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.
Jupiter and Venus from Earth
Customized Star Charts Coming 1st Quarter 2027
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.
Van Gogh’s Starry Night shows a real night sky, study suggests
For decades, art historians and astronomers have wondered whether the sky of Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night shows real stars or imagined ones. A new study argues the stars are real — and t…
ReadSatellites leak noise that interferes with telescopes and GPS. Here's how to fix it
Less than a decade ago, there were about 2,000 operational satellites orbiting Earth. Today there are more than 15,000. Millions more are planned.
ReadA cosmic pond
Massimo Tamajo from Syracuse, Sicily, Italy IC 410 is an emission nebula about 12,000 light-years away in Auriga, lit by the radiation from the embedded star cluster NGC 1893. The region is best kn…
ReadPulsars set first mass limits on supermassive black hole pairs in the early universe
So far, observations by instruments including the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed the presence of surprisingly massive black holes in the early universe. Even less than a billion years aft…
ReadNov. 4, 1922: Tutankhamun’s tomb is discovered
When archaeologists peered inside Tutankhamun’s tomb a few weeks after its discovery on Nov. 4, 1922, they found antechambers packed to the brim with thousands of artifacts: statues, furniture, j…
ReadSwift spacecraft fell back to Earth in a fiery blaze on Wednesday
The Swift spacecraft fell back to Earth as a fiery streak of light on Wednesday. See videos here.
ReadA new mini-moon for Earth! Meet 2026 QQ8
Earth has another new mini-moon! The little space rock 2026 QQ8 began orbiting Earth in April and will stay through 2026.
ReadCrew emerges from Mars habitat simulation after yearlong test
On October 31, 2026, 4 participants in NASA's Mars habitat simulation emerged after 1 year of testing for what astronauts might encounter on a visit to Mars.
ReadJWST may have found where heavy black hole seeds formed
Astrophysicists think that the supermassive black holes (SMBH) we see in the modern universe are the result of a long, drawn-out process. That process is referred to as the hierarchical black hole …
Read