Bob King

Observing Alert: Distant Blazar 3C 454.3 in Outburst, Visible in Amateur Telescopes

Have an 8-inch or larger telescope? Don't mind staying up late? Excellent. Here's a chance to stare deeper into the…

10 years ago

How to Find Your Way Around the Milky Way This Summer

Look east on a dark June night and you'll get a face full of stars. Billions of them. With the moon now…

10 years ago

How to See Airglow, the Green Sheen of Night

Emerald green, fainter than the zodiacal light and visible on dark nights everywhere on Earth, airglow pervades the night sky…

10 years ago

Awesome Radar Images Reveal Asteroid 2014 HQ124’s Split Personality

  On June 8, the 370-meter (about 1,300-ft.) asteroid 2014 HQ124 breezed by Earth at a distance of just 800,000 miles (1.3…

10 years ago

Asteroid 2014 KH39 Zips Just 1.1 LD from Earth – Watch it LIVE June 3

Got any plans Tuesday? Good. Keep them but know this. That day around 3 p.m. CDT (20:00 UT) asteroid 2014 KH39 will silently…

10 years ago

Observing Alert – Space Station ‘Marathon’ Starts This Week

What's your favorite satellite? For me it's the space station. Not only is it the brightest spacecraft in the sky, but…

11 years ago

Camelopardalid Meteor Shower Skimpy but Sweet

So how were the 'Cams' by you? Based on a few reports via e-mail and my own vigil of two…

11 years ago

New Supernova Pops in Bright Galaxy M106 in the ‘Hunting Dogs’

A supergiant star exploded 23.5 million years ago in one of the largest and brightest nearby galaxies. This spring we…

11 years ago

Potential Weekend Meteor Shower Will Pelt the Moon Too!

If the hoped-for meteor blast materializes this Friday night / Saturday morning (May 23-24) Earth won't be the only world getting…

11 years ago

How to See 209P/LINEAR, the Comet Brewing Up Saturday’s Surprise Meteor Shower

As we anxiously await the arrival of a potentially rich new meteor shower this weekend, its parent comet, 209P/LINEAR, draws…

11 years ago