SUNSET: 
Moon Occults Mars
During the predawn hours of Thursday, July 17th, the waning gibbous Moon will cover Mars for skywatchers in southeastern Florida, the Caribbean, and parts of Central and South America.
A Christmas Comet
Comet Kudo-Fujikawa is seen here in this CCD image taken on December 15, 2002 from Las Cruces, NM, about a day after its discovery.Courtesy Bert and Janet Stevens. Early on the morning of December 14, 2002, Japanese amateur Tetuo Kudo was searching the skies with his giant 20 x 120…
A Far-Southern Eclipse of the Sun
Lands Down Under are the only places that will experience the solar eclipse of November 23–24.
November's Lunar Eclipse
A brief total elipse on November 8–9 will be visible in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and western and southern Asia.
Mercury Transits the Sun
When this innermost planet passes between the Earth and the Sun on May 7th, it will appear as a tiny black "sunspot" in small telescopes.
Hermes Is Found
After eluding astronomers for 66 years, the long-lost asteroid Hermes has finally been retrieved. This most famous of the "lost asteroids" was originally discovered by Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg, Germany, on October 28, 1937, and tracked for only five days. Despite numerous attempts, the object that came to be known…
Hermes Is Double!
Radar ranging shows that the newly recovered minor planet Hermes, lost since 1937, is a close binary.
A Tiny Asteroid Whizzes By
On Saturday, September 27th, a very small asteroid plunged past Earth well inside the Moon's orbit. Unseen, it passed just 78,000 kilometers (a fifth the Moon's distance) above Earth's surface before barreling back into interplanetary space. Judging by its faintness — 18th magnitude when first picked up the next day…
Upcoming Asteroid Occultation
S&T illustration. A few minutes before 5:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on December 24th, the 170-kilometer-wide minor planet 334 Chicago passes in front of the 8.5-magnitude star SAO97327 in Gemini. The nominal path for this event crosses Philadelphia (at about 9:57 Universal Time) and continues westward across Lake Michigan, just…
An Annular Eclipse in May
At the end of May, observers in several fairly remote locations will see the Moon nearly hide the Sun.
May's Total Lunar Eclipse
For almost an hour in mid-May, the Moon will turn dim and fiery orange.
Comet Kudo-Fujikawa Rounds the Sun
The comet has entered the field of view of the Solar and
Heliospheric Observatory's LASCO C3 coronagraph.
Eclipse Down Under
Observers in most parts of Australia and Africa are poised for December's partial eclipse of the Sun.
Dawn Comet
Another new comet, even brighter than Comet Hoenig, can now be seen low in the northeastern sky around morning twilight by observers in the Northern Hemisphere.
Comet Hoenig Heads South
This unexpectedly bright little comet (magnitude 7.5 or so) is currently heading south through Draco toward Ursa Major and Canes Venatici.
New Comet Hoenig
A newly discovered comet promises to be a sought-after celestial prize in the coming months.
A Close Encounter with an Asteroid
Over four weeks, the brightness of asteroid 2002 NY40 will brighten by more than 3,000 times. It will peak at magnitude 9.3 (bright enough to be seen through a small telescope or large binoculars) as it drifts rapidly through the northern Milky Way on the night of August 17–18. This…
Hefty Asteroid to Sweep Near Earth
Astronomers have a month's advance notice for the close, but brief visit of asteroid 2002 NY40 on the night of August 17–18.
June's Transpacific Solar Eclipse
Most of North America is in line to see the partial phase of June's annular eclipse of the Sun.
May's Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
On May 26th skywatchers in the Pacific Rim region can watch the Moon pass through the outer fringe of Earth's shadow.
