Latest articles by Brandon Specktor
Best monocular 2024: Spot the top models on the market
Buying Guide The best monocular devices on the market offer a lightweight alternative to binoculars. Try using one this month to view a rare comet, or get a better view of Mars.
Best cameras for photos and videos 2024: From beginner to pro models
Buying Guide We've rounded up the best cameras for photos and videos. Research ahead of Black Friday and use one this month to capture the Northern Lights or the Taurid meteor shower.
Best budget binoculars 2024: Affordable, high-quality models
Buying Guide We've rounded up the best budget binoculars, combining affordability with good quality optics and fantastic views.
Best binoculars for kids 2024: Small and lightweight binos for younger users
Buying Guide The best binoculars for kids provide closer views and are designed to be convenient for smaller hands and faces.
Best compact binoculars 2024: Lightweight, travel-friendly models
Buying Guide We've rounded up the best compact binoculars, taking into account their build quality, visuals, and how compact they are.
Best night vision binoculars 2024: Our top picks to see in the dark
Buying Guide The best night vision binoculars allow you to spot nocturnal wildlife or enjoy views of the night sky. They may even help you spot the elusive 'blaze star' this fall.
Best telescopes for deep space 2024
Buying Guide Here are the best telescopes for deep space — gaze far into the night sky and see star clusters and rare objects like the elusive 'blaze star.' Be prepared for the Black Friday sales.
Best telescopes for kids 2024: Top picks for young budding skywatchers
Buying Guide The best telescopes for kids are accessible for beginners and easy to use. They make great Christmas gifts too, and you could get a great deal on Black Friday.
Best telescopes 2024: Observe stars, galaxies, nebulas, planets and more this winter
Buying Guide Here are the best telescopes for a range of different purposes and budgets — beginner to smart telescopes and everything in between. Keep your eyes peeled for Black Friday weekend deals.
Best eyepieces for telescopes 2024: A crucial telescope accessory to invest in
Buying Guide The best eyepieces for telescopes can transform your skywatching experience, allowing you to get closer to the planets, comets, and stars.
Best smart telescopes in 2024: Observe the cosmos at the press of a button
Buying Guide Get the the best smart telescopes for less thanks to early Black Friday deals from the likes of Celestron and Skywatcher.
Can you see Earth's new 'mini-moon' with the naked eye?
On Sunday, Sept. 29, Earth captured a new "mini-moon" called 2024 PT5. The bus-size asteroid is expected to orbit our planet for 57 days, but is too small to be visible to amateur skywatchers.
Boeing Starliner astronauts will spend at least 240 days stuck in space — is that a new record?
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams will spend at least eight consecutive months aboard the International Space Station as their Boeing Starliner spacecraft returns to Earth empty. Is their extended spaceflight record-setting?
Perseid meteor shower rains 'shooting stars' over Stonehenge in glorious astrophotography image
A UK-based astrophotographer captured this stunning composite image of the Perseid meteor shower raining "shooting stars" over Stonehenge.
Researchers want to build 'streetlights' on the moon — and they'd be taller than the Statue of Liberty
A private company has received funding from the U.S. government to build the first-ever "streetlights" on the moon — towering, Statue of Liberty-sized structures that could withstand the brutal lunar night.
Why I watched the solar eclipse with my kids, a goose and 2,000 trees
The total solar eclipse on April 8 plunged Syracuse, New York's Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology into darkness for 90 seconds, creating a wondrous and memorable totality.
James Webb Space Telescope discovers 'Cosmic Vine' of 20 connected galaxies in the early universe
The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered a massive chain of 20 galaxies in the early universe, raising questions about the formation of the largest structures in the cosmos.
'Planet killer' asteroids are hiding in the sun's glare. Can we stop them in time?
In the glare of the sun, an unknown number of near-Earth asteroids move on unseen orbits. A new generation of space telescopes could be our best defense against potential disaster.
Ultra-powerful plasma 'blades' could slice entire stars in half, new paper suggests
Stars could be sliced in half by "relativistic blades," or ultra-powerful outflows of plasma shaped by extremely strong magnetic fields, an unpublished paper claims.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe smashes record for fastest human-made object
NASA's Parker Solar Probe has reached a record-breaking speed as it gets a gravitational assist from Venus to fall closer to the sun's scorching surface.
Astronomers want you to watch the Oct. 14 'ring of fire' eclipse with a disco ball. No, seriously.
You can't stare at the sun, so how do you watch an eclipse? By reflecting it off of a disco ball, a team of astronomers suggests.
Asteroid hit by NASA's DART spacecraft is behaving unexpectedly, high school class discovers
Asteroid Dimorphos, which NASA intentionally hit with a rocket during its DART mission in September 2022, is behaving in unpredicted ways.
Photographer captures rare 'gigantic jets' of upside-down lightning blasting out of Atlantic hurricane
Gigantic jets, which are 50 times more powerful than typical lightning bolts and can reach the edge of space, were seen erupting out of Hurricane Franklin near Puerto Rico.
