Q-90.1's Backyard Astronomer

From now through mid-March, you’ll have an opportunity to see the crescent phase of Venus when viewed through a telescope.

At the beginning of the week of February 3, the moon shows a crescent shape in the southwest after sunset. But each night, the moon will appear to slip a little further back or eastward among the stars, allowing more of the sunlight side to face the earth.

The parade of four planets visible across the sky will soon reduce to three as Saturn drops lower in the west each night, fading into the glare of twilight by the end of February.

About two hours after sunset, look high in the east for the brilliant planet Jupiter. A little to the lower right of Jupiter is the orange star Aldebaran, the fiery eye of Taurus the Bull.

During the week of January 13, a magnificent parade of planets will arch across the early evening sky. It's also when Mars comes closest to Earth and will be at its brightest.

The moon grows from its first quarter phase this week, before its reaches full on the 13th. The January full moon is called the "Wolf Moon" because of the increased howling wolves make at this time. The Full Moon will also seem to blot out the planet Mars for about an hour, called an occultation.

One of the best known winter constellations, Orion the Hunter, returns to the evening sky.

The dating of our holidays have their roots in the solstice traditions of long ago, and that includes the dating of Christmas.

During the second half of December, you’ll have a rare opportunity to spot all the other major planets in our solar system over the course of one night.

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

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.

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

Two hours after sunset you can’t help but notice several bright stars low in the east and northeast. The brightest one isn’t a star at all, but the planet Jupiter!

The phase of the moon grows this week. By November 15 it becomes full, rising a little north of east soon after sunset. The November Full Moon was called the Beaver Moon by many Native American tribes.

This week offers an evening rendezvous of Venus and the crescent moon.

Look low to 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.

Each season has a notable constellation or group of stars that can serve as a guidepost to that part of the sky. In summer it’s common to use the Summer Triangle and in autumn we have the Great Square of Pegasus.

The Moon will take on an oval shape this week as the visible portion starts to wane, or become smaller. This allows the Moon to be seen in the morning sky after sunrise.

The media buzz is growing about what could be a bright comet gracing our skies this month. It’s called Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, or “A3” for short, and astronomers have been eagerly anticipating its approach for many weeks.

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.