SUNSET: 
Time In the Sky and the Amateur Astronomer
While civil time is based on official edit, the celestial clockwork follows its own rhythms.
An Observatory with Sails
After working at Sky & Telescope for nearly a decade I got the chance to build the observatory I'd always wanted.
Equipment: Guides & Recommendations
DIY Dew Heater
With just a little electrical know-how you can make an antidew heater that suits your scope.
Accurate Polar Alignment with Your Telescope
Long-exposure astrophotography requires an accurately aligned equatorial mount.
Observing the Sun Safely: Sunspots, Faculae, and Flares
The surface of the Sun is a dynamic, living place that can change unpredictably from day to day.
Watch the Re-Entry of Stardust
Late Saturday night, January 14-15, skywatchers in much of the American West can watch for a dazzling artificial "meteor."
Mars News, True and False
It's unkillable! A two-year old e-mail chain letter is misleading people into expecting Mars to go nuts in August.
New Amateur Asteroid Awards
Congress has established $2,000 annual prizes for U.S. amateurs who discover near-Earth asteroids or aid asteroid research.
Binary Quasar Is No Illusion
A close pair of quasars in Pisces turns out just that, not the record-breaking gravitational lens that astronomers had hoped.
Comet Schwassmann- Wachmann 3 at Its Best
This periodic comet, due to fly close by Earth in May, is breaking into even more pieces. The brightest one may reach 4th magnitude.
Comet To Cross Ring Nebula!
On Sunday night for North America, the brightest piece of Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 goes right over the Ring Nebula in Lyra.
Why Galaxies Tilt Just So
Spiral galaxies like the Milky Way got oriented by forces shaping the entire cosmos.
The March 29th Solar Eclipse
Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia are in line to get Moon-shadowed next Wednesday.
First Picture from Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter
Having entered Martian orbit, NASA's latest explorer has tried out its record-breaking camera.
RS Ophiuchi Finally Blows its Stack
This famous recurrent nova has just erupted for the first time in 21 years, reaching magnitude 4.8 on February 13th.
Solar Cycle Solved?
Researchers tracking material deep inside the Sun think that they have solved the mystery of the 11-year sunspot cycle — and they they can predict the next cycles' strength.
A Surprise Comet in the Dawn
Comet Pojmanski has brightened more than expected as it enters the dawn sky for Northern Hemisphere observers. Can you spot it with binoculars?
Near-Earth Asteroid Flyby, March 6–10
Catch the 12th- to 13th-magnitude asteroid 2000 PN9 (23187) crossing the northern sky.
Moon Occults Spica February 17th
The waning gibbous Moon will cover 1st-magnitude Spica for parts of eastern North America on Friday night, February 17, 2006.
Mars Receding in the Evening Sky
Blazing in the eastern sky these evenings, Mars is putting on a rare appearance not to miss.
