Pumpkin-colored Mars will return to prominence during November, rising shortly before midnight at the beginning of the month and more than two hours earlier by month's end. The orange planet will brighten noticeably as it passes the stars of the Beehive cluster.

Three planets will appear close together in the predawn sky in early October. Venus will be the first to rise, coming up two hours before the sun as a dazzling white "morning star" low in the east. Mercury will follow Venus about 45 minutes later. Last to appear will be Saturn, rising about 20 minutes after Mercury as the dawn sky brightens. Saturn will pass close to Mercury first and then Venus as the month advances.

Jupiter will dominate the night sky during September. Glowing low in the southeast as evening twilight fades, it will climb high in the south before midnight and set around the time morning twilight begins. Jupiter's four brightest moons can usually be seen with binoculars, but on the night of Sept. 2-3, all four will be hidden either in front of the planet, behind it or in its shadow. Jupiter will not appear "moonless" again until 2019.

Summer's silent fireworks will light up the sky when the annual Perseid meteor shower peaks before dawn on Aug. 12 and 13. This year, the Perseids will compete with the moon, but there will still be many bright streaks in the sky.

The eastern sky will be crowded before dawn in July. Venus, Mars, the crescent moon and the Hyades and Pleiades star clusters will compete for attention in a series of striking formations. The constellation Taurus the Bull, where all of this will happen, will be hard to recognize.

Seven planets will be visible in the night sky during June, led by Jupiter high in the south and Venus low in the southeast. Jupiter will be accompanied by Neptune all month, while Venus and Mars will be close companions.

Free popcorn, the planet Saturn, mysterious shaving cream atoms and Australian sheep farmers should make Wednesday nights starting in June intriguing for families taking part in the Indiana University Astronomy Department's International Year of Astronomy Summer Film Series.

Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Venus and Mars will all be visible in the night skies of May, though not all at the same time. A meteor shower that lasts about a week will make things even more interesting.

Saturday (May 2) is your chance to stare at the sun with no negative side effects as Indiana University Department of Astronomy's Kirkwood Observatory hosts a public open house where the focus will be on the observatory's solar telescope.

Mercury will make its best evening showing of the year during the second half of April, when it will appear near the Pleiades star cluster low in the west-northwest after sunset. On April 9, Mercury will be as bright as the sky's brightest star, Sirius.

The Indiana University Institute for Advanced Study tonight welcomes to the podium astrophysicist Thomas Hartquist, an institute Visiting Fellow from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom.

A major goal of the International Year of Astronomy is to educate people about light pollution, and a good way to do that is through an event called the Globe at Night star count. Now in its fourth year, the project has drawn thousands of participants worldwide. This year's count will run from March 16 to March 28.

Indiana University next week kicks off its own celebration of the International Year of Astronomy with three months of events that include a statewide contest for high school students, a public lecture series highlighted by a visiting Nobel laureate and an open house at IU's historic Kirkwood Observatory.

Venus will be at its brightest for the year during February. For several hours after sunset each evening, the dazzling planet will dominate the western sky. On snow-covered ground at a really dark site, you may be able to see your shadow in Venus-light!

The International Year of Astronomy will begin with Mercury and Jupiter next to each other low in the southwest shortly after sunset. Far to their upper left will be Venus, the brightest point of light in the sky. Saturn will rise around midnight and be halfway up the southeastern sky in a couple of hours, when it will be well placed for viewing with a telescope.

The annual Geminid meteor shower, which will reach its maximum on the night of Dec. 13-14, usually offers the best show of the year. But this time the Geminids will peak just a day after full moon, so only the brightest streaks will be visible. Venus and Jupiter will complete a spectacular conjunction low in the southwestern sky after sunset on Dec. 1, when the two planets will be joined by the crescent moon.

Venus and Jupiter, the brightest planets in the sky, will steadily approach each other during November as if drawn by their mutual brillliance. Finally they will have a spectacular encounter low in the southwest at month's end, against the background of the constellation Sagittarius the Archer.

Venus will appear low in the west-southwest after sunset during October, gradually moving higher as twilight fades. This beautiful "evening star" has probably provoked more UFO reports than any other object in the night sky. When the dazzling white planet passes just north of the bright orange star Antares on Oct. 26, you'll need binoculars to keep the star from being overwhelmed by the glare of its much brighter companion.

Three planets -- Venus, Mercury and Mars -- will put on a show after sunset in September that would be spectacular if it were higher in the sky. For those with binoculars and a clear view of the western horizon, the group will form a tight triangle very low in the west-southwest that will last an amazing 17 days, from Sept. 3 to 19.

The annual Perseid meteor shower will peak before dawn on Aug. 12. This year the Perseids will be competing with the nearly full moon at first, but after the moon sets there will be many bright streaks in the sky. Three planets -- Venus, Saturn and Mercury -- will form a tight triangle low in the western sky on several evenings. The triangle will be different each night as the planets change places.

Saturn and Mars will have a close encounter low in the western sky an hour after sunset on July 9 and 10. Watch each evening for the first ten days of the month as red-orange Mars is lured away by Saturn from a dalliance with the bright white star Regulus.

Jupiter, the giant of the solar system, will rise earlier each evening and be visible most of the night as it crosses the southern sky during June. Usually this is the best chance to see the huge planet, especially with a telescope. Unfortunately it is quite low in the sky this time around, still easy to find but with more of the murky turbulence of Earth's atmosphere for its light to penetrate.

During the second and third weeks of May, look for Mercury low in the west-northwest about an hour after sunset. If you've never seen the smallest planet, you'll have an especially good chance. This will be Mercury's best evening appearance of the year.

The Pleiades star cluster will have a beautiful encounter with the slender moon in the western sky after sunset on April 8. Usually the moon's brightness overpowers nearby stars, but not when it's such a thin crescent. Binoculars will reveal the spectacle as the moon passes just below the famous Seven Sisters.