I really enjoyed reading your comet-finding acount, jo. Almost like we were there with you. Glad you found it!

It's been cloudy here, except for a short-lived glimpse of the crescent moon a few days ago. No comet sightings yet...*crosses fingers*

In another vein, the Moon passes close to Jupiter this Sunday evening. So you may want to take a break from the St Paddy's Day festivities to check it out.

You may also want to try spotting the giant planet before sunset, using he moon as a guide. Binoculars help. More info (scroll down to March 17).

Never did see Comet PanSTARRS...but ISON holds a lot of promise for later on this year.

Check out tonight's big bright full moon - and the bright 'star' above it. That's actually the planet Saturn, just a couple of days from its own opposition to the sun (it's opposite the sun in the sky then, and visible all night).

With April's end we're nearing the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice (in the Northern Hemisphere); this cross-quarter day is Beltane in the old Gaelic calendar.

Did any of our Down Under members happen to catch part of the early-morning "ring of fire" annular eclipse?

The path of the 'ring of fire' (which occurs because the moon passes directly between the earth and sun just like a total eclipse but the moon is too far away to fully cover the sun) passed across northern Australia before entering the Pacific, so most people would have seen the sun only partially covered up instead (or coverage of the annular phase online or on television).

The next solar eclipse this year comes November 3, which is both annular and total (depending on where you see it from) and crosses the Atlantic and central Africa. (The next solar eclipse for North America is in October 2014).

So did anybody else see the Super Moon the other night? My husband and I were actually out on the combine harvesting wheat and we saw it come up. It was pretty spectacular.

Glad you enjoyed seeing the big Moon that night, fantasia. It was cloudy here much of the past week.

This week is shaping up much more nicely, with the sun actually staying out for more than a day or two, and with seasonal temperatures. We're just past the solstice, though, so astronomical twilight doesn't end until almost midnight here. That's a long time to spend outside waiting for it to get dark, especially with clouds of hungry mosquitoes.

Still, I hope to enjoy a state park campfire cookout and stargazing trip one of these days.

In upcoming events, the earth reaches aphelion (it is farthest from the sun) on July 5. Venus and Saturn remain in the evening sky while Mars and Jupiter will appear in the morning light by the end of July.

Bumping this up to promote the upcoming peak of the Perseid meteor shower - one of the best in the Northern Hemisphere, with ideal rates of up to 100 meteors per hour (as always, your mileage may vary). It's often independently 'discovered' by people out camping or visiting areas outside of the city which have darker skies.

The prospects this year are pretty good since the Moon sets earlier in the evening, before the radiant (the place in the sky the meteors seem to come from) rises very high.

Bring the bug spray, a comfy chair to relax in, and enjoy the show!

More here: Get Ready for the 2013 Perseids

That's awesome, gazer! I'll have to remember to keep an eye up in the sky! Thanks for letting us know about it.

One night this week, I don't remember what night, our dog Dobby woke me up in the wee hours of the morning to go outside. I got up and let her out, and while I was standing on the porch with her, just happened to look up into the heavens, and saw (what I assume was) an ISS pass. It was probably a -1.5. Very neat to see, and really unexpected

Ah, DiGs, those unexpected night sky treats are so memorable! Which reminds me, I meant to post in here towards the end of June about a spectacular meteor I saw whilst viewing the heavens with none other than a few NarniaWebbers in June. We were watching for other anticipated objects up above, when this beauty of a 'shooting star' blazed its way across the sky, even fragmenting at the end of its journey. I believe it was a fireball too. Unforgettable, and all the moreso because of its fortuitous appearance. The squeals of delight and ooohs and aaahhhs were memorable too.

Thanks for the link, stargazer. I was reading that article on skyandtelescope the other day, planning what time I am going to set my alarm early, very early that morning, given that the forecasted clouds do not roll in.

Just got in a little while ago with the Mrs. from sitting by the fire watching for meteors. ( Hmm, wild rice brats, and s'mores over the fire) Alas, between us we only caught a glimps of two.
Fortunatly though we saw not only the ISS, but a total of 13 satilites, a record for one evening. At least three times we no sooner started tracking one than a second appeared going in another direction altogether.

