February 2016 starts with the conjunction between the Moon and Mars. The pair will be located in the constellation Libra and visible to the naked eye or through a pair of binoculars on February 1. The best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies…
The Quadrantid meteor shower will reach its peak activity, with about 80 meteors per hour (ZHR), on the night of January 3 and the early morning hours of January 4, 2015. A waning crescent moon will not interfere much with meteors and any of its fireballs. This…
We start the year with our planet reaching perihelion – closest point to the Sun – which will happen at 22:49 UTC on January 2. At the time, Earth will be 146.6 million km (91 million miles) from the Sun. The first meteor shower of the year – Quadrantids – will…
One of the most popular meteor showers in the night sky and the most impressive meteor shower of the year – Geminid meteor shower – is set to peak between the nighttime on December 13 and the early morning December 14, 2015, producing up to 120 meteors per hour in…
December 2015 will feature three meteor showers: the Geminids, the Puppid-Velids and the Ursids. The Geminid meteor shower is popularly known as the "king of meteor showers". This year, it is expected to produce up to 120 meteors per hour at its peak,…
As we approach the end of the year, it is time to welcome the annual Leonid meteor shower. This shower is associated with the comet Tempel-Tuttle and is considered to be one of the most beautiful meteor showers in existence. This year, the Leonid meteor shower is…
A large fireball was observed over Thailand at 13:56 UTC (20:56 local time) on November 2, 2015 and caputred on numerous dashcams. The Thai Astronomical Society said shortly after the event that it was "expected" to be a meteor. Video credit RT (courtesy…
Out of two meteor showers scheduled for November – Taurids and Leonids – only the second one should offer a good show, with about 15 meteors per hour on November 17/18. All but the brightest Taurids, expected to peak on the night of November 5, will be blocked out…
Every October, stargazers all over the planet look forward to the annual Orionid meteor shower. The Orionids are popular because they are one of the two meteor showers created from the debris field of the extremely popular Halley's comet. The annual Eta Aquarids…
NASA's scientists discovered a new asteroid on October 10, 2015, using the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) mounted on Mount Haleakala, Hawai'i. Asteroid was named 2015 TB145, and is expected to make the closest approach to…
