1–20 of 62 results
12P/Pons-Brooks with tail

Explore the Night with Bob King

The Best Comets to Look for in 2024

If you like chasing comets, here's a guide to the year's best and brightest.

Starlink flares

Explore the Night with Bob King

How to See Freaky Starlink "Cluster Flares", Plus the Latest on Comet Lemmon

Alien invasion or flares from satellites in multiple orbits? It depends on your point of view. We also check in on Comet Lemmon, poised to possibly reach binocular-visibility.

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks outburst

Celestial Objects to Observe

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks (aka the "Millenium Falcon" Comet) Flares Again!

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks has awakened again from its recent slumbers with a fresh outburst. It's now bright enough to see in a modest telescope.

Comet 103P/Hartley diffuse appearance

Explore the Night with Bob King

Comet Hartley Comes Home Again; Gegenschein-gazing

Get acquainted with Comet 103P/Hartley. It's been a dozen years since its last bright apparition. While you're at it challenge yourself to spot the elusive gegenschein.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Action-packed Sky: Saturn, Comet Nishimura, and More

September is Saturn's time to shine. We also check on Comet Nishimura — now at 5th magnitude and still brightening — and look forward to a dramatic asteroid occultation. Not to mention that Jupiter just took another hit.

Comet Nishimura C/2023 P1

Occultations

New Comet Nishimura May Become Naked-Eye Bright

Comet Nishimura is quickly brightening in the morning sky and may be faintly visible with the naked eye next month. And on August 24th observers in North America will be treated to an occultation of Antares.

C/2023 A3 orbit

Celestial News & Events

Anticipating Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3)

Newly discovered Comet C/2023 A3 might reach naked-eye brightness when it flies past Earth in 2024. Check out our forecast of what to expect to see in the months ahead.

Comet ZTF (C/2022) and Mt. Etna

Comets

Understanding the Tails of Comet ZTF (C/2022 E3)

We explore Comet ZTF's remarkable trio of tails and share the latest news and photos.

Comet ZTF E3 dust tail

Comets

See Comet ZTF (C/2022 E3) Dash Between Big and Little Dippers

Forget the hype and go outside to enjoy the real thing — a relatively bright comet you can see in binoculars from a dark sky.

Comet ZTF (C/2022 E3) up close

Explore the Night with Bob King

Sneak Peek at Two Promising Comets

Ready to chase comets? We look at two fuzzy solar system travelers that will keep you on your toes all fall and winter long.

Titan and Tethys

Explore the Night with Bob King

Titan Occults a Bright Star, Mira Awakens, and Comet PanSTARRS Shines

Pick one or see them all. July offers a potpourri of celestial events for both naked-eye observers and telescope users that include a rare occultation by Saturn's moon Titan, a bright comet, and Mira at maximum.

Comet ATLAS (C/2019 L3)

Comets

Comets to View in 2022

Like comets? We've got 11 frozen fuzzies to share with you in the coming months, including a couple that could become fine binocular objects.

Comet 19P/Borrelly on Dec. 30, 2021

Explore the Night with Bob King

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.

Comet Leonard on Dec. 24, 2021

Observing

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.

Comet Leonard meets M3

Explore the Night with Bob King

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.

Earth and Uranus compared

Explore the Night with Bob King

Uranus Queues Up for Opposition

Journey to a remote planet then double back to check in on the latest stirrings of Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann before touching the finger of dawn.

Night Sky Sights

How Bright Will Comet Leonard Get?

We examine circumstances and expectations for the current apparition of Comet Leonard, which may become the year's brightest comet.

Conflagration, Expansion and Fade

Explore the Night with Bob King

Comet 29P Undergoes Brightest Outburst in Recent Years

Catch one of the most active small bodies in the solar system during a rare superoutburst.

Comet 4P/Faye and tail

Night Sky Sights

Making Time for Morning Comets

If you like mixing comets with the quietude of observing in the small hours, September opens with five fuzzy vagabonds just waiting for a visit.

Comets

Make the Most of Comet ATLAS

Bright comets will be scarce this year, but you can see one of the better ones this month as it races from Aquila to Canes Venatici. In other news, a new, bright nova has flared in Sagittarius.