SUNSET: 
Kaguya To Hit the Moon
On June 10th at 18:25 Universal Time the Japanese lunar orbiter Kaguya is ending its two years of science with a final impact experiment. Astronomers are poised to capture the crash.
Sky at a Glance | June 5th, 2009
Capella sinks in the west, the Summer Triangle climbs in the east, the full Moon occults Antares, and late in the week, the eerie waning gibbous Moon shines with Jupiter.
Watch Antares Disappear on Saturday Night
The Moon will be only about 16 hours from full when, on Saturday evening June 6th in the Americas, it will cross the 1st-magnitude red supergiant star Antares. The occultation will be visible across much of the United States and Canada, all of Central America and the Caribbean, and northern South America. Surrounding areas get a still-spectacular near miss.
Sky at a Glance | May 29th, 2009
The Moon again poses with Regulus and then Saturn. Saturn's rings continue to dim. And Jupiter and Venus are both rising higher in the sky before dawn.
Sky at a Glance | May 15th, 2009
You know it's getting close to summer; Arcturus and Vega are well up at dusk. Catch Saturn right after dusk before it starts getting low — and in a telescope, see how dim its rings have become!
Sky at a Glance | May 8th, 2009
As wintry Betelgeuse disappears in to the sunset in May, summery Antares comes up in the southeast in late evening.
Sky at a Glance | May 1st, 2009
Mercury stays with the Pleiades in the western twilight. The Moon passes Regulus and Saturn during evening this week, and Venus and Jupiter shine at dawn.
Auroras from "Space Tornadoes"
Another confusing piece of the puzzle has been added to the picture of how the Northern Lights work.
Sky at a Glance | April 24th, 2009
Mercury meets up with the Pleiades in the western twilight, and the Moon joins the party on Sunday the 26th. The two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, shine low in the dawn.
A Daring Pairing of Moon and Venus
Early risers today have a chance to see this beautiful crescent Moon slide past Venus in the dawn sky. This view by Johnny Horne was captured at 5:34 a.m. EDT at Wade, North Carolina
Fomalhaut's Disk and Fomalhaut's Spin
Way out in the circumstellar cold, a planet and a rubble disk orbit bright Fomalhaut. Does this have anything to do with the star's own rotation?
Spot Titan's Shadow on Saturn!
Take advantage of Saturn's nearly edge-on orientation to see Titan and its shadow crossing Saturn's bright face during April, May, and June.
A Murky All-Sky Background Is Resolved
It doesn't look like much today, but the far-infrared background radiation coming from all parts of the sky tells of a tumultuous early universe ablaze with starlight.
Sky at a Glance | April 10th, 2009
Saturn displays its rings for evening telescope users. Low in the dawn, Venus points the way to challenging little Mars. And there's an outbreak on Jupiter.
Sky at a Glance | April 10th, 2009
Saturn shines high in the evening, but more planetary action happens at dawn. The waning Moon passes Jupiter before sunrise and then, a few days later, occults Venus for parts of North America.
Sky at a Glance | April 3rd, 2009
The Moon and Saturn pose in the evening sky. At dawn the crescent Venus is visible very low, while Jupiter shines higher in easier view.
Celestial News & Events
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Sunday's Virginia Fireball:
A Meteor, Not a Rocket Reentry
If you were outside at 9:40 on Sunday evening, March 29th, between Maryland and North Carolina, you didn't even have to be looking up.
Sky at a Glance | March 27th, 2009
Thin-crescent Venus passes through inferior conjunction well north of the Sun, and already it's emerging very low in the dawn. Don't confuse it with bright Jupiter, far to its upper right before sunrise. Meanwhile, thin-ringed Saturn poses for your telescope in the evening, and the crescent Moon passes the Pleiades and Hyades.
Sky at a Glance | March 20th, 2009
Venus is plunging low into the sunset — and simultaneously rising low in the dawn. How is this possible? Thin-ringed Saturn is well up in the east by mid-evening, behaving very sedately by comparison.
Comet Lulin on the Way Out
Now departing from both Earth and Sun, Comet Lulin is 7th magnitude and fading this week. But it's high in the evening sky, and there's no moonlight problem until around March 29th.