More wild rice brats, and s'mores over the fire tonight.
Unfortunatly we had cloud cover over much of the sky for most of the time we were out this time. Started with another viewing of the ISS passing by.
Was getting ready for dissapointment with all the clouds when we were pleasantly suprised by a bright streak passing through the Big Dipper. I'm no good at judging intensity, but it was easily as bright, if not more than the stars of the constellation.
After that it was very hit, and miss, and I am sure the clouds were no help. We each saw three, or four lesser streaks, but I was able to catch sight of two other that were a little longer lasting, both near the Big Dipper. Though the first was by far the most intense.
Now I have to go streatch my neck. I told the Mrs. that I'm investing in a recliner for next time .

Briefly, had an amazing time watching the Perseids last night from 3:30 a.m. to 4:45 a.m. by myself in the cool, dark backyard. I will expand later this week on the glory when I have more time to post, but for now ... 'twas so worth being tired today for that! Glad you had some good sightings too, Puddleglum. I also saw a half dozen satellites (but nigh pittance compared to your 13 ) and one dim Iridium flare.

Great to see some Perseid and satellite sightings! I look forward to more details of your observing session, jo. A recliner is a great meteor-viewing aid, Puddleglum! (In my younger days we'd put blankets out on the grass and watch the Perseids that way).

We had a cover of clouds nearly all weekend, except for a short time Saturday evening, during which we observed an ISS pass but no meteors (there were lots of trees in the campground, which makes for nice surroundings but sure hampers the stargazing).

Ditto about the recliner being a very handy and comfy aid to observe the skies. That's exactly what I did early Monday morning, August 12th, when I went outside to watch the Perseids.

I have done the blanket too (with a plastic sheet underneath), stargazer. It does work well.

Okay, so the meteor shower: I laid back and begun to enjoy the quiet, majestic beauty of the night sky, catching periodic meteors in my peripheral vision as well as some directly in my eye's gaze. But there were a few spectacular ones, at which I usually gawked and exclaimed aloud, even though no one was with me ... "WHOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAA"!

The highlights:

*a couple of really fast, bright ones, unusually brilliant, it seemed
*one fireball, wowser!
*a long, slow, bright meteor, even so that when I said aloud "would you look at that?" (to no one in particular , it was still going, to disappear shortly afterwards
*many peripheral meteors so that you saw them out of the corner of your vision, but when you actually looked at the spot, they were gone already
*in between the spectacles, it was grand watching the night sky revolve slowly overhead
*as mentioned above, I also enjoyed about 6 satellites and 1 dim-ish Iridium flare
*we had seen a skunk in the backyard munching our discarded corn cobs the evening before, so I was hoping he would have moved well on by the time I got out there

I went back inside between 4:45 and 5, and was so glad I arisen that night, because the following night, clouds were abundant. Our eldest son, Geoff, saw some decent meteors on a camping trip in Algonquin Park last week. The sky was stunning, he said, away from any light pollution.

Sounds awesome, jo! Thanks for writing it up for us.

We spent Labor Day weekend camping in northwest Minnesota, where we were treated to almost light-free views of the Milky Way and several Iridium flares - not to mention some great early-morning views of Orion, Jupiter in Gemini, and much dimmer Mars in Cancer. A dim glow low in the north may have been Northern Lights but I wasn't sure...it could have been a town's light dome instead.

If it's clear tomorrow evening (Sunday), check out the crescent Moon close to bright Venus. From North America the pair will be low in the southwest after dusk. More here.

Aaahhh, sounds beautiful, stargazer.

And now my favourite star-gazing season of the year is being ushered in ... Autumn! It's grand to go out around 6 a.m. or so, and then again at 8 to a completely dark sky, filled with the heavens' glories! In the morning hours, it's amazing to see Orion displayed in all his splendour high in the south, his belt pointing the way to bright Sirius, and then white Jupiter moving closer and closer to the Moon.

With all these clear sky nights lately, I enjoyed seeing a few Iridium flares (honestly, I just love those ). Not many ISS passes at this time, though, as most of them are just before I arise.

fantasia_kitty linked to this video and article yesterday: a fireball spotted over northern Alberta! Wowser, exhilarating!

EDIT: I just read a short-ish article on the experience of beauty from a member of the Ravi Zacharias team, Andy Bannister, and wanted to share it here.
For me, one of the most spectacular and awesome sights we are blessed and privileged to view on this earth is the heavens. And when I read Andy's piece, my mind kept coming back to the utter joy of the night sky, reminding me once again that, truly, the heavens declare the glory of their Creator!