SUNSET: 
Stargazer's Corner: Adventures Under the Night Sky
Daylight Polar Alignment Made Easy
Try this easy technique to roughly polar-align your telescope mount during the day using your smartphone and a planetarium app.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, May 19 – 27
Three zero-magnitude stars shine after dark in May: Arcturus high in the southeast, Vega much lower in the northeast, and Capella in the northwest.
Gobs of Globs — Tour 16 Spring Globular Clusters
Chandeliers of the galaxy, these distant stellar swarms fire our sense of wonder. Hop on and we'll tour 16 of season's finest!
Stargazer's Corner: Adventures Under the Night Sky
Meet Steve, the Friendly Neighborhood Aurora
The story of Steve, the mysterious pink-ribbon aurora, shows how citizen scientists are making important contributions to research and discovery.
Bright Supernova Discovered in "Fireworks Galaxy" NGC 6946
A brand new supernova in NGC 6946 is bright enough to see in modest-sized telescopes. Here's how to find it.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, May 12 – 20
Three zero-magnitude stars shine after dark in May: Arcturus high in the southeast, Vega much lower in the northeast, and Capella in the northwest.
Watch Comet Johnson Sprint Through Boötes
Another binocular comet? You better believe it. Comet Johnson takes center stage at nightfall this month and next.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, May 5 – 13
Friday, May 5 • Above the Moon tonight is Leo's tail star, Denebola (by about a fist at arm's length). Far to the Moon's lower left at dusk is bright Jupiter, with Spica farther on, as shown here. Saturday, May 6 • The Moon tonight forms a gently curving…
Tour May's Sky: Big Dipper Leads the Way
Listen to May's astronomy podcast to learn why stargazers think of the Big Dipper as the "Swiss Army Knife" of the late-spring northern sky.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, April 28 – May 6
Jupiter, among the stars of Virgo, shines brightly in the southeast at dusk this week. It's highest in the south by 11 or midnight daylight saving time.
Sneezing at the Full Moon
Pollen's no friend of the allergy-prone, but there's an upside to your itchy eyes — weird and colorful coronas around the Moon and Sun.
Are You Ready, Willing, and Abell?
A cosmic rabbit hole in the tail of Leo will take you to Abell 1367, a wonderland of galaxies more than 300 million light-years from Earth. Step in and lose yourself in the vastness.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, April 21 – 29
Jupiter, in Virgo, shines like a beacon in the southeast at nightfall. It's highest in the south by 11 or midnight.
Lyrids to Put on a Weekend Light Show
The annual Lyrid meteor shower will add some pop and sizzle to Saturday's pre-dawn sky. With little interference from the Moon, conditions are ideal for meteor watching.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, April 14 – 22
Arcturus shines brightly in the east these evenings, to the left or upper left of even brighter Jupiter.
See a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid From Your Backyard
Get ready for 2014 JO25, the biggest asteroid to fly this close to Earth since 2004. Good news — even a 3-inch telescope will show it! Update: See below for a radar image and animation of 2014 JO25 captured by NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar on April 18, 2017. Every week, a…
This Week's Sky at a Glance, April 7 – 15
In addition to three comets now in binocular view, Jupiter is at its biggest and brightest. Also look for summer star Vega in the northeast soon after dark.
Comet PanSTARRS (C/2015 ER61) in Outburst and Binocular Bright
Dawn comet C/2015 ER61 PanSTARRS just underwent a bright outburst and is now an easy binocular object. Take a look before the Moon returns!
Stargazer's Corner: Adventures Under the Night Sky
Comet Hale-Bopp’s Ancient Spectacle
Astrophotographer John Goldsmith chronicles his travels during Comet Hale-Bopp's famous apparition 20 years ago. His images capture what ancients might have seen 4,200+ years before.
Tour April's Sky: Critters on the March
As you'll hear in this month's podcast, April is a time when it's easy to spot a lion, a sea serpent, and two bears in the evening sky.
