it looks like a fiery beacon in the sky. It’s actually the planet Jupiter, and it’s making its closest approach to Earth this week.

Even though the nights are cooling down, throw on that coat and grab your binoculars for a look at the Moon! There are many special features to look for.

Each year in late October, our planet crosses the orbit of Halley’s Comet, sweeping up millions of little bits of ice and dust to create the Orionid Meteor Shower.

The first of two Great American Solar Eclipses happens on Saturday, October 14 with an "annular" (ring of fire) eclipse of the sun visible along a narrow path from Oregon to Texas. Michigan will experience a partial eclipse of about 35% coverage.

When evening twilight ends, look high in the northeast for a group of bright stars that resembles a big “W” sitting on its end. This is the constellation of Cassiopeia the Queen.

The Harvest Full Moon might seem a little extra bright this year when it rises in the east just after sunset on September 28. That's because it coincides with a Supermoon!

The Summer Triangle is a useful guidepost to many interesting deep sky objects, but it’s also a way to find other constellations nearby, such as Delphinus the Dolphin.

If you look low in the southeast sky after dark, you’ll see a moderately bright "star" that doesn’t twinkle like the others. It’s the famous ringed planet Saturn, and it recently made its closest approach to Earth.

About 45 minutes before sunrise, look low in the east and you’ll find the brightest planet in the sky, Venus.

For decades now, amateur astronomy continues to be one of the fastest growing hobbies in the world. Why is that? What gets people so “hooked” on space and the night sky?

August 30 will be the first time a Blue Moon and Supermoon have intersected since 2009.

Away from city lights and bright moonlight, this is the time of year to see the faint band of the Milky Way stretching right over the top of the sky.

Conditions this year will be nearly ideal for watching the annual Perseid meteor shower when it reaches peak activity on the nights of August 12 and 13.

When you look into the night sky, you’re seeing across vast distances. But what’s the most distant object you can see with the unaided eye?

As the phase of the moon grows steadily from crescent to first quarter to full, it’s a good opportunity to explore the contrasts of light and dark on its surface.