The Ward Beecher Planetarium

The Ward Beecher Planetarium Admission is always free, no reservations required! Show info at: http://www.wbplanetarium.org Evening programs are geared for general audiences.

The Ward Beecher Planetarium has been offering free programs on astronomy, space science, and related fields to the public for more than 40 years. Saturday afternoon programs normally are intended for families and children. Field trip programs are available during the day during the week; teachers should go to www.wbplanetarium.org for more information.

06/17/2026

Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury now form an equally spaced line in twilight, 7° from planet to planet. The thin crescent Moon joins them, hanging between Jupiter and Mercury.
https://buff.ly/4BlM8g0

06/12/2026

The three planets in the western twilight are pulling away from each other now. On Wednesday, the Moon will occult Venus in daylight.
Read more: https://buff.ly/IBMcswI

06/10/2026

Did you miss the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus last night? You didn't! Not really, because the pair will still appear close together tonight. Look to the western sky after sunset. In this view from the Great Salt Lake in Utah on June 9th, see if you can spot Mercury near the horizon as well.

More skywatching tips: science.nasa.gov/skywatching

A fantastic image of star trails over the Gemini north telescope.
06/09/2026

A fantastic image of star trails over the Gemini north telescope.

🌀 A hypnotically starry night was painted over the skies of Gemini North, one half of the NSF NOIRLab International Gemini Observatory in Hawaii.

The circular star trails appear to move across the sky during the night because of the Earth's rotation. This effect is beautifully captured through long-exposure photography, a technique that makes stationary objects appear sharp while moving objects appear blurred. The mesmerizing arcs of light trace the apparent motion of stars across the sky. Stars that are farther from the celestial poles seem to move more over time, resulting in longer star trails compared to those near the celestial poles.

✨ At the center of these arcs is the star Polaris, which appears to stay fixed in one spot because it's located almost directly above Earth's North Pole. Its almost stable position in our night sky makes it an important marker for navigation and astronomical observations. https://brnw.ch/21x3cy7

📸: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/T. Matsopoulos

06/09/2026

Venus and Jupiter are almost their closest together this evening, 1.8° apart . . . tomorrow they'll be in conjunction.
https://buff.ly/PkPbrGF

06/08/2026

The latest episode of our Sky Tour Astronomy podcast is out now! This episode highlights the close pairing of Venus and Jupiter under way in the western sky after sunset. You'll also learn why astronomers are fixated on a star in Corona Borealis.
Sponsored by Celestron
Read more: https://buff.ly/aNdOjkf

06/01/2026

The two brightest planets in our sky will be less than 2 degrees apart on June 9th at sunset.
Read more: https://buff.ly/mRwrm7P

05/29/2026

Venus and Jupiter grab your eyes in the west in late twilight. The Summer Triangle marks the dark in the east. So will the subtler Milky Way once the glary Moon is gone.
Read more: https://buff.ly/naFCIO6

05/27/2026

PK 164 +31.1: The Headphone Nebula (APOD: 2026 May 27)
Image Credit & Copyright: Bernard Miller Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260527.html

Explanation: What is a pair of headphones doing in the sky? Today’s image features the Headphone Nebula, also known as PK 164 +31.1 or Jones-Emberson 1. This planetary nebula, the remnant of a dying Sun-like star, faintly occupies an angular region of the Lynx constellation about 1/5th the diameter of the full moon. The red and blue-ish green colors trace hydrogen and oxygen atoms, respectively, that have been excited and ionized by the nebula's central white dwarf. The headphone shape, where two lobes of hydrogen puncture the inner region of oxygen, adds this object to a long list of oddly shaped nebulae. The morphology of such strange nebulae hint at the presence of a stellar or planetary companion, which can stir the material flowing out from the dying star. You can listen to Hubble and JWST sonifications of planetary nebulae through your very own headphones!

https://www.facebook.com/bernard.miller.752/
https://kerockcliffe.com/
https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/keighley.e.rockcliffe
https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/
https://csst.umbc.edu/directory/
https://cresst2.umd.edu/

Starship Asterisk* • APOD Discussion Page
https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260527

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100 Lincoln Avenue
Youngstown, OH
44555

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