SUNSET: 
Explore the Night with Bob King
Picking Plums in the Galactic Anticenter
In winter, we face the Milky Way's anticenter, a little-explored region offering goodies for telescopes both large and small. Few give much thought to the Milky Way's anticenter, a lonely locale 180° opposite the busy metropolis of Sagittarius, where the summer Milky Way glitters like Vegas. On winter nights, Sagittarius lies behind us, hidden by Earth's…
Explore the Night with Bob King
Comets To Catch in 2016
A look ahead to see what new and returning comets will spice up the new year in 2016.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Run Away With These Runaway Stars
Three stars that once belonged to Orion flew the coop millions of years ago, but you can catch up with them with binoculars the next clear night.
Tale of Capella and the Two Red Dwarfs
Bright Capella plays it close to the vest when it comes to companions, but with a good map and steady skies you can track down its dwarf binary.
Moon Occults Venus on December 7th
After taking us to Comet Catalina's doorstep, the Moon covers Venus in a spectacular daytime occultation visible from most of North and Central America on Monday, December 7, 2015.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Moon Illusion is All in Your Head
Is perception reality? Not when it comes to the Moon illusion. See the truth with your own eyes at the rising of the next full Moon.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Watch a Black Hole Eat Dinner
S5 0716+71, a bright blazar currently in a feeding frenzy, invites you over for dinner the next clear night.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Catalina Comet Sails Into Northern Skies
Comet Catalina returns this month with naked-eye potential. Follow its every move with our guide and maps.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Triple Treasure in Triangulum's Pinwheel
Travel 2.7 million light-years from home to the Pinwheel Galaxy, where we'll visit a supergiant star, an extragalactic globular cluster, and one of the largest nebulae in the known universe.
Explore the Night with Bob King
How to See Lunar Craters with the Naked Eye
Who says you need a telescope to see craters on the Moon? Here's how to find a half-dozen with just the naked eye.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Discover a Dozen Clusters in the "W"
Open your bag wide as we go trick-or-treating in the "W" of Cassiopeia, home to more than 100 star clusters.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Take the Gegenschein Challenge
How and when to see the gegenschein, cousin of the zodiacal light and one of the greatest night sky naked-eye challenges.
Explore the Night with Bob King
"Blink" a Nova Tonight
Like people doing good imitations, novae often mimic planetary nebulae. Read on to learn how to watch the evolution of these tricksters using a common nebula filter.
Moon Hides Hyades, Occults Aldebaran Friday
After a late-night ramble through the Hyades cluster, the waning gibbous Moon will cover up the bright star Aldebaran for observers across North America Friday morning.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Observer's Guide to the H-alpha Sun
Want to see a star rock in real time? Observe the Sun in the crimson light of hydrogen alpha and watch it come alive.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Watch Andromeda Galaxy Blossom in Binoculars
How much can you see of the Andromeda Galaxy system with just a pair of binoculars? Turns out a lot!
Explore the Night with Bob King
How to See the Farthest Thing You Can See
Step by step, we explore the farthest things visible with the naked eye, from the most distant star to the hinterlands of the Andromeda Galaxy
Explore the Night with Bob King
Violent Lights For September Nights
Find out how two closely-orbiting stellar pairs create fireworks you can see in your own backyard telescope.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Neptune And Its Maverick Moon Triton
Neptune reaches opposition next week, giving amateurs the chance to track its unique, backwards-orbiting moon Triton.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Tiptoe Into The Twilight Zone
Twilight. Gloaming. Dusk. Blue Hour — all names for that colorful and contemplative time between day and night. We explore twilight's brief but fascinating sights and learn why it gets shorter as summer turns to fall. Twilight takes us gently into that good night. I wouldn't mind spending time on the Moon, but I'd miss…