
Comet NEOWISE Delights at Dawn
Skywatchers are treated to a naked-eye comet as NEOWISE emerges into the the dawn sky.

Explore the Night with Bob King
Anticipation Grows for Comets NEOWISE and Lemmon
Two comets spark excitement for the coming week — NEOWISE might reach naked-eye visibility at dawn, while Lemmon will be visible in binoculars at dusk.

Watch the Moon Pair Up with Venus on June 19th
Two crescents — the Moon and Venus — meet in the sky in the wee hours of June 19th.

Explore the Night with Bob King
Nights of Noctilucent Clouds
Noctilucent clouds shimmer high in the sky during summer twilight at northerly latitudes.

Evenings with the Ring Nebula
Everyone loves this cosmic donut. Like Saturn, the Ring Nebula is a must-see for beginners and seasoned amateurs alike. Whether you're just cutting your deep-sky teeth or attempting to see its central star — one of visual astronomy's Holy Grails — the Ring has it all.

Stargazer's Corner: Adventures Under the Night Sky
95 Sunrises Along the Columbia Riverbank
Margaret Greenwood explores the changing location of sunrises throughout the year.

How Bright Are the Planets?
What do Venus and Jupiter have in common? Revisions to planets' magnitudes in this year's Astronomical Almanac have revealed some surprises.

Globular Clusters Await: Hello, Messier 3!
Globular cluster season is here. Time to get out your charts, binoculars, and telescopes and enjoy these wondrous objects.

See Spring's Finest Spiral Galaxies
Spring skies offer some of the best sights of spiral galaxies. Point your scope at some of these magnificent cosmic whirlpools.

See the Phases of Venus
If you have a set of binoculars or a telescope, watch for Venus’s thinning crescent over the next couple weeks.

Explore the Night with Bob King
Supernovae Light Up in M61 and NGC 3643
Two new supernovae for amateur telescopes are keeping things lively this month.

Comet SWAN Expected to Put on a Splendid Show
Comet SWAN will grace northern skies in the days to come.

Chase a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid As It Flies by Earth
Break out your binoculars or a small telescope, we've got a busy week ahead! Watch as a bright asteroid approaches Earth, the Moon steals a star, and Comet ATLAS's last hurrah.

Meet Dubhe, Giant of the Big Dipper
Of the seven stars in the Big Dipper, Dubhe is an outlier. Its color, speed across the sky, and evolutionary age set it apart from its comrades.

New Comet Alert! Quartet of Comets Grace Our Skies
There's a lot happening in the northern sky these days, namely lots of comets! Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) is still worth watching, but look for the new Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) and Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y1). And you can still catch a glimpse of our old friend, Comet PanSTARRS (C/2017 T2).

Shadow-casting with Venus
Venus has a been powerful presence at dusk for months — bright enough to cast shadows. How would you like to put it to the test? The Moon won't spoil the darkness until at least April 24th — April 25th if you wait till after moonset — making it the perfect time to see your own shadow by the light of another celestial body.

Oh No! Comet ATLAS Is Fragmenting
Find out when and where to see Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) — and stay tuned to see how bright (or not) this comet gets.

Easy-to-find Deep-sky Objects for Cold Nights
Cold weather keeping you inside at night? Limit your time outdoors and make the most of your telescope time with these easy-to-find deep-sky gems.

Diving Into the Moon's Bay of Rainbows
This curious lunar feature — visible the nights of March 4th and April 2nd — is a delight in small scopes or even binoculars.

Meet the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters
The Pleiades are actually a star cluster of thousands of stars enshrouded in dust and gas, and they're easy to find if you know where to look.