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Observing guides and astronomy stories to help you enjoy the night sky more deeply — from this month’s sky to naked-eye tips and the science hidden in starlight.
- Sky This Month2026-07-01
The Night Sky in July 2026 — the Summer Triangle and the Milky Way
On July nights the Summer Triangle climbs high overhead while the Milky Way streams along the southern horizon. Here is your guide to the must-see sights in this month's sky.
Read → - Observing Guide2026-06-20
Stargazing with the Naked Eye — 7 Tips for Beginners
No telescope needed. With a dark sky and a few simple tricks, your naked eyes alone can reveal hundreds of stars and the Milky Way. Here are seven tips for beginners.
Read → - Astronomy Basics2026-06-10
How Bright Are Stars? Star Brightness, the Magnitude Scale, and Color Explained
How bright are stars, and how do astronomers rate the magnitude of a star? A clear guide to the brightness of stars scale — from a first-magnitude star to the faintest — plus what a star's color reveals about its temperature.
Read → - Astronomy Basics2026-05-28
The Story of Supernovae — a Star's Glorious End and the Origin of Our Bodies
A supernova is a colossal explosion in which a single star can outshine an entire galaxy. Discover how the glorious death of a massive star scatters the elements that go on to build new stars, new planets, and even our own bodies.
Read → - Astronomy History2026-05-15
Galileo Galilei — the First to Turn a Telescope on the Heavens
Mountains on the Moon, moons around Jupiter, the phases of Venus — with what he saw through his telescope, Galileo shook the age-old belief that "the Earth is the center of the universe." This is the story of the man who opened the door to modern science.
Read → - Astronomy Basics2026-05-02
The Story of the Telescope — from a Single Lens to Space Observatories
From the world's first telescope to Kepler's refractor, Newton's reflector, and on to Hubble and James Webb lofted into space. Let's follow, with diagrams, the path humankind has walked to see the universe ever farther and ever deeper.
Read → - Astronomy Basics2026-04-20
How We Measure the Distance to Stars and the Moon — Parallax and Triangulation
How did people ever work out the distances to the Moon and the stars, which no ruler could ever reach? From the principle of "parallax" you can check with a single finger, to the annual parallax used to measure the distance to stars and the equation behind it — explained here with diagrams.
Read → - Astronomy Basics2026-04-08
The Story of Eclipses — the Days the Sun and Moon Hide
The Sun vanishing at midday, a full Moon staining blood-red — these are among the sky's most mysterious events. Why do solar and lunar eclipses happen, and why not every month? Let's follow the geometry of the shadows cast by the Sun, Earth, and Moon.
Read → - Astronomy Basics2026-03-25
The Color and Temperature of Stars — Starlight Is a Thermometer
Some stars are red, others blue. A star's color is not mere appearance but an accurate thermometer that tells its surface temperature. This is the story of color and temperature, and of the spectral types used to classify the stars.
Read → - Astronomy Basics2026-03-10
The Story of Black Holes — Stephen Hawking and the Star That Swallows Light
A black hole is an abyss of the cosmos from which not even light can escape. What makes a black hole, and how did we confirm they exist? This is that story — including how Stephen Hawking revealed that "even black holes shine."
Read → - Astronomy Basics2026-02-25
The Universe in Numbers — Astronomical Units and Key Figures
Just how far are a light-year and an astronomical unit (AU)? Here we gather in one place the sizes, masses, speeds, and temperatures of the Earth, Sun, Moon, and our Milky Way — the reference numbers for talking about the cosmos.
Read → - Observing Guide2026-02-10
A Guide to the Spring Constellations — Following the Great Curve into a Sea of Galaxies
Starting from the Big Dipper, follow the Spring Curve and the Spring Triangle and Leo, Boötes, and Virgo unfold in turn. Here is your guide to the quiet spring sky that opens up once winter's brilliance withdraws — and to the sea of galaxies beyond it.
Read → - Observing Guide2026-02-12
A Guide to the Summer Constellations — Nights When the Milky Way Flows
From the Summer Triangle overhead to Scorpius and Sagittarius on the southern horizon, summer is the season when the Milky Way streams across the sky. Here is your journey through the summer sky — finding the stars of the Herdsman and the Weaver Girl and gazing into the heart of our galaxy.
Read → - Observing Guide2026-02-14
A Guide to the Autumn Constellations — The Great Square and the Tale of Andromeda
Using the Great Square of Pegasus as your landmark, star-hop all the way to the Andromeda Galaxy, the most distant object visible to the naked eye. This is a journey through the autumn sky, where Cassiopeia and Perseus meet the myth of a royal family hung together among the stars.
