SUNSET: 
Explore the Night with Bob King
Quasar CTA 102: Historically Bright, Violently Variable
The normally faint quasar CTA 102, once thought to harbor an advanced civilization and made famous in a 1967 song by the Byrds, is currently bright enough to see in an 8-inch telescope. In the history of SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, there have been two great false alarms.…
Explore the Night with Bob King
Uranus: In Seventh Heaven with Planet Seven
With our eyes often glued to the bright classical planets, Uranus is easy to overlook. Now well-placed for viewing at a convenient hour, why not pay this pale blue dot a visit the next clear night?
Behold November's Super-Duper Supermoon
You won't want to miss the biggest, brightest full Moon in more than 68 years. Find out what makes this supermoon so special and how best to view it.
Explore the Night with Bob King
The Merope Nebula and Its Well-Kept Secret
Did you know that the brightest part of the Merope Nebula in the Pleiades is also the hardest to see? We'll make sense of this seeming contradiction while honing key observing skills.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Spooky Nebulae for Halloween Nights
While the kids are gathering sweet treats this Halloween, get a celestial scare with these frightful deep-sky sights.
8th-magnitude Nova in Sagittarius
A nova in Sagittarius, discovered a few nights ago by a Japanese amateur, has become bright enough to see in binoculars.
More Auroras Coming to Northern Skies
Keep your eye on the northern sky. Auroras are in the forecast for the next couple nights courtesy of a "hole" in the Sun's corona.
Halley On Fire! Orionids Peak This Week
The annual Orionid meteor shower is active all week, peaking Friday morning October 21st. If you're up before dawn, you might just see these Halley's Comet castoffs come to life.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Plant Your Eyes In Delta Cephei's Fertile Triangle
The famous variable star Delta Cephei unlocks a box deep-sky treasures in a little-visited corner of Cepheus, the King.
Resolving Andromeda — How to See Stars 2.5 Million Light-Years Away
At 2.5 million light-years away, you might think it's impossible to see individual stars in the Andromeda Galaxy. Let its largest star cloud, NGC 206, show you the way.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Mercury Punctuates The False Dawn
Early risers get a triple treat this week and next: a ravishing dawn Moon, an excellent apparition of Mercury, and a hint of Halloween in the ghostly zodiacal light.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Will the Real Albireo Please Stand Up?
A stunning double star, Albireo is also a bit of an enigma. Is it a true binary or the result of a chance alignment?
Explore the Night with Bob King
Why Are There So Many UFOs?
In an age when UFO sightings are rife, we look at other possibilities that may help to explain the strange apparitions many see.
A Little Guide to Lunar Domes
With this week's waxing Moon, we set off to explore its volcanic past with a look at a dozen intriguing lunar domes.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Enjoy Orion in Shirtsleeves
Throw open the door and welcome back Orion at dawn. The Hunter's return brings relief from the heat and gives us a fresh shot at exploring untouched winter deep-sky objects in comfort.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Polarized Light: From Blue Sky to Egg Nebula
Bees see polarized light and use it to navigate to honey. Learn how you can use it to crack the Egg Nebula.
Palling Around With Palomar Globular Clusters
The intriguing Palomar globular clusters will challenge observers with modest to large telescopes, while providing a satisfying ramble around the galactic halo.
Explore the Night with Bob King
A Real Scorcher! — Sirius At Heliacal Rising
Make a connection to a time when stars were used to track seasons and predict natural events by watching the heliacal rising of Sirius.
Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 Blows Its Top . . . Again!
An otherwise faint and distant periodic comet underwent a bright outburst at the end of last month. Now it's visible in amateur telescopes at nightfall.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Delta Aquariids Kick Off Summer Meteor Showers
The meteors are coming! Three annual meteor showers are already active and guaranteed to spark up your summer nights.
