Space, Sky & Earth – Astronomy News

What is a Black Moon, and why do some people get it in November?

Our comet list for 2025 doesn’t contain anything as dramatic as Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. But that could change.

A newly discovered Kreutz sungrazer comet might become bright around the end of October 2024—but the latest indications are not promising.

Saturn and the Moon will meet up in the night sky for a close approach on November 10–11.

We give you 5 steps to up your chances of spotting the rare naked-eye comet.

Although 2024 is not an exceptional year for the Orionids, it is a big year for the comet that produces this particular meteor shower.

This month, the Full Hunter’s Moon will be a Supermoon and the closest Full Moon of the year.

Saturn and the Moon will meet up in the night sky for a close approach on October 14–15.

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS might be visible to the naked eye in the coming weeks.

What time is the 2024 September equinox—and where exactly does the Sun cross the equator?

A solar eclipse across South America coincides with a Micro New Moon—how does this make a crucial difference?

Five reasons why the Full Moon on the night of September 17–18, 2024, will be extra special.

“The most likely remaining eruption date is ‘soon’, any night now.”

This month a special Full Moon will light up our sky. It’s the Sturgeon Moon, but also a Blue Moon. How does that happen?

On August 14, 2024, Jupiter and Mars will appear to almost touch in the sky—an illusion caused by a planetary alignment.

The Northern Hemisphere’s summertime shooting-star display peaks around August 11 to 13.

For the next eight months or so, depending on your latitude, Earth’s twin planet will shine in the west after sunset.

Earth reaches aphelion—its farthest point from the Sun—on July 5, 2024. Aphelion doesn’t cause the seasons, but it does affect their length, along with other complex factors.

As the Northern Hemisphere celebrates the longest day in June, some experience equilux, equal day and night. Spoiler alert: It's not at the equator.

The end of 2024’s shortest lunar month—from May 30 to June 28—coincides with this year’s closest Quarter Moon.

Following a recent run of the shortest days ever recorded by atomic clocks, Earth’s rotational speed may be slowing.

How frequent are eclipses for a particular city—and do some cities get more than others?

A few decades ago, parts of downtown San Antonio were predicted to have half a minute of totality on April 8. But as a result of Earth’s unpredictable rotation, the city center will miss out.

A comet may become visible in the night sky around the time of April’s solar eclipse. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wise to look for it during totality.

When the Sun, Earth, and Moon almost perfectly align on March 25 at 07:00 UTC for a Full Moon, it also coincides with a whole bunch of lunar events.

Are you gearing up to see the total solar eclipse in April? We’ve collected some of the best spots to see totality, and the tools to find your perfect location.

The New Moon of March 2024 will produce this year’s shortest Earth-Moon distance.

Around March 13, the Moon will pair up with Jupiter in the latest of a string of close approaches. The Moon will sweep by again around April 10.

The Moon will take 8 days, 5 hours, and 24 minutes to go from Full on January 25, to Third Quarter on February 2. That’s the longest time between two primary Moon phases this year.

The New Moon on January 11 will also produce the biggest solar eclipse ‘miss’ of 2024.

The Geminid Meteor Shower 2023 peaks just after a New Moon, making the skies perfectly dark for a shooting star show.

Find out why this ‘Half Moon’ is more than 50% illuminated. Plus, we share some lesser-known Moon dates for 2024, from the closest Moon, to the shortest lunar month.

On October 28, rugby fans in Paris may find the action on the field upstaged by a partial lunar eclipse overhead.

See our footage of the famous “ring of fire” forming in the sky as the 2023 annular solar eclipse reaches its peak.

New Braunfels and Seguin in Texas were predicted to be within the path of annularity for the solar eclipse on October 14, 2023. But Earth had other ideas.

On October 14, an annular solar eclipse will sweep across North and South America. The timeanddate team will be on the ground in Roswell, New Mexico, streaming it LIVE to you.

You may have noticed that the Moon rises in quicker succession these days than it usually does. It’s a side effect of the approaching equinox—and one of the reasons why we call the next Full Moon the Harvest Moon.

Venus performs a dazzling 19-month dance as the morning and evening star. But digging into the data reveals more subtle patterns.

There’s a special Full Moon on August 31, 2023: it’s a Super Blue Moon. How rare is this? We’ve crunched the numbers.

This year, the Perseid Meteor Shower peaks on a weekend, and—with an almost New Moon—we are in for a spectacular show.

Last week saw the annual meeting of the European Astronomical Society in Kraków, Poland. timeanddate was there to catch up with old friends, and share our experience of live-streaming eclipses.

