
Explore the Night with Bob King
How to Observe and Measure Naked-eye Sunspots
As Solar Cycle 25 ticks up, naked-eye sunspots are becoming more frequent. They're not only fun to observe, but with this simple method you can determine just how big they are. We also have news on a bright supernova!

Explore the Night with Bob King
Celebrate Spring with the Lyrids
People have been watching the annual Lyrid meteor shower for more than 2,700 years. Come join the crowd!

Plan Now for the 2023 Solar Eclipse in Western Australia
Here's what to know if you want to see this hybrid (mostly total) solar eclipse next year.

Two Years to the 2024 American Total Solar Eclipse!
It’s never too early to start getting excited — and begin planning — for an event as spectacular as a total solar eclipse.

Explore the Night with Bob King
Comets to View in 2022
Like comets? We've got 11 frozen fuzzies to share with you in the coming months, including a couple that could become fine binocular objects.

Meet Procyon, Orion’s Littler Dog
Meet Procyon, the brightest of the few stars in Canis Minor, the Lesser Dog. On its way to becoming a giant, this star is part of the Winter Triangle and Wniter Hexagon asterisms.

Explore the Night with Bob King
Will Saturn Sprout Spots this Observing Season?
As Saturn returns to the morning sky, will this otherwise serene-looking planet experience another bout of severe weather? Keep your eyes peeled for white spots!

Meet Shackleton Crater: Future Moon Landing Site
Shackleton Crater at the lunar south pole is a site of future exploration — and you can even see it through your telescope during favorable librations.

Explore the Night with Bob King
Uncovering Secrets of Earth's Shadow
The daily rising and setting of Earth's shadow is a beautiful sight anyone on the planet can view. It's also an opportunity to witness the rapid changes that accompany sunset or sunrise, but at the opposite end of the sky.

Explore the Night with Bob King
Reveling in the Winter Milky Way
With the Moon departing the evening sky, now's a good time for a closer look at the northern winter Milky Way and its southern summer counterpart, too. No equipment required!

Meet Mizar and Alcor: The Horse and Rider
Mizar and Alcor, stars sometimes referred to as "the horse and the rider," serve as a vision test and an introduction to "double stars."

Solar and Lunar Eclipses in 2022
Although no total or annular solar eclipses occur this year, skywatchers can look forward to two total lunar eclipses — the first ones observable across North America in more than 3 years.

Set Your Sights on This Lunar Bull’s-Eye
Go ahead, live on the edge: Grab your chance this month to see Mare Orientale, one of the most spectacular lunar seas most people have never seen.

Watch an Asteroid Race Across the Sky
The kilometer-wide, potentially hazardous asteroid 1994 PC1 will fly past Earth on January 18th. Good news on two counts: It won't hit us, and it's bright enough to see in a 4-inch telescope.

Explore the Night with Bob King
Comet-seeking on Cold, Crunchy Nights
Did the recent apparition of Comet Leonard whet your appetite for more of these beautiful unpredictables? Here are five more you can see with your telescope this season.

Tour 15 of the Brightest Stars on New Year's Eve (VIDEO)
Tour 15 of the sky's brightest stars all in one night on this New Year's Eve! This interactive Worldwide Telescope video will show you the way.

The Best Meteor Showers of 2022
Sky & Telescope predicts that the year’s best meteor shower will be the Quadrantids, which peak in the very first days of 2022. But the normally weak Tau Herculids (late May) and Leonids (November) might deliver dramatic outbursts.

Comet Leonard: A Gift at Christmastime
Multiple bright outbursts have transformed Comet Leonard into a stunning photographic object that’s also visible without optical aid from southern locations. More disruptions are likely in store as it approaches perihelion.

Total Solar Eclipse: Reports from Antarctica
Sky & Telescope and friends report on the total solar eclipse that occurred over Antarctica earlier this week.

Explore the Night with Bob King
See Comet Leonard at its Best
The year's brightest comet is now on display in the predawn sky this week and next. Here's how to find it.