SUNSET: 
Explore the Night with Bob King
Dwarf Nova V392 Persei Goes Big — It's Now Binocular Bright
In a rare move, a sleepy cataclysmic variable blows its top and suddenly becomes a nova.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Seven Nights of Enticing Lunar Sights
Come along for a 7-night tour of some of the Moon's most compelling features visible in small telescopes.
Explore the Night with Bob King
The Lyrid Shower Kicks Off Year of Great Meteor Watching
The annual Lyrid meteor shower will shoot off silent fireworks on Earth Day this Sunday. We explore the shower's origin and how best to view and photograph it.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Dusty Vistas: Best Gritty Galaxies of the Season
Stare up at the Milky Way band on a dark night and you'll see missing pieces from clouds of foreground dust that absorb the light of distant stars. There are other mottled "milky ways" just like ours, millions of light-years away.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Big Scope Breakout: New Supernovae, Novae, Bright Spot on Saturn
The sky's been bursting with exploding stars this season. Plus there's a new storm on Saturn. What's a skywatcher to do? Haul out the scope!
Explore the Night with Bob King
Put a Little Bit of Leo in Your Life
We lift the Lion's paw to find a bright, red variable star, a germinating planetary nebula, galaxies rarely visited, and a diversity of doubles.
Explore the Night with Bob King
What Southern Stargazers Long to See in Northern Skies
Southern Hemisphere objects like Omega Centauri and the Magellanic Clouds make Northern Hemisphere observers envious. Today, we turn the tables and find out what those living in negative latitudes would love to see up north.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Last Chance to See Doomed Chinese Space Station
China's premier space station, Tiangong 1, has a one-way ticket into the Earth's atmosphere later this month. See it before it's no more.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Walking with Arcturus
Stars are time machines that can transport us into the past or future. They can also illuminate our own personal journeys, as Arcturus did for me one night.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Budding and Ancient Star Clusters of the March Sky
Open clusters present a mystery. Some fall apart in a few hundred million years, others hang around for billions. Join me as we visit both the youngest and oldest star clusters in the Milky Way.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Full Moon Is Tycho Time
With this week's full Moon, the dazzling crater Tycho will be in full regalia. Time to catch some rays!
Explore the Night with Bob King
Venus Peeps Back Into View at Dusk
After a long drought, a bright planet emerges in the western sky. Welcome back, Venus!
Explore the Night with Bob King
A Winter Night's Sojourn in Orion's Belt
Orion's Belt is a magnetic sight on February nights. Take the bait and revel in a bounty of double and multiple stars, nebulae, and more.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Asteroid 2018 CB Zips by Earth Friday: Watch it Online
Newly-discovered asteroid 2018 CB will be passing only about 44,000 miles away Friday and visible in modest telescopes.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Humanity Star: Bright Idea or Dark Sky Nemesis?
The launch of the Humanity Star has some fuming, others smiling, at the prospect of seeing a bright, new satellite. What do you think?
Explore the Night with Bob King
Make the Most of January's Total Lunar Eclipse
An unusual dawn total lunar eclipse presents special challenges and great photo opportunities. Here's what you need to know to make the most of it.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Michigan Meteorite Tally Multiplies
They look like leftover gravel from a freshly laid asphalt road, but the black stones that spattered across the snow in the wake of the January 16th Michigan fireball were anything but terrestrial. They belonged to a tiny asteroid on a recent foray to the outer asteroid belt but now…
Explore the Night with Bob King
Mira Makes January Nights "Wonderful"
Mira, one of the easiest-to-observe pulsating variable stars, reaches peak brightness this month. Don't be shy, come look her in the eye.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Catch these Comets in 2018
We look ahead to see what fuzzy visitors, new and returning, will brighten the nights ahead. One and possibly two naked-eye comets are on the way.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Mars Flies By Jupiter in a Close Dawn Conjunction
The new year opens with the magnificent pairing of the solar system's largest planet with one of its smallest.
