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

The First Green Star, WD J1330+6435

October 22, 2026
Credit: Mark A. Garlick/University of Warwick
See this entry on NASA's APOD โ†’
Star light, star bright: is there a green star out tonight? Other than the Sun, all stars are so far from Earth that they appear as points in the sky. They are mostly white, but sometimes noticeably red or blue. This color typically relates to the temperature: blue stars are hotter than red stars. What about other colors? The featured image is an illustration showing WD J1330+6435, a white dwarf star, surrounded by an accretion disk with gas and rocks orbiting the star. White dwarfs are small, faint stars that are left over when a star like the Sun exhausts its nuclear fuel. Astronomers recently found that some white dwarf stars, despite their name, would appear yellow, green, cyan, pink, or purple. In these cases, trace elements that were accreted to these stars interact with the stellar atmosphere and shift its normally white color. But, alas! I wish I may, I wish I might, but they are too faint to see tonight...

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 Oct 28, 2026

Sun's outer magnetic field mapped in 3D for the first time

A team of researchers has produced the first global, three-dimensional estimates of the sun's magnetic field, including the area beyond the sun's visible edge. This marks a step toward more accuratโ€ฆ

Read
Astronomy Oct 28, 2026

NASA systems engineering team details Habitable Worlds Observatory mission architecture

Finding an Earth-like world beyond the solar system is the holy grail of exoplanet research, and the field has seen remarkable technological advances in detecting and studying exoplanets since the โ€ฆ

Read
Observing Oct 28, 2026

2026 Full Moon calendar: When to see the Full Moon and phases

The phenomenon of a Full Moon arises when our planet, Earth, is precisely sandwiched between the Sun and the Moon. This alignment ensures the entire side of the Moon that faces us gleams under sunlโ€ฆ

Read
Robotic Spaceflight Oct 28, 2026

Oct. 28, 1971: The U.K. launches a satellite

The Prospero satellite, which launched on Oct. 28, 1971, holds the distinction of being the first and only British satellite to be launched by a British rocket. (The first British satellite launcheโ€ฆ

Read
Space Oct 28, 2026

Origins of Uranus and Neptune are surprisingly different

A new study suggests that the origins of Uranus and Neptune are quite different, even though the 2 planets are similar in many ways.

Read
Sun Oct 28, 2026

Sun news: On this day in 2003, one of the biggest flares on record

Sun news October 28, 2026: 23 years ago today, on October 28, 2003, the sun blasted a monster X17.2 flare from active region AR10486.

Read
Astronomy Essentials Oct 28, 2026

Visible planets and night sky guide for October and November

Visible planets and night sky guide. Late this evening, the gibbous moon hangs between Capella and Aldebaran. Look for the glittering Pleiades cluster nearby.

Read
Observing Oct 28, 2026

The Sky Today on Wednesday, October 28: The Moon hangs with Uranus

Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  October 27: Follow Kembleโ€™s Cascade The Moon passes 5ยฐ north of Uranus at 6 A.M. EDT this morning. Youโ€ฆ

Read
Astronomy Oct 27, 2026

Double debris disk orbiting a dead star hints at our solar system's future

Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) have found a rare disk of debris around a dead star that provides a glimpse of what may happen to our solar syโ€ฆ

Read