Comet R3 PanSTARRS over a Himalayan ValleyThe best way to see comet R3 PanSTARRS’s long tail is with a camera. This week, the recently brightened comet appears in northern skies to the east just before dawn, but is only barely visible to the unaided eye. The many-degree ion tail captured on long duration camera exposures is not unusual for a c…Read More

Eye on the Milky WayHave you ever had stars in your eyes? It appears that the eye on the left does, and moreover, it appears to be gazing at even more stars. The featured 27-frame mosaic was taken in 2019 from Ojas de Salar in the Atacama Desert of Chile. The eye is actually a small lagoon captured reflecting the dark night sky as the Milky Way…Read More

PanSTARRS and PlanetsNear the eastern horizon before sunrise, Comet C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS is getting brighter. Readily visible in binoculars and small telescopes, the comet may be just on the verge of naked-eye visibility from dark sky sites. Though it was not quite apparent to the eye, PanSTARRS is still easy to spot in this camera image taken on…Read More

M82: Starburst Galaxy with a SuperwindMessier 82 is a starburst galaxy with a superwind. In fact, through supernova explosions and powerful winds from massive stars, the burst of star formation in M82 is driving a prodigious outflow. Evidence for the superwind from the galaxy’s central regions is clear in the sharp telescopic portrait. The…Read More

South Celestial TreeIf you live in the northern hemisphere, you may have learned how to locate the North Star, Polaris, in the night sky. It can be used to find north, and it approximately marks the northern celestial pole. If you live in the southern hemisphere, there is no bright star marking the southern celestial pole, but the Southern Cross…Read More