Stargazing

A Voyager 1 image of Saturn, its rings, and 2 moons

Saturn’s Rings Are Ghosting Us This Weekend

A rare alignment between Earth and Saturn will make the gas giant’s rings appear so thin that they’ll be nearly invisible.

Space & Spaceflight Ellyn Lapointe Nov 21

You Need to See This Bright New Comet Shine in the Night Sky This Month Before It Disappears for 1,000 Years

Conditions are near-perfect to spot this celestial visitor, which won't appear again in our night sky for another millennium.

Space & Spaceflight Gayoung Lee Oct 13

Heads Up: The Brightest Comet of the Year May Light Up the Sky This Week

Set your eyes on the night sky this week and you may catch a glimpse of the New Year comet.

Space & Spaceflight Isaac Schultz Jan 13

An image of a meteor cross the sky during the Perseid shower.

Triple Meteor Showers Set to Dazzle the Night Sky Over the Next Two Weeks

It’s an amazing time of year to be a stargazer as the night skies are about to light up with three different meteor showers over a two-week period.

Space & Spaceflight Adam Kovac Jul 29

Fireball Lights Up the Skies Over St. Louis During Northern Taurid Meteor Shower

Make a wish: Cameras in St. Louis, Missouri caught what appeared to be a meteor falling from the skies on Monday night, KSDL and KMOV reported. Both stations reported that local residents saw a flash of light and loud noise at about 8:55 p.m. local time (9:55 p.m. ET). Twitter user David Vergel posted footage…

Space & Spaceflight Tom McKay Nov 11

This Spectacular Stargazing Video Makes Me Want to Move Far Away From Big City Lights

Sure, the restaurants are great, and you’ve probably got a decent sports team to root for. But the bright lights of a big city mean that at night you can rarely see more than a few stars in the sky, and these stunning timelapses of the galaxy overhead will make you realize the spectacular show…

Sploid Andrew Liszewski Jan 3

Mars Expected to Reach Closest Distance to Earth In Over a Decade

Our red planetary neighbor will soon be even closer and brighter as Mars is set to be in opposition, which will put it at its closest distance from the Earth since 2005. https://gizmodo.com/new-mars-portrait-reveals-strange-changes-to-the-planet-1777631400 According to NASA, on Sunday (May 22), Mars will be in opposition, meaning the Sun and Mars will be on opposite sides…

Tech News Carli Velocci May 21

All Five Naked-Eye Planets Are Up at Dawn to Greet You

Are you awake before dawn? Good. Go outside. Look east. Bask in the astronomical wonder of seeing all the brightest planets out at the same time, pinpricks of worlds drifting up from the horizon. Missed it? Try again any morning for the next month. Starting this morning, all five planets bright enough to see with…

Space & Spaceflight Mika McKinnon Jan 20

Tour the Orion Nebula in This Gorgeous Image

The Orion Nebula has taught astronomers a great deal about how stars are born and how planetary systems form. Officially called M42, and also known (with a bit more pomp) as the Great Nebula in Orion, it’s a busy area of star formation, where huge clouds of interstellar gas are condensing and igniting into brilliant…

Space & Spaceflight Kiona Smith-Strickland Nov 8

Nova in Sagittarius Is Brighter Than Ever – Catch It With The Naked Eye!

Great news about that new nova in Sagittarius. It’s still climbing in brightness and now ranks as the brightest nova seen from mid-northern latitudes in nearly two years. Nova Sagittarii 2015 No. 2 in the Sagittarius “Teapot”was easily visible with the naked eye at magnitude +4.4 when this photo was taken today March 21. The…

io9 Bob King - Universe Today Mar 21

Here’s How To Watch The Leonids Meteor Shower Tonight

The Leonids meteor shower will peak soon in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. For best viewing, dress warmly, head out after midnight, and lay back watching the sky directly overhead. Failing that, you can always watch these space agency livestreams from the comfort of your home. Top image: An apparent fireball seen November 17,…

Tech News Mika McKinnon Nov 17

Here’s a Chart to Help You Identify That Strange Light in the Sky

With ever-brighter skies reducing our ability to stargaze, and ever more bright objects soaring over-head, it’s increasingly complicated to identify just what is that awesome thing you’re looking at. The League of Lost Causes understands your pain. To solve it, they’ve produced this handy identification flowchart. Image credit: HK/The League of Lost Causes Although I…

Tech News Mika McKinnon Jun 9

You’ve Been Looking At The Grand Canyon Wrong

It’s tempting, when one visits Grand Canyon National Park, to focus attention on the mammoth hole in the ground (both for safety and for gawking purposes). This timelapse, though, makes a pretty good argument in favor of looking up. The timelapse is the work of Gavin Heffernan (a.k.a. Sunchaser Pictures). The shots were taken at…

io9 Ria Misra May 13

Summer 2014 Museum Guide: Get Out And Do Science!

