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 ...

The amazing image of the black hole in the center of the giant galaxy M87 has been hard to miss over the past week. The image is a stunning achievement of astronomical inquiry, technology and persistence. M87 is the largest and second brightest galaxy in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. As ...

The great astronomers, professional and amateur, can be quite specific about when, how and what event ignited their interest in the night sky. It would have been the same moment that also piqued their inspiration for science, and for a life of imagining, dreaming and acting on their dreams. ...

Though Mercury is sinking rapidly in the evening sky, Mars will linger through July as Earth slowly leaves it on the far side of the sun. Another planet currently in the evening sky is Uranus. It can be seen without optical aid, but it’s best to find it in binoculars, then look at the ...

Mercury is an elusive planet. Though it is visible in the evening sky about three times each year, many people never get a glimpse at this world because they don’t know when to look for it. This month gives us all a chance to spot it just as the evenings darken. The diagram shows the west ...