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Jupiter, Saturn and Venus have lined up in the evening sky and will continue to be prominent features throughout most of December, but this week, the trio will get a visitor. The easy-to-find planets, paired with the approaching peak of the Geminid meteor shower, make December a great month for evening stargazing. The only caveat is that the weather can be fickle during the long December nights, often offering frosty conditions on nights that are not cloudy. The moon started off the week next to Venus, and as the week progresses, it will continue to move up the chain, passing...

If you enjoy the sight of "shooting stars" then make plans to be out looking skyward during the predawn hours on Wednesday (Jan. 4) when a strong display of Quadrantid meteors may appear. This first meteor shower of the year may end up being one of the best of 2012. To paraphrase Forrest Gump: The Quadrantid meteor shower is like opening up a box of chocolates; you never know what you're going to get! Indeed, the Quadrantids are notoriously unpredictable, but if any year promises a fine display, this could be it. Peak activity is due to occur early on...

High overhead around the 8 p.m. local standard time is a bright configuration of stars that people unfamiliar with the sky often mistake for the Big Dipper. Big it is, but — at least in an official sense — a dipper it is not. This large figure is not usually described as a dipper in most stargazing guides; The Autumn Dipper, in fact, looks like a much larger and brighter version of the Little Dipper.

Airplane vapour trails may blot out our view of the stars in as little as 30 or 40 years, astronomers say, making ground-based telescopes -- which still do the bulk of our astronomy even in the Hubble age -- nearly useless. As cheap air travel expands, the sky gets criss-crossed with little ice crystals that can hang up there for a couple of days as thin clouds, dimming the view. This warning comes as Canada and other countries are currently designing a new generation of "Extremely Large Telescopes" with mirrors 30 metres or more across, and a view sharper than...

Ancient knife proves longer astronomical history www.chinaview.cn 2005-03-12 09:51:05 XINING, March 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Archaeologists in northwest China's Qinghai province claimed that a 5,000-year-old stone knife with designs of constellations will extend China's history of astronomical observation by 1,000 years. The finely-polished stone knife, six centimeters long and threecentimeters wide, was unearthed at the Laomao Ruins, a New Stone Age site nine kilometers west of Lamao Village in Qinghai. Archaeologists also unearthed many other relics from the site including pottery pieces, stone and bone tools. Liu Baoshan, head of the Qinghai Provincial Cultural Relics andArchaeology Research Institute, said seven holes...

WASHINGTON (AP) — At least a dozen cases of lasers being beamed into aircraft cockpits since Christmas in Cleveland and other cities are being investigated by the FBI. Advertisement The lasers can temporarily blind pilots. A cluster of incidents received wide attention between Christmas and New Year's Day, and the FBI says at least four more have occurred in the past week. Authorities have continued to rule out terrorism. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta was briefing reporters Wednesday about the issue at the Federal Aviation Administration's aeronautical research center in Oklahoma City. Mineta was expected to announce new measures for alerting...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 August 13 Contemplating the Sky Credit & Copyright: Sebastien Gauthier (Astrolab du Parc du Mont-Megantic) Explanation: Have you contemplated your sky recently? Last night was a good one for midnight meditators at many northerly locations as meteors from the Perseid meteor shower frequently streaked through. The Perseid meteor shower has slowly been building to a crescendo but should continue to be rewarding tonight and into the week....

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. LOS ANGELES -- The world's two largest telescope makers are locked in a battle that amateur astronomers and federal regulators alike fear could monopolize the market for a popular type of stargazing equipment. Meade Instruments Corp. of Irvine has filed three lawsuits against rival Celestron International Inc., alleging patent infringement related to computerized telescope technology. Celestron, based in Torrance, believes the suits could bankrupt the company as it seeks to buy back its independence from parent Tasco Worldwide Inc., which announced in May it was liquidating its assets. The latest of...