Last year, we confirmed an internet meme claiming 99% of the world’s population gets sunlight at the same time on July 8. In fact, this happens on a whole range of dates—but only around a specific time of day.

No matter where we live, we spend about half the year with the Sun above the horizon. But, ignoring clouds, which part of the world gets the most daylight? And which gets the least? The answers might surprise you.

Twice every 19 months, Venus reaches its farthest point from the Sun in the sky. But on June 4, its maximum distance will be slightly less than usual.

During a penumbral lunar eclipse on May 5, 2023, the Moon will pass within about 160 km (100 miles) of Earth’s umbral shadow.

Eclipse enthusiasts around the world just witnessed a rare hybrid solar eclipse that graced the skies above parts of Australia and Asia. Watch the highlights from our live stream.

When is it, where does it happen, and how can you watch it? Plus, what makes the April 20 solar eclipse so special?

We’re helping the science community launch a forum for everyone involved in planning and producing live astronomy broadcasts.

With a little over a year to go until a total solar eclipse across North America, timeanddate has been helping local preparations in the city of Mazatlán.

31.5 and 42.6 million people live along the paths of annularity and totality for the 2023 & 2024 solar eclipses across the Americas. But which upcoming eclipse passes over the biggest resident population?

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will make its closest approach to Earth on February 1. It might be possible to spot it with the naked eye.

This Saturday’s New Moon will be the closest New Moon to Earth in a period of 1337 years.

Andrew Fazekas from Astronomers Without Borders picks out five cosmic events to look forward to this year.

Many of us would welcome more daylight on the shortest day of the year. So here’s some good news: the year’s shortest day is becoming longer (but only by a few seconds).

There's a moment each year when almost 9 in 10 people worldwide experience night.

The world may be moving toward getting rid of leap seconds—for at least 100 years.

Our mobile observatory team is preparing to live stream the November 2022 lunar eclipse. Meanwhile, our partners around the world will provide contrasting views of the same event.

Are you planning to see the partial solar eclipse tomorrow? Here’s all you need to know.

Eclipses come within periods known as eclipse seasons. The October–November 2022 season features a partial solar eclipse and a total lunar eclipse.

The next First Quarter Moon will be the closest Quarter Moon this year. Celebrate the Moon on Saturday, October 1, for International Observe the Moon Night.

The September equinox is upon us. But did you know that day and night are equal on a different date? Find out why and when.

We’re collaborating with specialists worldwide to host two sessions focussing on public engagement and the live coverage of celestial events.

The Harvest Moon is on September 10 this year. But the wonderful thing about this Full Moon is that, in the Northern Hemisphere, it can feel like it lasts for a few days.

Stormy weather could delay the launch of NASA’s latest Moon mission on Monday.

With up to 100 shooting stars per hour, the peak of the Perseids is a night to look forward to. Alas, the Full Moon shines bright this year, making it a bit more challenging to see the shooting stars.

Join Astronomers Without Borders from August 1 to 7 to learn more about our home galaxy.

Earth keeps spinning faster—but why? timeanddate checks the latest numbers.

Is it really true that 99% of the world's population see daylight at 11:15 UTC on July 8?

The second Supermoon of 2022—the Super Buck Moon—will grace our skies on July 13. Here are some tips on how to enjoy it.

Everyone can see the Super Strawberry Moon in June! The Strawberry Moon will be close to Earth, making it a Supermoon. Here are some tips on how to see it.

The seven wandering classical planets—including the Moon and the Sun—line up in the sky this month. Find out where and when to spot the planetary alignment.

The timeanddate mobile observatory will be in Roswell, New Mexico, for an annular solar eclipse on October 14, 2023.

Manhattanhenge is when the Sun aligns with the street grid of New York at sunset. Find out dates and locations for 2022.

The time between this month’s Full Moon and Third Quarter Moon will be the shortest period between two primary Moon phases this year.

From moonrise in western North America to a spectacular moonset in Morocco, timeanddate broadcast live pictures from around the world.

A glance behind the scenes as we prepare our LIVE studio—and send our mobile observatory to Morocco for prime-time pictures of the eclipse.

With two weeks to go until a prime-time lunar eclipse, timeanddate asked Dr. Ed Krupp—director of Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles—for his eclipse-watching advice.

Are you involved in astronomy live streams? Join timeanddate at the Europlanet Science Congress in September 2022 to present your work and take part in our discussion.

The next lunar eclipse will be a Sunday-evening spectacular in North America.