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Sungazing comet caught in widefield photo of total solar eclipse

Solar System

Amateur Astronomers Caught Sungrazing Comet during Solar Eclipse

Wide-field photos of the total solar eclipse taken by several astronomers along the path of totality, caught a comet approaching the Sun.

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.

Comet ATLAS (C/2019 L3)

Celestial Objects to Observe

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.

Conflagration, Expansion and Fade

Celestial News & Events

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

Solar System

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.

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Celestial News & Events

Comet Watch 2021

If you own an 8-inch or larger telescope you might see more than a dozen new and returning comets this year, including one potential naked-eye candidate.

ATLAS with a tail

Comets

Comets Crawl through the Skies at Dawn and Dusk

Comets have been scarce since NEOWISE departed the scene. Not anymore. Suddenly, there are four fresh faces visible from dusk til dawn.

Comet NEOWISE

Explore the Night with Bob King

Comet NEOWISE Delights at Dawn

Skywatchers are treated to a naked-eye comet as NEOWISE emerges into the the dawn sky.

Comets

New Comet Alert! Quartet of Comets Grace Our Skies

There's a lot happening in the northern sky these days, namely lots of comets! Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) is still worth watching, but look for the new Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) and Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y1). And you can still catch a glimpse of our old friend, Comet PanSTARRS (C/2017 T2).

Comet ISON

Astrophotography: Tips & Techniques

Astrophotography: Catching Comets

Photographing comets presents unique challenges to your astrophotography routine. A few straightforward techniques can help.

Comet PanSTARRS blooms

Celestial News & Events

Comets to Catch in 2020

Here's the lowdown on which comets will brighten our skies in 2020.

Comet Africano in full glory

Explore the Night with Bob King

Autumn Comets, Mira's Eye & The Orionid Meteor Shower

Four comets, a famous variable star, and sprinkles of dust from Halley's Comet are highlights of the October sky.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Comets to Catch in 2019

We peek ahead to see what comets await in 2019. Bright ones will be sparse, but several nice objects, including Comet Iwamoto (C/2018 Y1) and Comet Africano (C/2018 W2), will keep things lively.

Space Missions

Future Planetary Probes Can Learn from Cassini

An unusual water composition at Saturn’s moon Phoebe means that future spacecraft will have to be on the lookout for different water ratios than we are used to on Earth.

One explosion begets another

Celestial News & Events

Fireworks, Planets, Comets, a Nova — July's Got it All!

July's a busy month for skywatching. Not only are five bright planets in view, but three comets and a newly-discovered nova are also observable. And it all starts with a bang on Independence Day.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Catch these Comets in 2018

We look ahead to see what fuzzy visitors, new and returning, will brighten the nights ahead. One and possibly two naked-eye comets are on the way.

Zwicky Transient Facility first light image in Orion

Professional Telescopes

Sky-sweeping Telescope Sees First Light

The Zwicky Transient Facility has taken its first image, covering an area equivalent to 247 full Moons in a single shot. This beginning is part of an ongoing sea change in astronomy.

Regulus removed

Explore the Night with Bob King

Busy Skies Ahead: Comets, a Supernova, and a Dramatic Regulus Occultation

What's your pleasure when it comes to observing? Comets? Supernovae? Occultations? Get a sample of each and more in the upcoming week.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Watch Comet Johnson Sprint Through Boötes

Another binocular comet? You better believe it. Comet Johnson takes center stage at nightfall this month and next.