The Celestial Grid Places on Earth can be designated politically, with country, state, and city or physically, with latitude and longitude. The Adirondack Sky Center’s Roll-Off Roof Observatory is at 178 Big Wolf Road in Tupper Lake, NY, USA and at 44 degrees 15.303’ (44.255 degrees) North, ...

The coziest early evenings of the year are upon us. With over 15 hours of night beginning with sunset around 4:20 p.m. and ending with sunrise around 7:30 a.m., it is no wonder we love to decorate with strings of lights. Those of us who love these long nights seem to be in the minority so as ...

After adorning the evening skies for most of this year, Jupiter and Saturn are moving toward the sunset horizon. In fact, Earth, in its faster orbit, is leaving them on the far side of the sun. Venus, in its even faster orbit, passed behind the sun on Aug. 14 and has been slowly rising into ...

On Monday, Nov. 11, an event will occur that won’t occur again until 2032 — Mercury will transit the sun. This means that the tiniest, swiftest planet will be seen to cross the face of the sun. The event will begin at 7:36 a.m. EST as the planet appears to touch the southwest edge of ...

Once again, the relentless orbit of the tilted Earth is nodding the northern hemisphere toward the sun, shortening the nights, and ending this column until the lengthening hours of darkness next November. But there’s much to view in our summer skies, however short the hours of darkness. So ...

(Editor’s note: This is a guest astronomy column for “The Wilderness Above” by Aileen O’Donoghue.) --- Mars shines low in the western sky after sunset in May. Earth is moving away from the Red Planet in our annual journey around the sun, and Mars will soon vanish from our sky ...