361–380 of 438 results
Persistent Dust, Impermanent Nebula

Explore the Night with Bob King

Run Away With These Runaway Stars

Three stars that once belonged to Orion flew the coop millions of years ago, but you can catch up with them with binoculars the next clear night.

Capella x 2

Explore the Night with Bob King

Tale of Capella and the Two Red Dwarfs

Bright Capella plays it close to the vest when it comes to companions, but with a good map and steady skies you can track down its dwarf binary.

Venus by the Slice

Celestial News & Events

Moon Occults Venus on December 7th

After taking us to Comet Catalina's doorstep, the Moon covers Venus in a spectacular daytime occultation visible from most of North and Central America on Monday, December 7, 2015.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Moon Illusion is All in Your Head

Is perception reality? Not when it comes to the Moon illusion. See the truth with your own eyes at the rising of the next full Moon.

Comin' at ya' Baby

Explore the Night with Bob King

Watch a Black Hole Eat Dinner

S5 0716+71, a bright blazar currently in a feeding frenzy, invites you over for dinner the next clear night.

Blue Q-tip

Comets

Catalina Comet Sails Into Northern Skies

Comet Catalina returns this month with naked-eye potential. Follow its every move with our guide and maps.

Far but Familiar

Explore the Night with Bob King

Triple Treasure in Triangulum's Pinwheel

Travel 2.7 million light-years from home to the Pinwheel Galaxy, where we'll visit a supergiant star, an extragalactic globular cluster, and one of the largest nebulae in the known universe.

The Moon Unmagnified

Explore the Night with Bob King

How to See Lunar Craters with the Naked Eye

Who says you need a telescope to see craters on the Moon? Here's how to find a half-dozen with just the naked eye.

Multi-faceted beauty

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Discover a Dozen Clusters in the "W"

Open your bag wide as we go trick-or-treating in the "W" of Cassiopeia, home to more than 100 star clusters.

Dust with bling

Explore the Night with Bob King

Take the Gegenschein Challenge

How and when to see the gegenschein, cousin of the zodiacal light and one of the greatest night sky naked-eye challenges.

Pop goes the nova

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"Blink" a Nova Tonight

Like people doing good imitations, novae often mimic planetary nebulae. Read on to learn how to watch the evolution of these tricksters using a common nebula filter.

Near miss

Explore the Night with Bob King

Moon Hides Hyades, Occults Aldebaran Friday

After a late-night ramble through the Hyades cluster, the waning gibbous Moon will cover up the bright star Aldebaran for observers across North America Friday morning.

Monster in our midst

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Observer's Guide to the H-alpha Sun

Want to see a star rock in real time? Observe the Sun in the crimson light of hydrogen alpha and watch it come alive.

Binocular basics

Explore the Night with Bob King

Watch Andromeda Galaxy Blossom in Binoculars

How much can you see of the Andromeda Galaxy system with just a pair of binoculars? Turns out a lot!

Simply magnificent!

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How to See the Farthest Thing You Can See

Step by step, we explore the farthest things visible with the naked eye, from the most distant star to the hinterlands of the Andromeda Galaxy

Gaia14aae, artist's conception

Explore the Night with Bob King

Violent Lights For September Nights

Find out how two closely-orbiting stellar pairs create fireworks you can see in your own backyard telescope.

Worlds of gas and ice

Explore the Night with Bob King

Neptune And Its Maverick Moon Triton

Neptune reaches opposition next week, giving amateurs the chance to track its unique, backwards-orbiting moon Triton.

Gift at day's end

Explore the Night with Bob King

Tiptoe Into The Twilight Zone

Twilight. Gloaming. Dusk. Blue Hour — all names for that colorful and contemplative time between day and night. We explore twilight's brief but fascinating sights and learn why it gets shorter as summer turns to fall. Twilight takes us gently into that good night. I wouldn't mind spending time on the Moon, but I'd miss…

Comet 67P/C-G

Celestial Objects to Observe

Rosetta's Comet Beckons At Dawn

Northern hemisphere observers have this month and next to get their best look at Rosetta's comet, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Celestial Objects to Observe

Let's Get Serious About Ceres

We pay a visit to Ceres, now the apple of the Dawn Mission's eye, as it creeps through Sagittarius this month