Stardate
StarDate's daily radio show podcast.
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Zenith
Two points of the Summer Triangle crown the sky tonight. ...
Two points of the Summer Triangle crown the sky tonight. Depending on your latitude, they can pass at or quite close to the zenith — the point that’s directly overhead. First up is Vega, the fifth-brightest star in all the night sky. If you’re a...
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On the Move
The Sun is on the move. It’s a slow journey, ...
The Sun is on the move. It’s a slow journey, though — it’ll take about 26,000 years to complete. And when it’s done, it’ll start all over again. The journey is known as precession. It happens because Earth “wobbles” a bit, like a toy gyr...
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Capricornus
One of the oddest mythological creatures in the sky crawls ...
One of the oddest mythological creatures in the sky crawls low across the south on September evenings: Capricornus, the sea-goat. It’s depicted as the head and body of a goat connected to the tail of a fish. To modern eyes, though, it’s just a wide...
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Moon and Aldebaran
Skywatchers along a wide swath of the eastern seaboard can ...
Skywatchers along a wide swath of the eastern seaboard can watch a stellar disappearing act late tonight. The Moon will pass directly in front of Aldebaran, blocking the star from view for a little while. The rest of the country will have to settle for...
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Luminous Red Novae
For stars that live alone, life is simple. They’re born, ...
For stars that live alone, life is simple. They’re born, they evolve as they age, and they expire — quietly in some cases, more violently in others. For a star with a close companion, though, life is a lot more complicated. Each star’s evolution...
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First Professor
By the fall of 1865, Maria Mitchell was already the ...
By the fall of 1865, Maria Mitchell was already the most famous female astronomer in the country. She’d discovered a comet, and become the first woman admitted to two leading scientific societies. And 150 years ago this month, she became the first wo...
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Venus and Mars
Our closest planetary neighbors are passing close to each other ...
Our closest planetary neighbors are passing close to each other in the dawn sky. Venus, the dazzling “morning star,” perches low in the east at first light, with much-fainter Mars not far to its upper left. The two planets appear so close together...
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Neptune at Opposition II
We’re at the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season right ...
We’re at the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season right now — more hurricanes form around the first of September than at any other time. Their winds can top out at 100 to 150 miles per hour — strong enough to cause massive damage. Yet compared ...
