281–300 of 526 results

Explore the Night with Bob King

Chasing Comet 46P/Wirtanen as the Moon Looms

Learn how chase away the Moon to keep Comet 46P/Wirtanen in a dark sky. Here's an update on the comet's progress and what to look for in the coming nights.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Spend an Hour with the Geminid Meteor Shower

Move over 46P/Wirtanen, it's time for the Geminids, the richest meteor shower of the year.

Mars does do-si-do with Neptune

Explore the Night with Bob King

Mars and Neptune Have a Close Shave

Want to find Neptune the easy way? Just point your binoculars or telescope at Mars the next few nights, when the two planets will be in close conjunction.

Diamond in the sky

Explore the Night with Bob King

SpaceX Launches Orbiting "Sculpture in the Sky" / Comet Update

An art sculpture achieves orbit, 46P/Wirtanen becomes a naked-eye comet, and C/2018 V1 makes one last good pass.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Supernova Discovered in the Bright Galaxy M77

A new supernova in the bright galaxy M77 in Cetus is within range of amateur telescopes. Here's how to find it.

A star goes poof!

Explore the Night with Bob King

Seeking Cas A, the Ghostly Remains of a Mysterious Supernova

We still don't know for sure if anyone saw the supernova explosion in Cassiopeia around 1680, but there's no question we can observe what remains of it today.

Extra helping

Explore the Night with Bob King

Gobble Up a Rare Thanksgiving Full Moon

This week, we give thanks for all the good things in life including a rare event — a full Moon on Thanksgiving. Make it your dessert after the big meal.

A Colorful problem

Explore the Night with Bob King

Ducks in Disguise or How Stars Hide Their True Colors

Do star clusters form all at once or over several generations? A team of astronomers finds an answer among the spinning stars of an amateur favorite, the Wild Duck Cluster. 

Explore the Night with Bob King

Exoplanets for Autumn Evenings

Exoplanets pepper the night sky. We may not be able to observe them directly, but we can use their host stars as surrogates to envision them in our mind's eye.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Amateur Don Machholz Discovers His 12th Comet! (Updated)

Arizona comet hunter Don Machholz did it again! He discovered his 12th comet only two mornings ago. Set your alarm, grab your scope, and take a look.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Three Upcoming Sky Events We Can All Share

Comets, meteors, and Moon: Share the night sights that are coming our way!

Explore the Night with Bob King

Trick-or-Treat with the Seven White Dwarfs

In the Halloween spirit, we pay a visit to the cosmic dead, those tiny stars that should just fade away but always seem to be causing trouble instead.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Double Your Deep-Sky Pleasure with "Two-in-the-View"

Once you've seen two, a single won't do. Enjoy this selection of multiple deep-sky objects visible in the same field of view of your telescope.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Observing Earth from the Moon

Ever wondered what it would be like to see the Earth from the Moon? Join Bob King as he explores this from the perspective of the Apollo 17 astronauts.

Explore the Night with Bob King

How Dark Is Your Night Sky?

Traditional and digital tools can help you learn the naked-eye magnitude limit of your sky and find out if the darkness has changed at your observing site.

Explore the Night with Bob King

The Outer Planets Move In, plus an "Old Moon" Observing Challenge

As the bright planets march westward, Uranus and Neptune become the fresh new faces of fall. And if you've never seen an ultra-thin lunar crescent, here's your chance.

Explore the Night with Bob King

The Sacred Hour Before Dawn and an Evening Comet Surprise

Silence can sometimes be in short supply, but one sure place to find it is under a starry sky before the first blush of dawn. Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann erupts again!

Explore the Night with Bob King

Here Comes the Harvest Moon!

This month's Harvest Moon will be up early to light the night as well as act as a beacon for watching the annual fall bird migration through a small telescope.

Horses head to head

Explore the Night with Bob King

Equuleus, the Constellation Nobody Knows

Often passed over, the constellation of the Little Horse has charms of its own, including double stars, galaxies, and asterisms. Let's saddle up and go for a ride.

Simply extraordinary

Explore the Night with Bob King

Explore the Veil Nebula

The Veil Nebula, the tattered remains of an ancient supernova explosion, is one of the most spectacular objects in the night sky. Did you know it has two dozen parts visible in amateur telescopes?