What's Up

From NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) — Podcasts

Monthly skywatching guide episodes.

Episodes

What's Up - January 2021 2020-12-31
What are some skywatching highlights in January 2021? Mark Earth's closest approach to the Sun for the year, called perihelion, at the start of…
What's Up - December 2020 2020-12-02
What are some skywatching highlights in December 2020? Catch the year's best meteor shower, the Geminids, in the middle of the month. Then…
What's Up - November 2020 2020-10-30
What are some skywatching highlights in November 2020? Cool autumn evenings are a great time to look for the Pleiades star cluster. You'll also…
What's Up - October 2020 2020-10-01
What are some skywatching highlights in October 2020? Not one, but two, full moons; Mars at opposition; and finding the Andromeda galaxy.
What's Up - September 2020 2020-09-01
What are some skywatching highlights in September 2020? Spot the Moon together with Mars and Venus, along with the flickering star Fomalhaut, which…
What's Up - August 2020 2020-07-31
What are some skywatching highlights in August 2020? See the Moon posing with various planets throughout the month, plus catch the peak of the…
What's Up - July 2020 2020-07-01
What's Up for July? How about some moons with those giant planets? Mars after midnight. And are the stars of Mars the same as ours?
What's Up - June 2020 2020-06-22
What are some skywatching highlights you can see in June 2020? Look for the Summer Triangle rising in the east after sundown, keep tabs on the…
What's Up - May 2020 2020-05-04
What astronomy highlights can you see in the sky in May 2020? Venus, Sirius and the Milky Way. With so many of us staying home these days,…
What's Up - April 2020 2020-03-31
What are some astronomy highlights in the sky in April 2020? This month, Venus visits the Pleiades; Mars, Jupiter and Saturn begin their breakup;…
What's Up - March 2020 2020-03-02
Looking for astronomy highlights for March 2020? This month, early risers enjoy a planetary grouping of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn in the early…
What's Up - February 2020 2020-02-04
Looking for astronomy highlights for February 2020? This month is the best time of the year to try to view Mercury, soon after sunset; Mars…
What's Up - January 2020 2019-12-31
What are the skywatching highlights of January 2020? The peak of the Quadrantid meteor shower, Mars rises with its "rival" — the red giant…
What's Up - December 2019 2019-11-26
What can you see in the December sky? Beautiful pairings of Venus, Saturn and Mars with the crescent Moon throughout the month, at sunrise and sunset.
What's Up - November 2019 2019-11-01
Highlights of the November sky include how to watch as Mercury transits the Sun on Nov. 11, plus how to observe the regular dimming and brightening…
What's Up - October 2019 2019-10-01
What can you see in the October sky? Join the global celebration of International Observe the Moon Night on Oct. 5th, then try to catch the ice…
What's Up - September 2019 2019-08-29
In this month's sky, look for lovely crescent Moons at the start and end of the month. The September equinox brings the beginning of fall in…
What's Up - August 2019 2019-08-01
What can you see this month? In the August sky, look for the "shooting stars" of the annual Perseid meteor shower for some stargazing…
What's Up - July 2019 2019-07-01
As NASA marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, here are five things to know about the Moon that you can share with others: How…
What's Up - June 2019 2019-05-31
What's up in the June sky? Jupiter is at its biggest and brightest, Mercury and Mars appear ultra-close and how you can observe the Moon's…
What's Up - May 2019 2019-05-02
What's up in the May sky? A meteor shower produced by debris from Halley's Comet, asteroids named after dinosaurs and a "blue…
What's Up - April 2019 2019-04-02
What can you see in the April sky? The Moon visits Mars in the evening, and later joins Saturn and Jupiter for a spot of tea. Also, how to find…
What's Up - March 2019 2019-02-28
What can you see in the March sky? Jupiter and other planets in the morning, a change of seasons and an open star cluster called the Beehive.
What's Up - February 2019 2019-02-01
What can you see in the February sky? Stars and planets with distinct red and blue colors, like Mars and Sirius. February also brings some pretty…
What's Up - December 2018 2018-12-01
December brings the Geminids, a visible comet, and a fond farewell.
What's Up - November 2018 2018-11-01
November brings planets, an asteroid, a comet and the Leonids
What's Up - October 2018 2018-10-01
Celebrate International Observe the Moon Night with your local astronomy club.
What's Up - September 2018 2018-08-30
September nights! Planets bright! Milky Way sights!!
What's Up - August 2018 2018-08-01
Dark moonless nights for the summer Perseid Meteor Shower!
What's Up - July 2018 2018-07-02
July's night skies feature Mars opposition on the 27th, when Mars, Earth, and the Sun all line up, and Mars' closest approach to Earth…
What's Up - June 2018 2018-06-01
What's up in the night sky this month? Enjoy a ringside seat for Saturn, plus a night long parade featuring Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Vesta!
What's Up - May 2018 2018-05-01
The moon and Saturn meet Mars in the morning as NASA's Insight spacecraft launches to the red planet on May 5.
What's Up - April 2018 2018-03-30
The Moon, Mars and Saturn form a pretty triangle in early April, The Lyrid Meteors are visible in late April, peaking high overhead on the 22nd.
What's Up - March 2018 2018-03-01
At sunset, catch elusive Mercury, bright Venus, the Zodiacal Light, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter between midnight and dawn.
What's Up - February 2018 2018-02-01
This month, in honor of Valentine's Day, we look at celestial star pairs and constellation couples.