SUNSET: 
Explore the Night with Bob King
Zodiacal Light - Captivated by Comet Dust
October's a perfect time to see the zodiacal light, a tapering tower of comet dust standing high in the eastern sky before dawn. Here's how to find it.
Watch a Sunset with the ISS Astronauts
Watch the International Space Station as it passes into the shadow of the Earth, and learn what other features to keep an eye out for (such as the "water dump").
Fomalhaut: A Crazy-Wide Triple Star
Lonely Fomalhaut turns out to have plenty of company. Learn how to find its two remarkably distant stellar companions.
Explore the Night with Bob King
How to Never Miss an Aurora
Learn exactly how and when to expect the next display of the northern lights with a few easy-to-use online tools.
Explore the Night with Bob King
9,096 Stars in the Sky—Is That All?
Ten thousand stars bedazzle the eye on a dark night. Wait, how many?
Meet My Variable Friend SS Cygni
Get acquainted with SS Cygni, the sky's brightest cataclysmic variable star. It's guaranteed to keep you on your toes.
Explore the Night with Bob King
See Saturn's Moon Rhea Hide a Star
Watch as the moon Rhea steals a star from the sky for nearly a minute on September 12th.
Happy Times for Comet Watchers
Seize the moment and bookend your next clear night with two fine telescopic comets: Jacques at dusk and Oukaimeden at dawn.
Cosmic Relief with David Grinspoon
Cosmology Gets Real
An astrobiologist comes to grips with the new cosmology results.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Close Venus-Jupiter Conjunction on August 18th
Here's your invitation to view a spectacular close conjunction of the sky's two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, before dawn on Monday morning.
How to See Cygnus's Other Veil Nebula
You'll be entering uncharted territory when you seek out this little known 'Shadow of the Veil' in Cygnus this summer.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Earth's Shadow Creeps Up on Us Every Night
The next time you're out watching a sunset, turn around and relish the mighty shadow of Earth looming just behind your back.
Blank Sun? Faculae to the Rescue!
Fascinating faculae provide a way for anyone with a small telescope to track the ups and downs of the solar cycle — even when there are no sunspots.
Predictive Prowess: See an Iridium Flare
Channel your inner superpower by looking up at the night sky precisely when a dazzling blaze of light is beamed to Earth from outer space.
Astronomy and Stargazing Projects
See Summer's Best Naked-Eye Double Stars
Not every set of closely paired stars requires binoculars or a telescope to "split". Here's a guide to summertime doubles you can tackle with your eyes alone.
Two Moon-Planet Conjunctions Juice Up July
On July 5th, the Moon has a remarkably close brush with Mars, followed two nights later by a similar rendezvous with Saturn.
Iapetus Comes Over to the Bright Side
Astronomers now know the secret of this moon's strange two-faced appearance, but it's still remarkable to watch the "now you see it, now you don't" performance as it moves around Saturn.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Summer Quest for Noctilucent Clouds
Noctilucent clouds form at the boundary between Earth and space. Their electric blue billows incite the imagination and inspire us to keep watch at dusk for their arrival.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Comet PanSTARRS Keeps Getting Better
Since C/2012 K1's discovery two years ago, this first-time visitor from the outer solar system has brightened steadily and is now within reach of a small telescope and even binoculars.
