The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of May 30, 2026

Saturday: Two of the best, and certainly the most available, tools for viewing the night sky are your eyes. Your eyes let you see the entire sky in just a few seconds. Your eyes can read star charts, decipher astronomy apps, and spot meteors while your friend is still setting up her tripod. Your naked eyes are not as effective as gathering light. They work well when the light source is comparatively bright and the detailed features are fairly large. It’s best to practice on a special Solar System body known scientifically as the Magnificent Optical Object of Nearness. Artists such as Jan van Eyck and Leonardo da Vinci produced the first realistic naked eye depictions of the Magnificent Optical Object of Nearness. I challenge you to use your unaided eyes to observe craters on the Magnificent Optical Object of Nearness, better known as the Moon. For a guide to the most prominent craters, go to http://goo.gl/JLhraO.

Tonight’s and tomorrow night’s moon is the second full moon of the month, which is called a blue moon. That name originates from a mistranslation of a story from the 1500s.

Sunday: You know Metis and Thebe and Adrastea and Amalthea. Io and Ganymede and Callisto and Europa. But do you recall? There are 97 Jovian moons in all. Just 60 years ago, Jupiter was thought to have only 12 moons. But astronomers are red nosed with delight that the advent of supersensitive electronic cameras has caused the number of discovered moons to rapidly increase. Jupiter’s 115 moons range in size from Ganymede, the largest in the Solar System with a diameter of 5,262 kilometers, to numerous moons with diameters of only one kilometer. In the past few years, Saturn moved to first place in the moon race with 292 moons. Uranus follows Jupiter with 29. Then comes Neptune with 16, Mars with 2, and Earth with 1. Our moon is the fifth largest in the Solar System, with a diameter of 3,475 kilometers. (One kilometer is 0.62 miles.) Even dwarf planets have moons. Pluto has 5 while both Haumea and Quaoar have 2. Eris, Makemake, Orcus, and Gonggong have 1 each. Eris is an outer solar system object that was discovered in 2005 and named in September of 2006. Because astronomers thought it was larger than Pluto, people called it the tenth planet for a while. (More recent measurements show Eris to be a little smaller in diameter than Pluto.) Haumea, the newest dwarf planet with a moon, was discovered in 2004 and officially named a dwarf planet on September 17, 2008. Go to https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/ for more information about Solar System moons. You’ll have to wait until tonight to see our moon and to see some of the other Solar System planets that have moons.

Monday: Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury and all low in the west-northwestern horizon at 9:45 p.m. Jupiter is nearly two fists above the horizon, to the upper left. Venus, the brightest of the three, is in the middle. Mercury, on the lower right, is about half a fist above the horizon.

Tuesday: Summer is nearly here. How do I know? Because the days are very long. Because the temperature is rising. Because the school year is ending. Also, because the Summer Triangle is fairly high in the eastern sky at 11:30 p.m. Vega, the third brightest star visible from Ellensburg, is about five fists above the eastern horizon. Deneb, at the tail of Cygnus the swan, is about three and a half fists above the east-northeast horizon. The third star in the triangle, Altair in Aquila the eagle, is nearly two fists above the eastern horizon.

If you want to put somebody off, tell them to wait until Deneb sets. At Ellensburg’s latitude of 47 degrees, Deneb is a circumpolar star meaning it never goes below the horizon.

Wednesday: At 4:15 a.m., Mars is half a fist above the east-northeastern horizon and Saturn is one and a half fists above the east-southeastern horizon.

Thursday: Antares is one and a half fists above the south-southeastern horizon at 11:45 p.m.

Friday: The bright star Capella is a half a fist above the north-northwestern horizon at 11:30 p.m. Interestingly enough, even though it is in the northern sky, it is only about two fists from the Sun. If you viewed Capella from Ketchikan, the southernmost city in Alaska, Capella would be one and a half fists above the horizon. The Sun would be a half a fist below the horizon, close enough to the horizon that there would be a constant twilight glow.

The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week. For up-to-date information about the night sky, go to https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm. All times are Pacific Time unless noted.

