Sky Watching Guide

Comet Nishimura, as imaged on September 7. On Tuesday, the comet will pass within 78 million miles of Earth, the closest it will get for more than 400 years.

Newly Discovered Green Comet Is Passing By Earth This Week

Comet Nishimura, which appears only once every 435 years, is on track to approach the sun and shoot into deep space

A supermoon rises in Washington, D.C., on March 9, 2020.

How Rare Is the 'Super Blue Moon' Appearing in Skies Later This Week?

And why do they even call it a "blue moon" when it won't actually be that color?

A meteor streaks across the sky during the 2016 Perseid meteor shower in Spruce Knob, West Virginia.

How to Watch the Highly Anticipated Perseid Meteor Shower

This weekend, sky conditions will be almost perfect to catch a glimpse of shooting stars during one of the year's best celestial shows

Southern Delta Aquariids meteors and the Milky Way above Mount St. Helens

How to Watch the Striking Southern Delta Aquariids Meteor Shower

The spectacle is among several showers brightening skies this week, including the highly anticipated Perseids

The northern lights as seen through a layer of wildfire smoke in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, in September 2022.

Aurora Borealis Could Dazzle the Northern U.S. This Week

The current forecast from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, says the glowing display could be visible as far as Madison, Wisconsin

Aurora borealis captured in northern Minnesota on April 23.

Widespread Auroras That Lit Skies This Week Are Getting More Common

The stunning colors that dazzled viewers on Sunday will appear again as the sun's activity builds to a peak in 2025

The hybrid eclipse will appear to viewers as a total solar eclipse, annular solar eclipse or partial solar eclipse depending on their vantage point.

How to Watch the Rare Hybrid Solar Eclipse From Your Home

This spectacle in the South Pacific will be visible in online livestreams on Wednesday. It is the last hybrid solar eclipse until 2031

It is expected that about 18 meteors per hour will light up the sky at the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower this year.

How to Watch the Spectacular Lyrid Meteor Shower

One of the oldest recorded annual showers, the Lyrids will peak on April 22

The total solar eclipse of 2017 as seen from Monmouth, Oregon

Everything You Need to Know About the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse

A veteran eclipse chaser explains how to get ready for one of the planet’s biggest celestial events

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) viewed through a telescope on December 24, 2022. It will reach its nearest point to Earth in early February.

Catch a Glimpse of a Rare Green Comet This Month

Skywatchers should be able to spot the once-in-a-lifetime spectacle with binoculars

In this composite image from the Geminid meteor shower in 2014, more than 100 meteors can be seen.

How to Watch the Radiant Geminid Meteor Shower

The spectacle, often one of the best showers of the year, will peak December 13 to 14

Stargazers watch Comet Neowise shoot across the sky on July 19, 2020 outside of Los Angeles, California.

Ten Dazzling Celestial Events to See in 2022

Stargazers in North America can look forward to meteor showers, lunar eclipses and a stunning multi-planet lineup this year

People lie on the ground to view the Perseid meteor shower in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado at an astronomy night event on August 12, 2018.

How to Watch the Perseid Meteor Shower

Known for its 'fireball' meteors, the Perseid shower began on July 14 and will peak in mid-August

A Perseid meteor burns up against the night sky over Big Bend National Park.

Ten Celestial Events to Look Forward to in 2021

Eclipses, meteor showers and dazzling views of planets will excite amateur and professional astronomers alike in North America

2020 is shaping up to be a great year for sky watching.

Ten Celestial Events You Don't Want to Miss in 2020

Whether you are a telescope enthusiast or just want to step outside to enjoy the night sky, these are the phenomena to look out for this year

Nevada Has a Massive New Dark Sky Sanctuary

The night skies at 100,000-acre Massacre Ridge are some of the starriest in the world

A STEVE lights up the night over British Columbia.

STEVE the Purple Beam of Light Is Not An Aurora After All

In a second study of mysterious phenomena, researchers discovered that solar particles hitting the ionosphere do not power the violet, vertical streaks

A view of the Perseid meteor shower over Northern Ireland in 2017.

Why This Year's Perseid Meteor Shower Promises to Be Especially Dazzling

Thanks to the moon’s conspicuous absence, those looking up at peak viewing hours will see 60-70 shooting stars every hour

Noctilucent clouds.

Climate Change Is Responsible for These Rare High-Latitude Clouds

A study shows that methane emissions are responsible for the increase of noctilucent clouds, which glow eerily at night

How to Catch a Glimpse of This Weekend's Lyrid Meteor Shower

Conditions are expected to be favorable, and experts say the shower might produce as many as 18 meteors every hour

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