Joe Rao

As the "evening star" Venus begins to retreat from the evening sky, the tiny planet Mercury prepares to put on a show.

During the next couple of weeks we'll have a chance of seeing a new comet as it sweeps past the sun — that is, if the comet doesn't fizzle first.

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks overnight tonight (May 4), with the best views arriving before dawn on Tuesday (May 5).

The 2020 Lyrid meteor shower this week coincides with the new moon, meaning that there will be absolutely no lunar interference with getting a good view of these celestial streakers.

Comet ATLAS, which was predicted to be the first bright naked-eye comet in a decade, turned out to be a flop. Now another newly discovered comet is poised to steal the spotlight.

The predawn hours this week will sparkle as Jupiter, Saturn and Mars dance around the moon on consecutive mornings.

The Great North American Solar Eclipse is coming.

On Tuesday (April 7), the moon will arrive at its closest point to Earth in 2020 a few hours before becoming full. This "supermoon" will be the biggest of the year — but you may not see a difference.

Already visible in telescopes and high-power binoculars, the comet may be bright enough to see with the naked eye by the end of April.

How to see the rare zodiacal light, the faint ghostly glow that appears when sunlight reflects off interplanetary debris likely left over from the formation of our solar system.

It will pass by the Pleiades star cluster before slimming to a thin crescent by the end of the month.

Visible above the southwest horizon in the early evenings, the constellation of Gemini, the twins is rich with celestial sights. Here's the story behind the "heavenly twins."

Early risers this month have been treated to an unusual celestial "pas de trois," as the three brightest superior planets have been changing positions relative to each other in the dawn twilight.

For years, amateur astronomers have been waiting for a bright, naked-eye comet to pass by Earth — and finally, such an object may have arrived.

Come March 19, we will have a change of the seasons: the occurrence of the vernal equinox, marking the official start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.

It's a coincidence of the night sky that each season has a characteristic geometric pattern.

This is a good week to check out progress of the planet Mars as it continues toward an unusually close approach to the Earth in early fall.

Tonight (Feb. 27), as darkness is falling, be sure to look toward the west-southwest sky to spot another beautiful celestial tableau formed by a lovely crescent moon and the brilliant planet Venus.

The constellation of Canis Major is visible in the winter sky this month.

As the waning crescent moon rises in the small hours of the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 18, skywatchers will be preparing for an unusual event.

The Dipper is more than just a bright and familiar star pattern. It's a compass, a clock, a calendar and a ruler all rolled into one!

Mercury is often cited as the most difficult of the naked-eye planets to see due its proximity to the sun, but there are times during the year when Mercury can be surprisingly easy to spot.

The potential (but unlikely) collision of two old satellites will be visible in the eastern U.S. today (Jan. 29) at at 6:39 p.m. EST. Here's how to see it.

Auriga is one of those star patterns whose exact origin is a hopeless mix of antique conceptions.

Christened for months as "The Comet of the Century," Comet Kohoutek never came remotely close to living up to expectations.