SUNSET: 
Learn Constellations with a Planisphere
How do you find out what stars are visible tonight? With a planisphere or "star wheel." It's easy!
This Week's Sky at a Glance, March 31 – April 8
Catch two comets through your binoculars, and watch the waxing crescent Moon approaching Aldebaran and the Hyades Friday evening.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, March 24 – April 1
Look up at the stars tonight and see the Little Dipper "pour" into the Big Dipper. Telescope users may try for Jupiter's moon in eclipse and Comet 41P.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, March 17 – 25
Find the dim constellation Cancer on the traditional divide between the winter and spring sky. Last quarter Moon falls on Monday, March 20th.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, March 10 – 18
The Moon hangs a few degrees below Regulus this Friday evening, and Mercury begins to emerge from the glow of sunset by the end of the week.
How to Use a Star Chart with a Telescope
Here's what you need to know to navigate the heavens with a telescope and star atlas.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, March 3 – 11
The Moon hangs below Aldebaran in the west this evening. But get ready for Saturday night, when the dark limb of the first-quarter Moon occults Aldebaran
Happy 30th Birthday, Supernova 1987A
The first naked-eye supernova since the invention of the telescope lit up the global astronomy world on the morning of February 23, 1987, as news spread by phone and teletype. Supernova 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud eventually reached magnitude 2.9, before beginning a long fade and a cascade of…
This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 24 – March 4
Sirius blazes high in the south these evenings, with bright Canopus due south below, and on Sunday, February 26th, Mars and Uranus are in conjunction.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 17 – 25
After dinnertime at this time of year, five carnivore constellations are rising upright in a ragged row. Orion stands highest in early evening.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 10 – 18
See a full Moon on Friday and, for most of the Americas, catch a very deep penumbral eclipse of the Moon that happens around sunset or in early evening.
February's Deep Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
North American observers can watch the Moon flirt with Earth’s shadow on the evening of February 10th.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 3 – 11
The first-quarter Moon on Friday is high in the south at sunset. After dark it balances on the dim head of Cetus. Spot Pleiades to its upper left.
Vesta, Brightest Asteroid, Now High Overhead
The asteroid 4 Vesta shines at 6th magnitude in January 2017, visible in Gemini with binoculars or a small telescope.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 13 – 21
On Saturday, the waning gibbous Moon and Regulus rise around 8 p.m. They'll part ways through the night as the Moon moves east along its orbit.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 6 – 14
The waxing gibbous Moon shines below the Pleiades and right of Aldebaran Saturday evening - watch the Moon's dark limb occult a star later that night.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, December 30 – January 7
Can you spot the fingernail-thin crescent Moon in twilight Friday night? It's less than two days old as seen after sunset from North America.
Catch the Quadrantid Meteors (If You Can)
The Quadrantids, one of the year's best meteor showers, peaks on the morning of January 3rd, is. But be ready for it — most of the action takes place over just a few hours.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, December 23 – 31
After dark you'll find the Pleiades high in the east, with Aldebaran and the Hyades below them. Far below these, Orion is beginning to clear the horizon.
What to See with Your New Telescope During 2016 Holidays
Maybe this gift-giving season you got a shiny new telescope to call your own. Congratulations — you could be on your way to discovering many amazing far things in the night sky. Although most of them are so far and faint that just finding and detecting them is the challenge!…
