As three planets move in the morning sky this week, the moon passes them by.

In 2024, the moon will pass in front of bright stars several times, there'll be a total solar eclipse, increasing solar activity could mean more aurorae, and the moon will reach its farthest north and south since 2006. In just the next few weeks, three planets will cross the Sagittarius teapot in the morning sky. And Saturn is heading into the sunset.

There's planet watching in the evening and morning. Venus passes through Libra. And there's a star, not very far away as cosmic distances go, that might be almost as old as the universe. You can actually see it with binoculars.

Linda Salzman Sagan, who designed the plaque on the Pioneer 10 and 11 probes, died last month. Her art sure got people talking.

The asteroid Vesta is at opposition this week.

It's been 38 years since the solar system's most famous comet was closest to the sun. It'll be 38 more before it's back. Comet Halley was farthest from the sun this month.

Mercury's at greatest elongation this week. Saturn's still up in the evening. Jupiter's about to turn around. Venus and the moon pair with a dragon star. Mars is still missing.

English speakers say the moon is at first quarter or last quarter. People who come from non-English speaking cultures have another view.

It's not often that an asteroid passes in front of one bright star. But it will happen twice next week!

It's been a half-century since Pioneer 10 went by Jupiter. And it's been 20 years since anyone last heard from the probe. Whatever's next for it will probably be in almost 40,000 years.

Mars just went through solar conjunction. Not only can ordinary observers not see the red planet, scientists can't stay in touch with the space probes there either. That's not a small concern. Missions to Mars have been hard. Here's the story of the first successful Mars probe to report back and what finally did shut it down.

Mercury's slowly making it into the evening sky. Saturn rules the evening. Jupiter's still up all night. So is Uranus as it's at opposition this week. Venus dominates the morning. Mars is hidden in the sun's glare.

A listener wants to know why the moon always seems to pass or over certain stars but not others. The answer goes back billions of years.

The first known crowdsourced scientific study began one morning 190 years ago when it looked like the stars were falling from the sky. Nobody knew yet just what meteors are. A professor's letter asking people to tell him what they saw set scientists on the path to figuring it out.