Q-90.1's Backyard Astronomer

Most of the time, Mars is just a faint star that looks like an unremarkable orange dot in a telescope. But every 26 months, the Red Planet swings in for a close approach to Earth, making it ideal for observing.

The holidays are one of the most popular times of year for buying a telescope. So what's the best one to look for? There is no one perfect telescope for everyone.

Look low 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.

The Autumn nights give us cooler, drier air which is ideal for observing the deep sky. Combine that with a moonless night, and it’s the best time of year to look for the Great Andromeda Galaxy.

This month, the Full Frost Moon on November 8 coincides with a Total Lunar Eclipse. This is when the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow, giving it an eerie reddish glow because of the colors that pass through the Earth’s atmosphere. This is why a total lunar eclipse is also sometimes called “The Blood Moon.”

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, but in autumn we have “The Great Square of Pegasus.”

Each year in late October, our planet crosses the orbit of Halley’s Comet, sweeping up millions of little bits of ice and dust to create the Orionid Meteor Shower.

At twilight, 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.

Even though the nights are cooling down, throw on that coat and grab your binoculars for a look at the Moon! This is a good time to see the dark round plains called “maria,” and bright splashes of lighter material called “rays.”

Delta College Planetarium in Bay City will celebrate this year’s International Observe the Moon Night Saturday, October 1. Sponsored by NASA, over 3000 sites around the world will be participating with special shows and telescope viewing!

The planet Jupiter makes its return into the evening sky shining like a brilliant beacon low in the east after dark!

The Summer Triangle is a useful guidepost to many interesting deep sky objects, but it’s also a way to find other constellations nearby. For example, a popular little pattern among stargazers is Delphinus the Dolphin.

The Harvest Moon takes place on September 10 this year. It's the Full Moon closest to the Autumn Equinox and is popular with farmers because they can continue harvesting by the light of the moon after sunset.

If you look low in the southeast sky after dark, you’ll see a moderately bright star that doesn’t twinkle as much as the other stars. This is the famous ringed planet Saturn, and it recently made its closest approach to Earth.

Under a clear sky with no moon or light pollution, you should see it as a faint band of light that stretches overhead from roughly north to south. This band represents the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, a huge spiral of some 200 billion stars.

As the moon advances past full and moves further into the eastern sky, we’ll have a chance to see it greet the planet Mars on the morning of August 19.

Since one side of the moon always faces the earth, it's often assumed that means the moon doesn't rotate. But that's not really the case.

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.

After dusk, look about a third of the way up the eastern sky for a moderately bright star. It’s flanked by two fainter stars above and below it. This is Altair, the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila the Eagle.

Hercules, the strong man of ancient mythology, rides high overhead in early summer. While its stars are not particularly bright, its most distinctive shape are the four stars in its center known as the Keystone.