There is a lot of exciting stuff going on in the stars above us that make astronomy so much fun.  The truth is the universe is a constantly changing, moving, some would say “living” thing because you just never know what you are going to see on any given night of stargazing. But of the many celestial phenomenons, there is probably none as exciting as that time you see your...

Imagine riding in a speeding train, and passing a slower train.  Both trains are moving straight ahead, but as the trains are passing, the slower train appears to be moving backward, at least from the point of view of the riders on the fast train. This same effect occurs with the planets.  As the Earth passes (or is passed by) other planets in the solar system, for a while, they...