✨ Night sky
What you can see from your own backyard: star patterns people have named for thousands of years, and the dates worth looking up.
✨ Constellations
Patterns of stars people have named for thousands of years. The stars in one are usually nowhere near each other: they only seem to line up from where we stand.
Orion
The Hunter, with three bright stars in a row for his belt.
Ursa Major
The Great Bear, home of the Big Dipper.
Ursa Minor
The Little Bear, with Polaris at the tip of its tail.
Cassiopeia
A bright W of five stars, named after a boastful queen.
Scorpius
The Scorpion, with red Antares at its heart.
Leo
The Lion, whose head is a backwards question mark of stars.
Taurus
The Bull, with red Aldebaran as its glowing eye.
Gemini
The Twins, Castor and Pollux, side by side.
Cygnus
The Swan, flying along the Milky Way. Its brightest stars form the Northern Cross.
Crux
The Southern Cross: the smallest constellation, and the most famous in southern skies.
Centaurus
The Centaur, holding the closest stars to our Sun.
Sagittarius
The Archer, whose brightest stars look like a teapot.
📅 Sky calendar
Dates worth marking: the equinoxes and solstices that turn the seasons, meteor showers that come back every year, and eclipses of the Sun and Moon.
March equinox
Day and night are nearly equal all over the world, and spring begins in the north.
June solstice
The longest day north of the equator, and the shortest in the south.
September equinox
Day and night are nearly equal again, and spring begins in the south.
December solstice
The longest day south of the equator, and the shortest in the north.
Meteor showers
Shooting stars that come back on the same nights every year.
Solar eclipses
When the Moon passes in front of the Sun.
Lunar eclipses
When the Moon slips into Earth’s shadow.
Which planets are up tonightFor your city, with times and where to look