Earth is closest to the Sun, the Moon is full, and the Venus-and-Mars pair is widening at dawn.

Saturn is sinking in the west, while Jupiter rises (late) in the east. Spot these planets and more by listening to Sky & Telescope downloadable guided tour of the night sky.

The Grand Canyon Star Party is one of the largest public star parties in the United States.

On June 10th at 18:25 Universal Time the Japanese lunar orbiter Kaguya is ending its two years of science with a final impact experiment. Astronomers are poised to capture the crash.

The recurrent nova U Scorpii leaps from 18th to 8th magnitude in just a few hours about every decade. A new prediction method says it's likely to blow in 2009. Here's where to keep watch.

Take advantage of Saturn's nearly edge-on orientation to see Titan and its shadow crossing Saturn's bright face during April, May, and June.

There are plenty of "Best of 2008" lists out there — but ours exclusively features your efforts!

Thousands of telescopes are given and received as gifts during the holidays. But once you've assembled your new treasure, then what? The editors of Sky & Telescope have created a special section of easy-to-grasp introductory skywatching articles just for you!

Get ready for the total solar eclipse of the century — along with a hard-to-reach annular eclipse and a handful of modest lunar eclipses that take place during the International Year of Astronomy.

Sky & Telescope predicts that 2009's best meteor showers should be the Quadrantids, Orionids, and Geminids — with the added possibility of a spectacular outburst from the Leonids in mid-November.

Anyone who remembers the spectacular displays of Leonid meteors in 1999–2002 would surely love to see them again. Good news! Theorists predict that the Leonids might be back for an encore in mid-November 2009.

This pearly glow is surprisingly easy to see — if you know what to look for.