SUNSET: 
ASTRONOMY & OBSERVING NEWS
Race to Venus: How We’ll Verify Phosphine
Confirming phosphine's presence on Venus is difficult from Earth . . . and that makes a good case for a mission to our sister planet.
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observing guides
Where to Look Tonight
This Week's Sky at a Glance, September 11 – 19
This Week's Sky at a Glance, September 11 – 19
Vega passes the zenith in late twilight. Vega is bigger, hotter, and 50 times brighter than our Sun. But at a distance of 25 light-years, it's 1.6 million times farther away. Jupiter and Saturn still dominate the south at dusk. And fiery Mars, close and almost Jupiter-bright, rises in the east around the end of twilight. It's at its highest and telescopic best in the south around 3 a.m. daylight-saving time.
where to lookSeptember 2020: Four Planets & More!
Sky Tour Podcast
Take advantage of September's beautiful evenings to gaze upward as you listen to our guided tour of the star-filled sky.
Subscribe NowOur Community
Astronomers often spend their time lost among the stars, but the science of astronomy and the hobby of stargazing are also communal affairs. So, don’t be a stranger—find a group to get involved with today!
Editor's PICKS
Photographer: lubated
Photographer: Pepe Chambó
Comet NEOWISE over New York city
Photographer: worldtimezone
Comet NEOWISE viewed through noctilucent clouds
Photographer: David Harris
Comet C/2019 U6 Lemmon (2020,Jun.17)
Photographer: Pepe Chambó
Lunar Occultation from Boston on June 19th, 2020
Photographer: Nando
Photographer: Ghouchkanlu
Photographer: Michele-Brusa
Venus and the Pleiades at Twilight
Photographer: Frankie
Crecent moon over Myrtle Beach, SC
Photographer: Tim-Tooley
Photographer: araujo
Photographer: Wim Maats
Photographer: FERNANDO MENEZES
Comet C/2017 T2 PANSTARRS (Jan.23,2020)
Photographer: Pepe Chambó
Photographer: Orestis Pavlou
Photographer: parimaldave@gmail.com
Waxing Crescent Moon and Jupiter
Photographer: dr. ski
Photographer: MOREL-Philippe
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Issue Highlights
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NEOWISE Performs!
Sean Walker
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The Strange Case of Comet Biela
David Nakamoto
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The Lost Discoveries of E. E. Barnard
Steve Gottlieb
