Stellary Starry Universe

On Sunday, May 20th, the Moon will pass in front of the Sun, producing an annular solar eclipse visible across the Pacific side of Earth from China to the United States.

Another "super-Moon" is in the offing. The perigee full Moon of May 5-6 will be as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full moons of 2012.

New images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft show the moon’s crust is being stretched, forming minute valleys in a few small areas on the lunar surface.

The International Space Station can be seen as a small object in upper left of this image of the moon in the early evening Jan. 4 in the skies over the Houston area flying at an altitude of 390.8 kilometers (242.8 miles). The space station can occasionally be seen in the night sky with the naked eye and a pair of field binoculars. Image credit: NASA/Lauren Harnett

On Dec. 26th, Venus and the crescent Moon will gather in the western sunset sky for a beautiful post-Christmas show.