SUNSET: 
Explore the Night with Bob King
Comets to Catch in 2019
We peek ahead to see what comets await in 2019. Bright ones will be sparse, but several nice objects, including Comet Iwamoto (C/2018 Y1) and Comet Africano (C/2018 W2), will keep things lively.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Your Guide to January's Supermoon Total Lunar Eclipse
The first full Moon of 2019 meets Earth's shadow in a widely visible total eclipse on the evening of January 20–21. Here's a guide on what to expect.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Start 2019 with the Quadrantid Meteor Shower
Set aside your qualms about the cold and cash in on the Quadrantids, one of this year's best meteor showers.
Venus Occults a Star and Mercury Joins Jupiter on the Winter Solstice
Bring in winter with a bang with a beautiful, close conjunction and a rare planet-star occultation.
Chasing Comet 46P/Wirtanen as the Moon Looms
Learn how chase away the Moon to keep Comet 46P/Wirtanen in a dark sky. Here's an update on the comet's progress and what to look for in the coming nights.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Spend an Hour with the Geminid Meteor Shower
Move over 46P/Wirtanen, it's time for the Geminids, the richest meteor shower of the year.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Mars and Neptune Have a Close Shave
Want to find Neptune the easy way? Just point your binoculars or telescope at Mars the next few nights, when the two planets will be in close conjunction.
SpaceX Launches Orbiting "Sculpture in the Sky" / Comet Update
An art sculpture achieves orbit, 46P/Wirtanen becomes a naked-eye comet, and C/2018 V1 makes one last good pass.
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.
Explore the Night with Bob King
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.
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!
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.
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.
Explore the Night with Bob King
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.
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.