Starry Night This Week

Each week most PBS stations air "Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer", the world's first and only weekly TV series on naked-eye astronomy. The Starry Night images on this page illustrate the show for the week of Monday November 26, 2007. You can view the complete show script, or watch a RealPlayer video of the show.

Mars at its Closest and Brightest Until 2016 This December

Mars will be at its closest approach to Earth on December 18th. Stay up late enough and you'll be able to compare its brightness to that of Sirius, the brightest star in our sky. Use Orion's belt as a pointer to find Sirius.

An added treat the day before Mars reaches opposition: on the evening of December 23rd, Mars and the full Moon will be less than a degree apart in the sky! Grab your binoculars and visit the nearby M35 star cluster while you're in the neighborhood.