De Anza College Fujitsu Planetarium

After 6 a.m. PT tomorrow morning, those with a clear, east-southeast horizon can check out the flat triangle formed by Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury; binoculars may help. Though the planets look close to each other in the sky, they are not. Our neighbor, Mercury, is 120 million km away from Earth, but distant Saturn is over 10x farther away from us.

In the Cosmos this March!

Be sure to catch the newest video in our 3-part video series about misconceptions surrounding the reasons for the seasons. In this second video, we explain why days are short in the winter and long in the summer. https://youtu.be/pCqTg1CzfxA

Today, after a 300-million-mile journey that launched last July, the NASA Perseverance rover is scheduled to land on the surface of Mars. Also today, Mars and the Moon are within four degrees of each other in the southwestern sky just after sunset. The little open star cluster, the Pleiades, higher in the sky, forms the grouping into a beautiful and observable triangle.

Tonight presents the perfect chance to explore the constellation of Orion the Hunter. Each one of the brightest seven stars in the group is bigger, brighter and hotter than our own Sun. While the belt stars direct us to other bright stars and constellations, don't forget to pull out your binoculars to check out the fuzzy patch below the belt. That patch is the Great Nebula in Orion, the nearest star factory to Earth.

The last of four penumbral eclipses this year reaches maximum coverage at 1:44 a.m. PT. The Earth's shadow consists of two parts: the dark, inner umbra and the outer, brighter penumbra. The Moon travels through the bright part this evening, starting at around 11:30 p.m. and ending around 4 a.m.

In the Cosmos this December!

The two solar system giants, Jupiter and Saturn, stand behind the waxing crescent Moon tonight, forming a flat triangle.

Looking for something to do on Saturday evening? Join us for a star party! We are live streaming "In the Cosmos Live!" at 5:30 p.m. PST. We will show you which cool objects to look for in the night sky over the next few weeks, and how to find them on your own. https://youtu.be/c9dePj9aHpQ See you there!

Do you ever find yourself looking up at the night sky wondering where the planets and constellations are? We can help! Join us next Saturday Nov. 21 at 5:30 p.m. for our live virtual star party to learn more about the November night sky. http://ow.ly/6E3m50CfTcH