Skywatching

Learn about skywatching, astronomy, star gazing, and comets in the night sky at space.com. View astrophotography and images of celestial bodies.

Latest

An image of the spinning orb of blue light moving across an aurora-filled sky in Alaska.

Chinese rocket photobombs aurora with spinning orb of light

By Harry Baker published

A spinning orb of light that slowly moved across the sky in Alaska on March 29 was actually frozen fuel left by a Chinese rocket, according to experts.

Sky chart showing the close conjunction of Mars and Saturn before sunrise on April 4.

See three planets, two stars and the moon share the night sky on April 9

By Samantha Mathewson published

The planets Venus, Mars and Saturn appear close together in the southeast predawn sky, while the moon passes near the bright stars Castor and Pollux on April 9.

Sony 20mm f/1.8 G lens from front

Sony 20mm f/1.8 G lens review

By Ian Evenden published

Review Is the Sony 20mm f/1.8 G lens the best E-mount lens for wide-field astrophotography?

Review
A total solar eclipse photographed from Madras, Oregon, in 2017.​​

We're two years away from the Great North American Solar Eclipse of April 8, 2024!

By Stefanie Waldek published

Book your travel, buy your glasses, and get ready for the show of the decade on April 8, 2024

The Lyrid meteor shower 2022 peaks in late April.

Lyrid meteor shower 2022: When, where & how to see it

By Jesse Emspak, Daisy Dobrijevic published

The Lyrid meteor shower 2022 will peak on the night of April 22, a typical shower displays between five and 20 meteors an hour at the peak.

The Lyrid meteor shower peaks in April and has been observed for more than 2,700 years. Here the Lyrid meteor shower is photographed on top of Hatu Peak, Shimla, India.

Lyrid meteor shower: Leftovers of Comet Thatcher

By Elizabeth Howell published

Reference The Lyrids are a prominent meteor shower that peaks in April. The famous shower caused by Comet Thatcher has been observed for more than 2,700 years.

Reference
Telescopes on Amazon: Image shows amateur astronomer pointing telescope at sky

Telescopes on Amazon: The best deals and discounts available online

By Ruth Gaukrodger published

There are heaps of telescopes on Amazon, many of which are currently discounted.

Returning comets fade even when they don't approach the sun, a new study found.

Comets fade even as deep in space as Saturn's orbit, scientists find

By Elizabeth Howell published

When comets first appear near Earth, their bright tails of ionized gas stun observers, but on every subsequent return, they become dimmer.

Krisztián Sárneczky has been searching for asteroids every clear night since August 2020.

This astronomer turns small Eastern European country into an asteroid-spotting powerhouse

By Tereza Pultarova published

Hungarian astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky has discovered hundreds of asteroids. Now he wants to make his tiny country the second best at spotting unknown space rocks after only the U.S.

Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM ART lens review: image shows Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM ART lens

Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM ART lens review

By Dave Stevenson published

Review The Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM ART lens is utterly affordable, gives superb image quality and is lightweight making this legendary lens a must-consider for astrophotographers.

Review
A comet known as C/2021 O3 (Pan-STARRS) may be visible in the night sky in April 2022.

Recently discovered Comet Pan-STARRS could be visible in April's night sky (maybe)

By Joe Rao published

Recently discovered comet Pan-STARRS is heading towards the sun in late April, but will we be able to see it?

This NASA sky map shows the location of Venus, Mars and Saturn in the night sky April 4, 2022.

See Venus, Saturn and Mars shine close before sunrise this week

By Elizabeth Howell published

Venus, Saturn and Mars will be visible and very close together this week in the predawn sky. Here's how to see it.

The predawn sky in April 2022 brings a dance of morning planets as Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn are all visible before sunrise.

April's sky brings dance of 4 morning planets: See Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

By Joe Rao published

As the planets rise in April we're given stunning views, if you know where to look.

The fireball created by the dead Russian satellite Kosmos-2551 re-entering Earth’s atmosphere on Oct. 20, 2021, captured by Brian Stalsonburg from Comstock Park, Michigan.

Loud meteor explosion shakes Indiana with surprise boom

By Josh Dinner published

On Wednesday, March 30, residents in Bloomington, Indiana, and surrounding counties were literally shaken to attention by the sound of an exploding meteor.

An aurora shines above west central Saskatchewan, Canada in this image taken March 30, 2022 by photographer Jenny Hagan.

Stunning northern lights from intense solar storms thrill stargazers (photos)

By Elizabeth Howell published

A series of solar storms aimed at Earth this week have supercharged the Earth's auroras, creating dazzling displays for skywatchers.

This colorized image captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory space telescope shows a powerful solar flare blasting from the sun on March 31, 2022.

The sun let out another flare and the photos are stunning

By Tereza Pultarova published

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured yet another solar flare blasting from the same overactive sunspot that triggered radio blackouts and stunning aurora displays on Earth earlier this week.

Man under night sky with milky way

5 ways to save on a skywatching trip and enjoy the night sky

By Kat Bayly published

Skywatching can get expensive, so here are five ways to save on a skywatching trip.

Auroras are usually visibly above polar regions but during intense geomagnetic storms the spectacle intensifies and can be visible from farther afield.

Sunspot outbursts likely to trigger more radio blackouts and auroras in coming days

By Tereza Pultarova published

The sun is waking up and we are experiencing the effects on Earth as disruptive radio blackouts and stunning aurora displays.

The sun produced an X-class flare on March 30, 2022; this data from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the extreme ultraviolet light of the flare in yellow.

A hyperactive sunspot just hurled a huge X-class solar flare into space

By Elizabeth Howell published

The X-class flare caused a shortwave radio blackout, and it's possible we'll see auroras in the coming days.

Leica binoculars deals

These UK binocular deals at Wex can save you hundreds

By Alexander Cox published

Wex have models from Celstron, Vortex and Leica for a discount with savings ranging from £30 to £295