The Rhythm of the Spheres

Reading the Night Sky

Wandering in Astronomy

The night sky is the oldest pattern of man, and every culture reads it differently. The stars above keep silent time, moving to a rhythm we are just now beginning to understand. Astronomy is where math, science, art, music, and words meet in a wondrous collision. In this section of our site, learn the basics of astronomy: from how a star chart is made, to projections and art that map the night sky, to how an astrolabe works just like it did thousands of years ago. Watch the North Star shift across centuries, explore how one sky has been mapped by many traditions, read what happened on this day in space, and see tonight’s moon for your location.

Map the Stars

The math behind star charts, with a projection explorer and a working astrolabe.

The Moving Sky

How the sky shifts across centuries, with a precession clock you can run.

The Traditions

One sky reads many ways, with a same-sky overlay of the world’s constellations.

This Day in the Stars

The sky’s events, discoveries, and lore tied to today’s date.

The Moon Tonight

Its phase and face, drawn live for where you’re standing.

โœฆ  Astronomy Picture of the Day  โœฆ

Orion and the Running Man

November 13, 2025
Credit: R. Jay Gabany
See this entry on NASA's APOD โ†’
Few cosmic vistas can excite the imagination like The Great Nebula in Orion . Visible as a faint, bland celestial smudge to the naked-eye, the nearest large star-forming region sprawls across this sharp colorful telescopic image . Designated M42 in the Messier Catalog, the Orion Nebula's glowing gas and dust surrounds hot, young stars . About 40 light-years across, M42 is at the edge of an immense interstellar molecular cloud only 1,500 light-years away that lies within the same spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy as the Sun. Including dusty bluish reflection nebula NGC 1977 , also known as the Running Man nebula at left in the frame, the natal nebulae represent only a small fraction of our galactic neighborhood's wealth of star-forming material. Within the well-studied stellar nursery, astronomers have also identified what appear to be numerous infant solar systems .

Customized Star Charts Coming 1st Quarter 2027

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.

โœฆ  EarthSky  ยท  Astronomy.com  ยท  Phys.org  โœฆ
Astronomy Nov 9, 2026

Our sun's undiscovered stellar nemesis is still out there, says physicist

Long-period, high-inclination comets of the sort that can cause extinction-level impacts here on Earth have long been thought to originate from a theoretical Oort cloud. That is, a roughly sphericaโ€ฆ

Read
What's Launching This Week Nov 9, 2026

SpaceX goes for a Starship double catch

Rocket launches this week On Monday, Nov. 9, SpaceX is targeting 10:03 p.m. EST to launch USSF-627 on a Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mโ€ฆ

Read
Features Nov 9, 2026

Our increasingly cluttered skies

In the 2013 movie Gravity, Russia destroys its own spy satellite with a missile, creating a cloud of shrapnel and subsequent orbital collisions that rip apart spaceships and astronauts alike. Earthโ€ฆ

Read
Robotic Spaceflight Nov 9, 2026

After LINK mission failure, Swift reenters atmosphere

Editorโ€™s note: This story was originally published Aug. 24, 2026. Swift reentered Earthโ€™s atmosphere Nov. 4, 2026, ending its nearly 22-year mission. See the most recent updates at the end of tโ€ฆ

Read
Earth Nov 9, 2026

The enormous oarfish could inspire new ways to explore the ocean

The giant oarfish has a remarkable fin that could inspire quieter underwater robots and open new possibilities for ocean exploration and conservation.

Read
Astronomy Essentials Nov 9, 2026

Visible planets and night sky guide for November

Visible planets and night sky guide: November is a great month for both planets and meteor showers! Here's how to see Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and the ongoing Taurids.

Read
Sun Nov 9, 2026

Sun news: Auroras continue! More tonight at northern U.S. latitudes?

Sun news November 9, 2026: Fast solar wind topped 800 km/s, keeping G1 storms going. AR4566 fired another M flare. Auroras possible tonight!

Read
Astronomy Nov 8, 2026

JWST tracks more than 100 magnified stellar events in the Dragon galaxy

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team of astronomers identified 104 magnified stellar events in a galaxy known as the Dragon, located around 6.5 billion light-years away. This discoveโ€ฆ

Read
Astronomy Nov 8, 2026

Game theory helps SETI search for alien civilizations

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is mostly concerned with where to look for technosignatures from another civilization. Between 2012 and 2015, SETI's Project Phoenix targeted aboโ€ฆ

Read