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The Lyrid meteor shower peaks this week. The moon occults the Pleiades and Regulus. Southern solstice happens on Mars. Three planets appear very close in the morning. A fourth is nearby for observers with telescopes and binoculars. Nearly seven centuries ago, French physicians thought such planetary close calls might make people sick.

Venus climbs the evening sky. Jupiter approaches Wasat. Mercury follows Mars in the morning. The Lyrid meteors are coming. And learn about International Dark Sky Week. Preserving nighttime darkness isn't just about protecting the night sky.

Jupiter's at quadrature. The moon hides Antares. The moon's at apogee. Saturn pokes into southern hemisphere skies. A smudge of light that looks like a beehive in a telescope is high in the sky at dusk. And there's a constellation named for an air pump. Yes, really.

Mars appears to wobble if we watch long enough. Its south pole is tipping toward Earth this week. Jupiter is almost at quadrature. Maybe you can see it just before the sun goes down. Mercury reaches greatest elongation.

Saturn passes by the sun. Venus goes by the Pisces linkage. Mercury's up in the morning. Mars is at perihelion and also hard to find.

You can see the night's brightest star in the daytime--just before the sun sets--if you know where to look. You can figure that out this week and be ready for the view next week.

Saturn and Venus appear close. Jupiter is stationary. The moon's at apogee. Southern sky watchers can spot Mercury and Mars. And just what is meant by "defect of illumination"?

We get a total lunar eclipse this week. Jupiter is about to turn around in Gemini. Mercury passes by the sun. Mira is about as bright as it gets. And remember T. Corona Borealis? Why hasn't it brightened up yet?

There's another so-called planetary alignment this week. The moon has its northernmost occultation of the Pleiades. Mars is out of sight while most of the planets are not. And find out about next week's total lunar eclipse.

Antarctica and the Southern Ocean get an annular eclipse. Mercury's at perihelion and greatest elongation. In a manner of speaking, it's closest to and farthest from the sun at the same time. Planets have their orbits. But the way we see them going around, they also have synodic periods.

Three naked eye planets can be seen setting in the evening this week, at least in some places. Mire continues to brighten. There's an annular solar eclipse next week. And several animals are following Orion around the sky. Among them is a unicorn.

Jupiter remains in Gemini. Mercury and Venus slowly make their way into the evening. The moon hides Regulus. And there once was a planet named George. Despite it being a planet, it was called George's Star.

Another of the monthly meetings of the moon and the Pleiades is about to happen. These have been happening every 27 nights or so. Saturn and Jupiter remain out at night. But the other naked eye planets are still clustered with the sun.

What's that by Jupiter? Wasat! It's named for being in the middle of the sky. Sometimes, planets pass right in front of it. Mercury goes through superior conjunction. Mars and Venus remain out of sight, too.

Three naked eye planets are out of sight. You can see them clustered in a planetarium program view. Saturn and Jupiter are still out at night. Try to find Uranus, Neptune, Hebe, and Ceres too. And now's a good time to start looking for the variable star Mira, which has been invisible to the naked eye but should reach peak brightness in less than two months.