SUNSET: 
Meet Kochab, a Guardian of the Pole
Meet the stars: Kochab is no record-breaking bright star, but it's easy enough to find — and it may have played an important role through history.
January: The Hyades & Pleiades
Start the new year right with the easy-to-follow stargazing highlights offered by our Sky Tour astronomy podcast. Here's a preview of this month's guided audio tour.
The Best Meteor Showers in 2021
Sky & Telescope predicts that the year's best meteor shower will be the strong, fireball-rich Perseids in mid-August.
Meet Aldebaran, the Bull’s Eye
Learn more about Aldebaran, the red-orange giant star that "follows" the Pleiades across the sky.
Jupiter and Saturn Embrace in Solstice Conjunction
Jupiter and Saturn fashion the Great Conjunction of 2020 when they pair up on December 21st, the winter solstice. That evening they'll be closest in nearly 400 years.
Meet Capella, the Goat Star
Capella is the sixth-brightest star in the sky — and it's more than one star! The main two stars in the system are near-twins, bright yellow giants.
Tiny Asteroid Flora and Mighty Uranus Team Up
Both Uranus and the asteroid 8 Flora came to opposition on Halloween. Catch them both in the same corner of the sky the next clear night.
Comets Crawl through the Skies at Dawn and Dusk
Comets have been scarce since NEOWISE departed the scene. Not anymore. Suddenly, there are four fresh faces visible from dusk til dawn.
Meet Arcturus: Guardian of the Bear
Arcturus is one of the brightest stars in the sky — a cool red giant in Bootes, the Herdsman, that's often tied mythologically to Ursa Major, the Bear.
See Beyond the Celestial Sphere: Follow These Lines into Space
For a little perspective, observe along a line that takes you to the Moon, past Jupiter and Saturn, the Kuiper Belt, and onward into our galaxy.
Explore Caroline Herschel's Celestial Showpieces
More than 200 years ago Caroline Herschel pointed her telescope at the heavens and discovered some of the finest deep-sky objects. Follow in her footsteps and see them for yourself.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, September 4 – 12
Mars is big, bright and close as it nears opposition! It nears the gibbous Moon this weekend.
Meet Antares: The Star That Is Not Mars
Antares is a red supergiant that — like Betelgeuse — will one day go supernova.
August 2020: Planets & Perseids
The Perseids are upon us — and as you're looking out for shooting stars, look for Jupiter and Saturn low in the southeast as soon as night begins to fall.
July 2020: Welcome Jupiter & Saturn
July's 11-minute Sky Tour astronomy podcast describes what to see in the summer sky in a casual, engaging way that your whole family can enjoy.
Evenings with the Ring Nebula
Everyone loves this cosmic donut. Like Saturn, the Ring Nebula is a must-see for beginners and seasoned amateurs alike. Whether you're just cutting your deep-sky teeth or attempting to see its central star — one of visual astronomy's Holy Grails — the Ring has it all.
June 2020: Stars of Early Summer
Our 10-minute Sky Tour astronomy podcast guides you to planets, stars, and constellations in the early-summer sky in a casual, engaging way that your whole family can enjoy.
Globular Clusters Await: Hello, Messier 3!
Globular cluster season is here. Time to get out your charts, binoculars, and telescopes and enjoy these wondrous objects.
See Spring's Finest Spiral Galaxies
Spring skies offer some of the best sights of spiral galaxies. Point your scope at some of these magnificent cosmic whirlpools.
See the Phases of Venus
If you have a set of binoculars or a telescope, watch for Venus’s thinning crescent over the next couple weeks.
