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.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 14 – 22
Jupiter stands alone at dusk. The Moon dances with Castor and Pollux while Iris creeps in the background. And you can't keep Venus down for long; its tiny crescent reappears at dawn.
Stargazer's Corner: Adventures Under the Night Sky
The Comet on Oak Hill
In the hills of northern California, a teenager discovered a comet's tail — and a lifelong passion for stargazing.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 7 – 15
Mercury draws close to Saturn low in twilight, then turns shy and runs away. Jupiter watches from above. The Moon, careless of such goings-on, waxes through first quarter to show off for your telescope.
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.
January: Evening Planet Adieu
There’s no better way to start the new year than listening to our monthly Sky Tour astronomy podcast. It’s an informative and entertaining 12-minute guided tour of the nighttime sky.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, December 31 – January 8
As the calendar flips to a new year, the night sky brims with bright stars, planets, and a potential meteor shower to help you celebrate.
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.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, December 24 – January 1
Crescent Venus, ever thinner and lower in twilight, dives toward the Sun. Jupiter and Saturn bide their time. The bright winter constellations fill the east after dark. Mars and Antares pair up at dawn.
Venus Farewell, Moonless Skies for the Quadrantids
Venus presents a stunning crescent at dusk before switching over to the morning sky early next month. After dodging the Moon for the Geminids, it's dark skies all around for the Quadrantid meteor shower.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, December 17 – 25
Dramatic Venus is becoming a dramatically thinner, larger crescent the southwestern twilight. A few people can even resolve the crescent naked-eye. Saturn and Jupiter stay lined up behind it. And the bright winter constellations officially come into their own with the turning of the solstice.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, December 10 – 18
Comet Leonard switches from low in the dawn to low in the dusk this week; you'll need those binocs. The Venus-Saturn-Jupiter line slides westward. And the high full moon of December rides across the sky in Taurus, at the top of the ecliptic.
Total Solar Eclipse: Reports from Antarctica
Sky & Telescope and friends report on the total solar eclipse that occurred over Antarctica earlier this week.
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.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, December 3 – 11
The crescent Moon at dusk hangs under Venus, then Saturn, then Jupiter. Comet Leonard is at its best before dawn. And welcome in, Orion!
December: Geminid Meteors & Comet Leonard
December’s solstice brings the longest northern nights, and it’s a busy month for stargazers: the Geminid meteors, a visit from Comet Leonard, and a plethora of bright stars and constellations.
Meet Proxima Centauri: The Closest Star
Proxima Centauri is the dimmest and smallest of the Alpha Centauri system, but it has the honor of being the nearest star.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, November 25 – December 4
While the Jupiter-Saturn-Venus line keeps shrinking, all kinds of deep-sky sights, naked-eye to telescopic, show themselves on these moonless evenings.
