1–20 of 33 results
Moon nearly first quarter

Celestial Objects to Observe

Getting Started with Your New Telescope

How to start successfully with a new telescope — a guide to what you need to know, how to set it up, and things you can start finding with it in tonight's sky.

Lunar craters for timing

Astronomy and Stargazing Projects

Useful Projects for a Lunar Eclipse

Here’s all you need to know to help us measure the size of Earth’s shadow during the second lunar eclipse of 2022.

Moonrise

Explore the Night with Bob King

Observing the Full Moon: Fringe Benefits

The upcoming Hunter's Moon reminds us of the many ways we can enjoy observing our humble satellite.

NGC 5453 globular cluster

Celestial Objects to Observe

In Heaven with M7, a Portal Into the Deep

M7 in Scorpius is one of the brightest, most beautiful open clusters in the sky. It's also "home" to a half-dozen other delectable deep-sky sights.

Algol

Celestial News & Events

Take a Roller Coaster Ride with Algol, a Fast Eclipsing Binary

How would you like to see a star drop two magnitudes in the time it takes to eat dinner? Easy to do. Just check out one of these fast eclipsing binaries — they'll make your head spin.

The Great Square of Pegasus

Night Sky Sights

Counting Stars in the Great Square

Test the limits of your vision — and the darkness of your sky — by taking a plunge into the Great Square of Pegasus.

Roadmap to a stellar nursery

Deep Sky

Wallow a While in the Lagoon Nebula

We take a dip in one of summer's finest nebulae and explore everything from spooky Bok globules to the tornadic Hourglass Nebula. Don't forget your snorkel, er, telescope! Sometimes a single deep-sky object becomes your whole universe. So it was for me when I took several deep wades in the…

Astronomy and Stargazing Projects

Hunting Bright Variable Stars in M5 and M13

Globular clusters are packed with variable stars, some of which are easy to see and follow in amateur telescopes. We explore M5 and M13, two of the season's finest.

Astronomy and Stargazing Projects

Double Date with a Dragon

For your enjoyment, a diverse selection of double stars in Draco for small and medium telescopes.

Astronomy and Stargazing Projects

Shadow Play — Summertime Dark Nebulae for Binoculars

Using only binoculars, we explore a host of inky dust clouds, the dark nebulae that smudge the Milky Way on late summer nights.

Astronomy and Stargazing Projects

The Eyes Have it — Deep-Sky Observing Without Equipment

No telescope? No problem. Just use your eyeballs! On a dark summer night at least two dozen deep-sky objects can be seen without optical aid.

Astronomy and Stargazing Projects

What Southern Stargazers Long to See in Northern Skies

Southern Hemisphere objects like Omega Centauri and the Magellanic Clouds make Northern Hemisphere observers envious. Today, we turn the tables and find out what those living in negative latitudes would love to see up north.

Pointy Planet

Astronomy and Stargazing Projects

See an Ultrathin Venus Crescent

With Venus approaching inferior conjunction, don't miss the chance to see one of the thinnest Venus crescents of your life.

Orion StarBlast 4.5 in a library

Astronomy and Society

"Library Telescope" Program Takes Off

From humble beginnings in 2008, a simple idea — equipping libraries with loaner telescopes — has caught on across the United States.

Peewee and Papa

Explore the Night with Bob King

Hunting White Dwarfs, the Night's Stellar Peewees

Take a trip down the rabbit hole to the weird and weighty world of planet-sized white dwarf stars.

Natural Artistry

Astronomy and Stargazing Projects

Hunting Giant Planetary Nebulae

Mind your elders the next clear night and pay a visit to some of Spring's biggest and most ancient planetary nebulae.

Global Astronomy Month logo

Astronomy and Society

Celebrate Global Astronomy Month

Join the world’s largest celebration of astronomy — in person or via online webcasts of events — throughout April.

Canyonlands National Park at night

Astronomy and Stargazing Projects

Help Keep Our Skies Dark — Join IDA Today

It's high time that we amateur astronomers got serious about protecting the night sky from light pollution.

Dumbbell Nebula

Stargazer's Corner: Adventures Under the Night Sky

Managing Your Deep-Sky References

Amateur astronomer Phillip Kane gives some advice on organizing "your" observing experts to assist you at the eyepiece.

Pro-Am Collaboration

Rosetta's Comet Campaign Wants YOU!

Participate in a world-wide campaign to observe and photograph Comet 67P/C-G as it approaches and recedes from the Sun with Rosetta in tow. Your observations matter.