SUNSET: 
Supernova Discovered in the Bright Galaxy M77
A new supernova in the bright galaxy M77 in Cetus is within range of amateur telescopes. Here's how to find it.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Seeking Cas A, the Ghostly Remains of a Mysterious Supernova
We still don't know for sure if anyone saw the supernova explosion in Cassiopeia around 1680, but there's no question we can observe what remains of it today.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Gobble Up a Rare Thanksgiving Full Moon
This week, we give thanks for all the good things in life including a rare event — a full Moon on Thanksgiving. Make it your dessert after the big meal.
Ducks in Disguise or How Stars Hide Their True Colors
Do star clusters form all at once or over several generations? A team of astronomers finds an answer among the spinning stars of an amateur favorite, the Wild Duck Cluster.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Exoplanets for Autumn Evenings
Exoplanets pepper the night sky. We may not be able to observe them directly, but we can use their host stars as surrogates to envision them in our mind's eye.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Amateur Don Machholz Discovers His 12th Comet! (Updated)
Arizona comet hunter Don Machholz did it again! He discovered his 12th comet only two mornings ago. Set your alarm, grab your scope, and take a look.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Three Upcoming Sky Events We Can All Share
Comets, meteors, and Moon: Share the night sights that are coming our way!
Explore the Night with Bob King
Trick-or-Treat with the Seven White Dwarfs
In the Halloween spirit, we pay a visit to the cosmic dead, those tiny stars that should just fade away but always seem to be causing trouble instead.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Double Your Deep-Sky Pleasure with "Two-in-the-View"
Once you've seen two, a single won't do. Enjoy this selection of multiple deep-sky objects visible in the same field of view of your telescope.
Observing Earth from the Moon
Ever wondered what it would be like to see the Earth from the Moon? Join Bob King as he explores this from the perspective of the Apollo 17 astronauts.
How Dark Is Your Night Sky?
Traditional and digital tools can help you learn the naked-eye magnitude limit of your sky and find out if the darkness has changed at your observing site.
Explore the Night with Bob King
The Outer Planets Move In, plus an "Old Moon" Observing Challenge
As the bright planets march westward, Uranus and Neptune become the fresh new faces of fall. And if you've never seen an ultra-thin lunar crescent, here's your chance.
Explore the Night with Bob King
The Sacred Hour Before Dawn and an Evening Comet Surprise
Silence can sometimes be in short supply, but one sure place to find it is under a starry sky before the first blush of dawn. Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann erupts again!
Explore the Night with Bob King
Here Comes the Harvest Moon!
This month's Harvest Moon will be up early to light the night as well as act as a beacon for watching the annual fall bird migration through a small telescope.
Equuleus, the Constellation Nobody Knows
Often passed over in favor of showier sights, the constellation of the Little Horse has charms of its own. Let's saddle up and go for a ride.
Explore the Veil Nebula
The Veil Nebula, the tattered remains of an ancient supernova explosion, is one of the most spectacular objects in the night sky. Did you know it has two dozen parts visible in amateur telescopes?
Explore the Night with Bob King
Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner Shines in September
Watch a binocular-bright comet leapfrog across Auriga in the next few weeks before a remarkable conjunction with the bright star cluster, M35.
Explore the Night with Bob King
See All Eight Planets in One Night
Four planets are great, but how about eight? You can see them all in a single night in the next couple weeks — if you play your cards right.
Astronomy and Stargazing Projects
Shadow Play — Summertime Dark Nebulae for Binoculars
Using only binoculars, we explore a host of inky dust clouds, the dark nebulae that smudge the Milky Way on late summer nights.
Explore the Night with Bob King
R Coronae Borealis Awakes and Pluto Blocks a Star
Sometimes, it's just as exciting to watch a celestial object fade or disappear as it is to see it explode. We celebrate the "return" of a mysterious variable star and prepare for Pluto to occult a star.
