SUNSET: 
Is the Day 12 Hours Long on the Equinox? It's Complicated
The Earth's atmosphere and the large size of the solar disk result in unequal days and nights, even on the equinox.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Action-packed Sky: Saturn, Comet Nishimura, and More
September is Saturn's time to shine. We also check on Comet Nishimura — now at 5th magnitude and still brightening — and look forward to a dramatic asteroid occultation. Not to mention that Jupiter just took another hit.
New Comet Nishimura May Become Naked-Eye Bright
Comet Nishimura is quickly brightening in the morning sky and may be faintly visible with the naked eye next month. And on August 24th observers in North America will be treated to an occultation of Antares.
Get Ready for a Great Perseid Meteor Shower
The Perseids are here! With no Moon to spoil the show it's time to break out the lawn chairs, sit back, and watch the comet dust fly.
Explore the Night with Bob King
View the Thin Crescent of Venus
With Venus approaching inferior conjunction in August here's a foolproof way to follow its thinning crescent as the planet transitions from Evening Star to Morning Star.
Explore the Night with Bob King
See Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in Outburst!
Comet Pons-Brooks, a dim comet on its way to a great apparition next spring, suddenly sprang into action overnight, brightening by five magnitudes. Now you can see it in a 4-inch telescope.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Time-lapse Animations Reveal a Universe in Transformation
Deep-sky objects may appear static throughout our lifetime but by carefully "blinking" archival and current images we can discern real changes in their appearance.
Explore the Night with Bob King
See Summer's Best “Gobbled” Globulars
Mergers between the Milky Way and long-ago dwarf galaxies have enriched our skies with dozens of iconic globular clusters. Many are visible in small telescopes.
Eking Out Observing from under Wildfire Smoke
Smoke from Canadian wildfires has made observing the night sky a challenge for many. Here are some ways you can make the best of a bad situation.
Find a Horizon and Savor the Bending of Light
The full Strawberry Moon on June 3rd invites us to experience the refractive power of Earth's atmosphere.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Bright Supernova Blazes in M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy
A supergiant star exploded as a supernova in the prominent galaxy M101 in Ursa Major. It's now bright enough to see in a 4.5-inch telescope!
Explore the Night with Bob King
See the Moon-Jupiter Trifecta: Conjunction, Occultation, and Double-Shadow Transit
The May 17th dawn pairing of Jupiter and the Moon may be one of the most amazing conjunctions you'll ever see.
Scientists Confirm: Meteorite Crashed Into New Jersey Home
A rock that crashed through the roof of a house in New Jersey proved to be the real thing — a chunk spalled from a 4.5 billion-year-old asteroid.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Lie Back, Look Up, and Find Your Zenith Stars
When you want to relax under the stars there's no better way than on your back looking up at the zenith. We explore what's overhead and discover there's more than one zenith up there.
Explore the Night with Bob King
See the Young Moon and the Lyrid Meteor Shower
We have an exciting week ahead with a crescent Moon that might break your observing record followed by a well-timed Lyrid meteor shower.
Pleasures of Lunar Pareidolia
Do you still see animal shapes in clouds? If so, you'll enjoy doing the same with the Moon, home to the Moon Maiden, a giant pair of scissors, and other fantastic specters of light and shadow.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Anticipating Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3)
Newly discovered Comet C/2023 A3 might reach naked-eye brightness when it flies past Earth in 2024. Check out our forecast of what to expect to see in the months ahead.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Tell Time with the Big Dipper; See Ceres Transit a Spiral Galaxy
Phone battery dead? Learn how to tell time with the Big Dipper. Also, don't miss a remarkable transit of Ceres in front of the bright spiral galaxy M100.
Aurora Season Is Underway
These are the nights to get ready for the auroras — and tonight may be your lucky night. Not only is the current solar cycle swiftly intensifying, March is one of the best times of the year to see the northern lights.
Catch Birth Flickers of Budding Suns in Orion
Three flickering stars in Orion offer insight into what life looks like before the main sequence.