Read → - Observing Guide2026-02-16
A Guide to the Winter Constellations — Orion and the Jewels of the Night Sky
At the heart of the most brilliant sky of the year — winter — stands Orion. Using Orion as your reference, trace the Winter Triangle and the Winter Hexagon, and enjoy the Orion Nebula and the Pleiades with the naked eye on this journey through the winter sky.
Read → - Observing Guide2026-08-05
Starting with Binoculars — How to Choose Your First Gear
Before a telescope, reach for binoculars. Portable and wide-viewed, they're the best first instrument for beginners — here's how to choose and use a pair.
Read → - Observing Guide2026-08-15
The Annual Meteor Shower Calendar — A Year of Shooting Stars
From the Quadrantids to the Geminids, here's a rundown of the year's major meteor showers with their peak dates and expected hourly rates (ZHR).
Read → - Observing Guide2026-08-28
Photographing Stars and the Night Sky with a Smartphone
You don't need expensive gear to capture stars, the Milky Way, and the Moon — just a smartphone camera. Here's how to set up Pro mode and shoot the night sky.
Read → - Astronomy Basics2026-09-05
Clusters, Nebulae, and Galaxies — Telling Deep-Sky Objects Apart
Those hazy smudges in the night sky — how do clusters, nebulae, and galaxies actually differ? Here's how to tell deep-sky objects apart, with the story behind the Messier catalog.
Read → - Astronomy Basics2026-09-18
The Chuseok Full Moon and the Sky in the Lunar Calendar
The full moon always seems especially large and bright at Chuseok. Here's how the lunar calendar and Korea's seasonal festivals connect to the night sky, and the story behind the harvest moon.
Read → - Observing Guide2026-09-25
Reading a Star Chart — Right Ascension, Declination, and the Sky Right Now
What do the numbers on a star chart actually mean? Starting from the fact that the sky has its own version of latitude and longitude, here's how a star's coordinates translate into the direction you actually look.
Read → - Observing Guide2026-10-02
Light Pollution and the Bortle Scale — Finding a Dark Sky
Why are there so few stars in the city at night? Here's the Bortle scale that ranks how dark a sky is, plus practical ways to find a darker sky near you.
Read → - Astronomy Basics2026-10-09
The Complete Guide to Moon Phases — From New Moon to Full
Why does the Moon change shape every night? Here are the eight stages from new moon to full moon, and the two different "months" you need to know for planning an observation.
Read → - Astronomy History2026-10-16
Johannes Kepler — The Man Who Uncovered the Laws of Planetary Motion
Kepler overturned a 2,000-year-old belief in perfect circles and showed that planets trace ellipses instead. His three laws remain the foundation of orbital calculations to this day.
Read → - Astronomy History2026-10-23
Edwin Hubble — The Man Who Discovered the Expanding Universe
In an era when astronomers believed our galaxy was the whole universe, Hubble proved Andromeda was a separate galaxy and discovered that the universe itself is expanding. Here's his story, along with the space telescope that carries his name.
Read → - Astronomy Basics2026-10-30
Exoplanets — Finding Worlds Around Other Stars
Are there planets beyond our Solar System? Since the first confirmed discovery in 1995, thousands of exoplanets have been found. Here's how they're detected, and what it would take for one to support life.
Read → - Astronomy Basics2026-11-06
Sunspots and Auroras — How Solar Activity Affects Earth
From dark blemishes on the Sun's surface to auroras painting the night sky — here's how solar activity, rising and falling on an 11-year cycle, affects Earth and our daily lives.
Read → - Astronomy Basics2026-11-13
The Big Bang and the Origin of the Universe
Trace the universe's expansion backward in time and you arrive at a single conclusion: 13.8 billion years ago, everything began in a hot, dense point. Here's the key evidence behind the Big Bang theory.
Read → - Astronomy Basics2026-11-20
Beyond the Solar System — The Voyager Probes and the Golden Record
Launched in 1977, two small probes swept past the giant planets one by one on their way out of the Solar System. Here's the story of the Golden Record carrying humanity's greeting, and the journey that continues to this day.
Read → - Astronomy History2026-11-27
Carl Sagan — The Man Who Told the Story of the Cosmos
Astronomer Carl Sagan translated a complex universe into poetic language anyone could understand. Here's the story behind the documentary "Cosmos" and the "Pale Blue Dot" photograph, and his way of holding science and wonder together.
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