Skywatching
Comet Jacques Is Back! Joins Venus and Mercury at Dawn
Comet C/2014 E2 Jacques has returned! Before it disappeared in the solar glow this spring, the comet reached magnitude +6, the naked…
Would the Real ‘SuperMoon’ Please Stand Up?
‘Tis the season once again, when rogue Full Moons nearing perigee seem roam the summer skies to the breathless exhortations…
A Spectacular Set of Conjuctions on Tap for the Moon, Mars and Saturn this Weekend
Got clear skies this July 4th weekend? The Moon passes some interesting cosmic environs in the coming days, offering up…
How to See Pluto at Opposition as New Horizons Crosses the One Year Out Mark
Are you ready for 2015? On July 14th, 2015 — just a little over a year from now — NASA’s…
Ceres and Vesta Converge in the Sky on July 5: How to See It
I bet you've forgotten. I almost did. In April, we reported that Ceres and Vesta, the largest and brightest asteroids respectively,…
The Making of the Pillars of Creation
It’s one of the most iconic images of the modern Space Age. In 1995, the Hubble Space Telescope team released…
Observing Challenge: The Moon Brushes Past Venus and Covers Mercury This Week
The summer astronomical action heats up this week, as the waning crescent Moon joins the inner planets at dawn. This…
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…
Asteroid-Turned-Comet 2013 UQ4 Catalina Brightens: How to See it This Summer
Though ISON may have fizzled in early 2014, we’ve certainly had a bevy of binocular comets to track this year.…
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…