The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of May 23, 2026

Saturday: Cygnus the swan flies tonight. Deneb, the brightest star in the constellation, whose name means “tail” in Arabic, is two fists held upright and at arm’s length above due northeast at 10:15 p.m. Cygnus’ wings make a vertical line one half a fist to the right of Deneb. Its head, marked by the star Albireo, is two fists to the right of Deneb. While Deneb is at the tail of Cygnus, it is at the head of the line of bright stars. It is 160,000 times more luminous than the Sun, making it one of the brightest stars in the galaxy. It does not dominate our night sky because it is 2,600 light years away, one of the farthest naked eye stars. If Deneb were 25 light years away, it would shine as bright as a crescent moon. Compare that to Vega, its fellow Summer Triangle star. Vega IS 25 light years away and certainly doesn’t rival the light of the crescent Moon. Vega is about two fists to the upper right of Deneb.

Sunday: The bright red giant Antares is one fist above the south-southeastern horizon at 11:00 p.m.

Monday: Altair, the lowest star in the Summer Triangle, is one fist above due east at 11:15 p.m.

Tuesday: Three bright planets line up in the early evening sky tonight. At 9:30 p.m., Mercury is about a half a fist above the northwestern horizon. Venus is one and a half fists above the west-northwestern horizon. Jupiter is two and a half fists above the western horizon.

Wednesday: As the weather warms up, people start thinking about swimming in a nice cool body of water. A few years ago, astronomers discovered evidence of an ocean about 20 miles beneath the surface of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. NASA’s Cassini probes measured variations in how the moon’s gravity pulled on the orbiting spacecraft. These variations can be explained by a large amount of liquid water under one section of the ice because liquid water is denser than an equal volume of ice. More recently, scientists have discovered organic molecules in the geyser streaming out of cracks in the surface. Now they hypothesize that the organic molecules come from hydrothermal vents, similar to those found under Earth’s oceans, and they are investigating the creation mechanism. For more information about these, go to https://www.universetoday.com/166987/linking-organic-molecules-to-hydrothermal-vents-on-enceladus/. While you need an exceptionally large telescope to see Enceladus, you can see Saturn at 4:30 a.m., about one fist above the eastern horizon. Mars is just above the east-northeastern horizon.

Thursday: Stonehenge was created on the island of Great Britain by the Neolithic people. “Manhattanhenge” was created on the island of Manhattan by modern day architects and construction workers. Twice a year, at the end of May and mid-July, the setting Sun aligns perfectly with the Manhattan grid pattern. That means observers will see the Sun set at the end of the street. The first Manhattanhenge sunset is tonight at 8:14 p.m. Eastern time and then again tomorrow at 8:13 p.m. Eastern time. For more information about Manhattanhenge, go to https://www.amnh.org/research/hayden-planetarium/manhattanhenge.

Friday: The Beehive Cluster is about two and a half fists above the western horizon. The Beehive Cluster, described by Ptolemy as “a nebulous mass in the breast of Cancer [the crab]”, is an open star cluster of about 350 stars that is about 600 light years away.

The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week. For up-to-date information about the night sky, go to https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm. All times are Pacific Time unless noted.

The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of May 16, 2026

 Saturday: In 1979, the group Foreigner recorded the song “Head Games”. They could have been singing about the constellations Hercules and Ophiuchus when they said “head games, it’s just you and me baby, head games, I can’t take it anymore” because the heads of these two constellations have been right next to each other in the nighttime sky for all of human history. And just to make it easy for you, a star that bears an Arabic name that means “the head” represents each head. In Hercules, it's Ras Algethi (head of the kneeler); in Ophiuchus, Ras Alhague (head of the serpent charmer). At 11:00 p.m., Ras Alhague, the brighter of the two, is about three fists held upright and at arm’s length above the east-southeastern horizon. Ras Algethi is about a half a fist to the upper right of Ras Alhague.

Sunday: Are you thirsty? I'll wait while you get some water. I will NOT wait while Corvus the crow gets you some water. The Greco-Roman god Apollo made this mistake. He sent Corvus the crow to get some water in the cup known as Crater. Some figs distracted Corvus and he waited for them to ripen so he could eat them. When Corvus got back late, Apollo put Corvus and Crater in the sky with the gently tipping cup just out of the reach of the perpetually thirsty crow. Corvus is a trapezoid-shaped constellation about two fists above due south at 9:30 p.m. Crater is just to the right of Corvus.

