SUNSET: 
New Horizons: Ultima Thule is Dead Ahead
Ultima Thule, the next target for the New Horizons mission, is getting ever bigger within the spacecraft's sights. Alan Stern brings us the latest update on preparations for the New Year's Day flyby.
What To See with Your New Telescope During 2018 Holidays
Just got a new telescope? Here are essential tips to getting started using it for astronomy.
Exploring the Escaping Atmosphere of HAT-P-11b
The atmospheres of planets close to their host stars live a tenuous existence. New observations from the Hubble Space Telescope show signs of a Neptune-like exoplanet’s atmosphere being eroded away.
Astronomical Work for an Amateur's Catalog
Amateur astronomer Rick Johnson undertook the monumental task of building his own observatory and compiling a catalog of objects he has observed.
60-second Astro News: Most Distant Solar System Object & Saturn's Disappearing Rings
In astronomy news this week, astronomers announce the most distant solar system object discovered to date and estimate the limited lifetime of Saturn's spectacular rings.
Bradley Wells Timerson, 1950 – 2018
Long-time Sky & Telescope collaborator Bradley Wells Timerson passed away at age 68 on Wednesday, October 17, 2018.
SETI Searches Today
Several big hunts are seeking radio and laser emissions from other civilizations among the stars. From the Allen Telescope Array to SETI@home, here's a rundown of all recent and current searches.
Venus Occults a Star and Mercury Joins Jupiter on the Winter Solstice
Bring in winter with a bang with a beautiful, close conjunction and a rare planet-star occultation.
What LIGO Teaches Us About Black Holes
The rising count of gravitational-wave events is giving us a new look at a once-invisible population of black holes.
Future Planetary Probes Can Learn from Cassini
An unusual water composition at Saturn’s moon Phoebe means that future spacecraft will have to be on the lookout for different water ratios than we are used to on Earth.
Amateurs Help Decide Juno's Path
Ahead of a decision on whether to fly the NASA spacecraft over Jupiter's Great Red Spot, hobbyists back on Earth provided crucial intel about the effects of an intruding disturbance.
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.
Searching for Alien Needles in the Cosmic Haystack
Humanity’s search for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence has been underway, in one form or another, for decades. But how much searching have we really done?
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.
Osiris-REX Finds Hints of Past Water on Asteroid Bennu
The NASA spacecraft detected signs of hydrated minerals on Bennu's surface, suggesting that the asteroid's larger parent body once hosted liquid water.
Meet Fomalhaut, the Autumn Star
The bright star Fomalhaut, home to three suns plus a planet, peeks over the southern horizon in early autumn evenings in the Northern Hemisphere.
Voyager 2 Enters Interstellar Space
More than 18 billion kilometers from home, Voyager 2 has become the second probe to break through the heliopause, a tenuous boundary between the solar system and the rest of the Galaxy.
60-Second Astro News: Helium Exoplanets and a Supernova Surprise
This week in astronomy news: Inflated helium atmospheres surround two exoplanets, and the Kepler Space Telescope captures the moments around a supernova that hint at a companion star triggering the explosion.
Chang'e 4 Probe Heads to the Lunar Farside
China's latest lunar mission will drop a lander and rover in one of the oldest terrains on the Moon, becoming the first craft to intentionally land on and explore the farside.
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.
