Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  October 20: Lovely spiral NGC 7331 The Orionid meteor shower peaks this morning — the perfect time to watch for shooting stars, as Earth turns into the meteoroid stream of dusty debris responsible for the show.  The best time to do someContinue reading "The Sky Today on Wednesday, October 21: Catch early-morning Orionids"

The post The Sky Today on Wednesday, October 21: Catch early-morning Orionids appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Just as we use latitude and longitude to know the precise position of something on Earth’s surface, it’s useful to have a system for knowing the position of objects in the heavens. The widely used system of right ascension and declination does the job — and dates back at least to the time of HipparchusContinue reading "Understanding celestial coordinates"

The post Understanding celestial coordinates appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  October 19: Feast your eyes on the Southern Fish Located in northern Pegasus, NGC 7331 is a bright galaxy that is the largest in a group of five galaxies collectively known as the Deer Lick Group. It’s best viewed in early evening,Continue reading "The Sky Today on Tuesday, October 20: Lovely spiral NGC 7331"

The post The Sky Today on Tuesday, October 20: Lovely spiral NGC 7331 appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.