Monday: Venus is about a thumb’s width below the moon at 10:00 p.m., one fist above the west-northwestern horizon. When a bright planet is close to the moon in the sky, it is a tempting target to be seen when the Sun is out. “WHAT?!” you say. “Can I really see a planet when the Sun is out?” The brightest planets can be seen during the day with binoculars. The key is knowing where to look. Since you can easily find the moon during the days when it is out, use the moon to find Venus. First find the moon at 7:00 p.m., four fists above due west. Then get the moon in the center of your binocular field of view. Next move your binoculars a little to the lower left of the moon so find Venus. Finally, lower your binoculars and look in the same location.

Tuesday: Today is International Museum Day. You can read more about the day here: https://icom.museum/en/international-museum-day-2/. Even better, visit a museum instead. One of my favorite astronomy locations is the Goldendale Observatory in Goldendale, WA. Plan your visit at: https://www.goldendaleobservatory.com.

Wednesday: Are you thirsty when you get up in the morning? I know you are not waiting for Corvus. That’s okay because the Big Dipper is positioned to hold water in the morning sky. Look three fists above the northwest horizon at 4:30 a.m. You’ll see three stars that make a bent handle and four stars that make a cup. This is the Big Dipper.

Thursday: Jupiter is two fists above the western horizon at 10:00 p.m.

Friday: Regulus is about a finger’s width to the upper left of the moon, four fists above the west-southwestern horizon at 10:00 p.m.

The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week. For up-to-date information about the night sky, go to https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm. All times are Pacific Time unless noted.

The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of May 9, 2026

Saturday: Today is a great day to Get Intimate… Get Intimate with the Shrub-Steppe. This annual event organized by the Kittitas Environmental Education Network includes many outdoor educational activities, with most of them taking place in the Yakima River Canyon just south of Ellensburg. There are also planetarium shows at 2:00, 3:00, and 4:00 p.m. at the CWU Lydig Planetarium on the CWU campus. Go to https://www.ycic.org/giss-and-birdfest for more information about all the events. The planetarium shows are free. The planetarium is in Discovery Hall, found here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Nwp1e5t7qXk5bfE9 .

Sunday: So, you think your mother has issues on Mother’s Day because she has you as a child? Her issues can’t be as bad as Cassiopeia’s issues. First, she was chained to a chair because she boasted about her beauty. Second, she must revolve around the North Star night after night. Third, a sea monster nearly killed her daughter Andromeda. Look for poor Cassiopeia about one and a half fists held upright and at arm’s length above the northern horizon at 10:00 p.m. Cassiopeia looks like a stretched out “W”.

Monday: Mars is just above the east-northeastern horizon at 5:00 p.m.

Tuesday: Have you ever seen a Black Hole? So far scientists have only directly imaged two. But they have seen the effects of dozens of Black Holes. Black holes have a strong gravitational influence on anything that passes close to them, including light. Cygnus X-1, the first Black Hole candidate ever discovered, is two fists above the east-northeastern horizon at 11:00 p.m., in the middle of the neck of Cygnus the swan. NASA launched the Chandra X-ray observatory in 1999 to study black hole candidates and other high-energy events.

Wednesday: If someone gives you a ring and says, “this ring symbolizes our eternal love, just like the rings of Saturn are eternal”, don’t doubt their love. But do doubt their astronomy knowledge. According to data recently analyzed from the Cassini Mission, Saturn’s rings may be only 10 to 100 million years old. As Cassini passed between Saturn and the rings, it was able to get the best estimate yet of the mass of the rings. Saturn’s rings are made mostly of ice and are still very bright and clean. Older rings would be darkened by debris. Also, the ring particles get pulverized by collisions over time. If this relatively low mass of ring particles were older, they would have been destroyed by now. For more information about the lifespan of Saturn’s rings, go to Saturn’s rings https://www.universetoday.com/141272/saturns-rings-are-only-10-to-100-million-years-old/. Saturn and its young rings are about a half a fist above the eastern horizon at 4:45 a.m., right below the moon.

Thursday: At 9:30 p.m., Jupiter is three fists above due west. Venus is one and a half fists above the west-northwestern horizon at this time.

Friday: I am guessing that some of you don’t like the line of reasoning from Tuesday: that seeing the effects of a Black Hole is good enough to claim there are Black Holes. You have never seen the wind. But you have seen the effects of the wind. And no Ellensburg resident doubts the existence of the wind.

The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week. For up-to-date information about the night sky, go to https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm. All times are Pacific Time unless noted.