The summer is approaching, and it’s a perfect time for a road trip. So we’ve compiled a list of “must see” science events and museum exhibits, aroudn the globe. Plus some specialty museums that are awesome in their own right. Get ready for a packed summer! Summer Stargazing Canada Science & Technology Museum This museum…

io9 Meredith Woerner Apr 30

This week in space

The ESA is taking applications for science experiments to run on the ISS. Submission deadline 23 May 2014. Vintage space suits are going up for auction, one in US shiny silver, and one in Soviet olive (although it looks more yellow in the photographs). Space exploration has been privately funded in the United States for…

Tech News Mika McKinnon Mar 16

The Loneliness of the Long-Abandoned Space Observatory

Space observatories are among some of the most magnificent buildings devoted entirely to science — because their windows look out on the universe. And their distinctive shape makes them into poignant ruins. Here are some observatories whose views onto space have been lost to time. Cointe Observatory, Liège, Belgium, designed by Lambert Noppius and built…

io9 Vincze Miklós Dec 9

The Bright Lights of Border Control Scare the Astronomers’ Stars Away

There’s a reason you can’t see stars in the city—lights. Lights everywhere! They drown the sky’s bounty out, and apparently it’s even affecting Arizona astronomers, who are unfortunately situated right by the border…and the border patrol’s spotlights. Border-jumpers and smugglers targeted by border patrol’s bright helicopter lights are actually ruining the chances of the state’s…

Space & Spaceflight Kat Hannaford May 20

The tiny island of Sark is a window back to the Middle Ages – and that’s good for science

Sark is a tiny, car-free island in the English Channel that didn’t fully get rid of feudalism until 2008. Its nights are so reliably dark that it’s just been named the world’s first “dark sky island”, making the island one giant observatory for looking up at the night sky without any light pollution to get…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Feb 3

Astronomers Send Robots to Stargaze in Very Worst Place on Earth for Humans

Astronomers are rejoicing that they’ve found the best place on earth for astronomical observation. The only problem? It also happens to be the “very worst place on the surface of the planet for humans.” Whoops. Send in the Robots. Dubbed Ridge A, this magical spot in Antarctica provides such a clear view of the heavens…

Tech News Rosa Golijan Aug 31

Venus and Jupiter Glow Like Eyes Next to the Mouth of the Moon

Last week, we told you about an unusual stargazing experience created by Venus and Jupiter coming into close proximity to the Moon. Here’s what it looked like over Mumbai, India. Image via AP. https://gizmodo.com/the-universe-literally-smiles-on-australia-5100064

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 9

Stargazing

Saturn’s Rings Are Ghosting Us This Weekend

You Need to See This Bright New Comet Shine in the Night Sky This Month Before It Disappears for 1,000 Years

Heads Up: The Brightest Comet of the Year May Light Up the Sky This Week

Triple Meteor Showers Set to Dazzle the Night Sky Over the Next Two Weeks

Fireball Lights Up the Skies Over St. Louis During Northern Taurid Meteor Shower

This Spectacular Stargazing Video Makes Me Want to Move Far Away From Big City Lights

Mars Expected to Reach Closest Distance to Earth In Over a Decade

All Five Naked-Eye Planets Are Up at Dawn to Greet You

Tour the Orion Nebula in This Gorgeous Image

Nova in Sagittarius Is Brighter Than Ever – Catch It With The Naked Eye!

Here’s How To Watch The Leonids Meteor Shower Tonight

Here’s a Chart to Help You Identify That Strange Light in the Sky

You’ve Been Looking At The Grand Canyon Wrong

Summer 2014 Museum Guide: Get Out And Do Science!

This week in space

The Loneliness of the Long-Abandoned Space Observatory

The Bright Lights of Border Control Scare the Astronomers’ Stars Away

The tiny island of Sark is a window back to the Middle Ages – and that’s good for science

Astronomers Send Robots to Stargaze in Very Worst Place on Earth for Humans

Venus and Jupiter Glow Like Eyes Next to the Mouth of the Moon

Google TV Streamer 4K Returns to a Record Low, Standing Out in Amazon’s Streaming Device Deals as Stock Runs Low

Return to ‘Tron: Legacy’ With Hasbro’s Electric New Action Figures (Exclusive)

These 1970s Predictions for Inflation in 2026 Show Things Could Be a Lot Worse

Bring Your Artemis II and ‘Project Hail Mary’ Excitement Back Down to Earth With this LEGO Technic Set of the the Sun, Earth, and Moon, Now at All-Time Low

Artemis 2 Day 10: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

Maul’s Lightsabers in ‘Shadow Lord’ Are Powered by Sam Witwer’s Screams

ASUS ROG Xbox Ally Hits Its Lowest Price on Amazon, Now Bundled With 3 Months of Xbox Game Pass as Stock Runs Low

Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 1) Quietly Drops to Black Friday Pricing for the First Time This Year, Now a More Affordable AI Smart Glasses Pick

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

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