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.
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 (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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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: 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.