Q-90.1's Backyard Astronomer

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.

While the stars of Hercules are not particularly bright, its most distinctive shape are the four stars in its center known as the Keystone.

As evening twilight fades into night, look for three bright stars high in the east that form a giant triangle in the sky. The Summer Triangle is a great way to “star hop” to areas of interest.

Every year on or about July 6, the Earth reaches aphelion, its farthest point from the sun in that elliptical orbit. How can we be at our farthest from the sun in summer?

Earth is at its farthest point from the Sun on July 6th, called Aphelion. Does our distance from the Sun have any effect on the weather?

Keep watching the upper left portion of the Moon all this week for one of its largest "seas." Mare Imbium, or "The Sea of Rains," spans over 700 miles.

As the planets drift very slowly among the stars, sometimes they appear close to each other in the sky – a meetup called a conjunction.

Are there any green stars? Astronomers say no, but observers insist that the brightest star in the constellation Libra the Scales, does look green.

During the month of June, about 90 minutes after sunset, look high in the east, almost overhead for a faint semi-circular pattern of stars. This is the constellation of Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown.

At the end of evening twilight, look about halfway up the northeast sky for a bright bluish star. This is Vega, and it’s another sign that summer is on its way.

The week of May 22 offers a perfect opportunity to follow the waxing crescent moon. In this case, “waxing” refers to the crescent shape growing larger each night. It's also a good time to identify some of the dark lava basins called Maria.

The early evening sky remains dark for longer periods as the moon rises later each night. This reveals a really nice target for binoculars called the Coma Star Cluster.

Look for the three stars in the handle of the Big Dipper and you’ll notice they form a curve or arc in the sky that you can use to find the star Arcturus.

This week you can see what’s called the Moon Illusion, that time when the full moon seems so much larger near the horizon than when it’s overhead.

Mid-April to mid-May is a good time to see a collection of bright stars in the west called "The Arch of Spring." Even though they’ve been around all winter, we notice these stars more when they get lower in the sky because they’re closer to the horizon.