Three naked-eye planets tighten up together low in the sunset this week, the full Moon occults a star of Scorpius, and Chi Cygni is unusually bright.

From the city lights nestled between Alpine peaks to a single image that captures stars, an aurora, and a meteor, The World At Night's 2013 astrophoto contest is full of startling vistas.

With Saturn putting on a fine show this month, you'll want to explore the ringed planet at every opportunity. Here's what to look for.

For the second time in six months, the Sun has graced Down Under with an eclipse. Only a lucky few caught this annular eclipse, which traversed sparsely populated northern Australia.

May 2013 features an annular solar eclipse that's visible from extraordinarily little land area and a penumbral lunar eclipse that isn't visible at all.

Saturn rises in early evening and is visible throughout May. And a remarkable gathering of Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury sparkles low in the west toward month's end.

With its rings tipped nicely into wide view, right now the ringed planet is its closest to Earth — making it a visual treat in telescopes of any size.

A remarkable series of events takes place low in the west-northwest shortly after sunset from late May to late June. It features the tightest three-planet grouping visible without binoculars until 2026 and an excellent apparition of Mercury.

"Globe at Night" is a fun, easy, and worthwhile activity for you and your family. Please join this worldwide campaign to measure the darkness of night skies everywhere from April 29th to May 8th.

Truly dedicated eclipse-watchers — who live in the Eastern Hemisphere — have a chance to watch the Moon barely graze Earth's umbra during the first eclipse of 2013.

Even though moonlight will interfere with this year's Lyrid meteor shower, skywatchers should be alert for a possible outburst on the night of April 21–22.

Anytime is a good time for a star party, but April offers some of the best opportunities to get out under the night's beauty. Take your pick: there's Globe at Night, International Dark-Sky Week, Astronomy Day, and Global Astronomy Month.

This year features two "central" eclipses of the Sun: an annular in May (visible from Australia and the South Pacific) and a "hybrid" (annular/total) in November that you'll have to travel to Africa to see.

If you're thinking about joining Sky & Telescope and Spears Travel to see November 3rd's total eclipse of the Sun, here are three important numbers to consider: 29, 12, and 1.002.

Sky & Telescope predicts that 2013's best meteor shower should be the Perseids in mid-August, but this will also be a good year for the lesser-known Eta Aquarids in early May.

The Moon, Jupiter, Aldebaran, and two naked-eye star clusters adorn the western twilight this weekend, April 12–14. Spread the word, and grab your camera.

A new incoming comet may — or may not — put on a grand show late in 2013.

On the evening of Sunday, March 17th, stargazers all across the Americas will be able to watch the Moon pass spectacularly close to Jupiter, the third brightest object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus.

Spring arrives on March 20th, astronomically speaking, and for a few days beforehand you have a chance to see Comet Pan-STARRS low in the west soon after sunset. Meanwhile, Jupiter is still riding high in the evening, along with Orion, the Hunter, and Sirius, the "Dog Star."

On Thursday, February 28th, late-evening skywatchers in the Americas can see a waning gibbous Moon nestled very close to Virgo's alpha star. Those in Central and South America might even see Spica wink out!

Comet PanSTARRS is fading, but (as of late April now) it's moving high in the north approaching Polaris. So, at last, it's visible in a dark sky all night.

Here's how to find Comet PanSTARRS low in the west in evening twilight. It should be at its best from about March 12th to 18th for the latitudes of the U.S. and Canada. But it's tiny and faint.

Mercury has a fine evening apparition in February 2013, featuring an extraordinarily close conjunction with Mars.

For observers at high northern latitudes, Comet PanSTARRS is now visible in a dark sky right at the end of twilight. And this week it's passing the Andromeda Galaxy.