SkyCaramba

One of the most famous star patterns isn't considered a constellation in its own right. But it's so easily recognized, many people have told stories about it and surely will for as long as they can see the stars.

Two of the stars in the Big Dipper's handle were said to foretell life or death.

That handle is a bear's tail. But for a bear's tail, it's very long. And there's a tale about that.

The morning planet meetup continues.

For barely one full day, four planets will be within the boundaries of one constellation.

Learn a little about Aries, a constellation that's setting not long after the sun this time of year.

The morning meetup of planets continues. The moon joins the party.

How to quickly measure angular distances in the sky.

The naked eye planet watching is very interesting these mornings, especially from near the equator and in the southern hemisphere.

The crab remembered in the constellation Cancer did a bold enough thing to be put on the celestial dome, but he didn't earn any medals in the form of bright stars. In fact, his mission failed.

Goodbye, Jupiter. See you some morning. Three planets are still in a morning triangle. Full moon in Leo.

The unicorn has existed in stories for thousands of years, but it didn't exist among the constellations until fairly recently.

The naked eye planets continue migrating to the morning sky.

Two constellations are named after things you'd look at the sky with. One is the sextant.

The old legends say Perseus rescued Andromeda from a sea monster. They still circle the north celestial pole together.

Naked eye planet watching is coming to an end in the evening, but you may see Uranus and Neptune.

Find out where Venus and Mars are in the morning. One of them is by a shield.

And learn about the hare or rabbit at Orion's feet.

The planet watching continues to migrate to the morning.

Astronomers realized in 1844 that Sirius has a companion star. But it took 18 years before anyone built a telescope that could reveal it.

Sky watchers of long ago described Sirius as red. Why would they say that when the star is bluish-white?

Venus moves into the morning with Mars. Mercury's leaving the evening with Saturn in its wake. Jupiter's not ready to go just yet.

Many of the legends of Gemini say one twin is immortal but the other isn't. Learn about some stars in the constellation.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter claims to have seen a strange light in the sky one night in 1969. He doesn't think it was a spacecraft. Neither do most of the UFO researchers who've studied the case, although he disagrees with their assessment of what it was.

Venus begins its ingress into the morning sky. Saturn's on its way out of the evening.

A colorfully named asteroid, Iris, is at opposition this week.

Orion is the most recognizable constellation and now's the best time of year to get to know him.

A river is an important part of many ancient Greek legends whose characters are represented in our constellation maps. So, of course, it makes sense to have a river up there too.