We just posted the December Sky Talk on our blog: “A Lunar Eclipse, Meteor Shower & Christmas Star!”

We just posted the November issue of Sky Talk on our blog: Jupiter (and Its Belt) Returns!

We just posted the October issue of Sky Talk on our blog: A Meteor Shower & Two Planets. Enjoy!

We’ve discussed all five of the bright naked-eye planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) in this column frequently over the years but never the outer ones due to their remoteness and dimness. However, this month we go deep into the solar system to find Uranus. Seeing it for the first time is guaranteed to …

New York City’s famed “Great White Way” is not the only thoroughfare to be so named. There’s a far richer and vaster one visible from anywhere on the planet — and it’s found in the Summer sky! We’re referring to the Milky Way, the grand thoroughfare of our home Galaxy. And August is one of …

July offers the final opportunity this year to view the magnificent ringed planet Saturn while still well-placed above the southwestern horizon. And thanks to a famous technique using the Big Dipper as a guide to constellation identification, it’s easier than ever to identify! Plus there’s an added bonus: while a telescope is needed to see …

Although it’s the most readily visible (aside from the Sun itself) and nearest to us of all celestial bodies, the Moon poses puzzling questions to many people — especially those new to the hobby of skywatching. Here are some of the most often asked ones. Q: Why is the First Quarter Moon as shown on …

Those of you who don’t mind rising early in the morning will have a special treat this month as you look toward the eastern sky before dawn. There you’ll find a grouping of four of the major planets — and a spectacular close approach of the two brightest ones! For a week or so around …

Many books and articles have been written over the years extolling the pleasures of stargazing using binoculars, all based on the premise that “two eyes are better than one.” And indeed they are! Every major class of celestial wonder from the Moon and planets to star clusters, nebulae and galaxies lie within reach of even …

Many skywatchers have never seen the elusive innermost planet Mercury due to its rapid orbital motion and the fact that it never strays far from the Sun. (This includes lots of professional astronomers as well!) March offers a great opportunity to spot it at one of its periodic elongations. During the second half of this …