For a brief time in 1976, it seemed as if NASA's Viking landers had found microbes on Mars. Those results have been vigorously disputed in the years since, but the original experiment's principal investigator, Gilbert Levin, still maintains they really did detect Martian microbes. Read more.
It's an easy constellation to identify because it has the shape of an M or W. On these October evenings, look for Cassiopeia the Queen high in the northeast sky, not far from the North Star. Read more.
Perseus follows Cassiopeia across the night sky. It's fainter, but has a graceful shape and some of the sky's most interesting stars and star clusters. It also has the sky's scariest star and a gruesome association in skylore. Read more.
These next several mornings, you can use the lit side of the waning crescent moon to envision the ecliptic and possibly to locate the planet Mars, which is just now returning to the east before sunrise. The waning crescent points to Mars on October 23, 24 and 25. On October 26, look for the moon to swing close to Mars on the sky's dome. Read more. Want a view specific to your location? Try Stellarium.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Most people picture Iran as mountains and deserts, but there are great forested regions, too, known as jungles. Mohsen Salehi captured this image on October 17 in the Alimestan jungle in Iran's Chelav Rural District. Known for its scenery and nicknamed 'Iran Green Gold,' the area attracts nature photographers. Mohsen wrote: "Earth's shadow and Belt of Venus over an ocean of cloud." Thank you, Mohsen!
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