A ray of light called a sun pillar appears above the setting sun Dec. 30 in Duluth, Minnesota. Pillars form when sunlight reflects off the flat sides of ice crystals suspended in the air parallel to the ground. They reflect the light downward to our eyes like tiny mirrors. (Photo by Bob King)

Astro Bob Dec 31st 2020 - 3pm

Astro Bob: 2020 night-sky superlatives and what's coming in 2021

Was 2020 a terrible year? Not when it came to the night sky. We also peek ahead to see what the new year will bring.

The full moon rises over Lake Superior at Brighton Beach in Duluth, Minn. on Nov. 30, 2020. A full moon shines opposite the sun, rises when the sun sets and shines all night until it set around sunrise the following morning. (Bob King)

Astro Bob Dec 29th 2020 - 12pm

Astro Bob: The Full Cold Moon has no wrinkles

Cooking chocolate bars in the microwave? Why not? It's a simple, homegrown way to find the speed of light. (Bob King)

Astro Bob Dec 28th 2020 - 3pm

Astro Bob: How to calculate the speed of light using your kitchen microwave

On December 21, sample catcher chambers in the Hayabusa2 landing capsule were opened and moved to the collection containers in the photo. Each black fragment is a piece of Ryugu, a potentially hazardous asteroid the orbits the sun near the Earth. The arrow points to a possible piece of aluminum from the sample collector itself that somehow wound up inside the container. 5mm = about one-fifth of an inch. The largest fragments are about 0.4 inch long. (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency — JAXA)

Astro Bob Dec 25th 2020 - 1pm

Astro Bob: Scientists love 'lumps of coal' in their Christmas stockings

I watched Jupiter and Saturn's close conjunction last night (Dec. 21) from a farmer's field and took this photo when a truck drove by. (Bob King)

Astro Bob Dec 22nd 2020 - 6pm

Astro Bob: Not so fast! Jupiter-Saturn delight through Christmas

The sun rises with two sundogs in tow over the ice-encrusted shore of Lake Superior in Duluth. (Bob King)

Astro Bob Dec 20th 2020 - 2pm

Astro Bob: Winter solstice brings hope during the longest night of the year

The Jupiter-Saturn duo flirts with clouds on December 9. Jupiter is the brighter planet. (Bob King)

Astro Bob Dec 16th 2020 - 2pm

Astro Bob: Jupiter and Saturn approach their historic winter solstice Great Conjunction

A bright Geminid meteor streaks across the sky over Duluth, Minn. during the early morning of December 14th. (Bob King)

Astro Bob Dec 15th 2020 - 2pm

Astro Bob: Geminids a hit; December's dark days turn to light

Astro Bob Dec 13th 2020 - 2pm

Astro Bob: Watch the Dec. 14 total solar eclipse from home

A brilliant Geminid fireball meteor flares near Jupiter during the 2012 Geminid meteor shower. Orion is at left. (John Flannery / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Astro Bob Dec 11th 2020 - 8am

Astro Bob: Here come the Geminids! Best meteor shower of year

Humor meets caring in the era of COVID-19. (Rebecca Siegel)

Astro Bob Dec 7th 2020 - 2pm

Astro Bob: Hey, what's so funny? 55+ dubious astronomy jokes

A member of the recovery team transports the Hayabusa-2 sample capsule recovered from the Australian desert to a secure facility on Dec. 6. (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency — JAXA)

Astro Bob Dec 6th 2020 - 3pm

Astro Bob: Asteroid samples successfully arrive on Earth

Taken a couple years ago, this photo shows a "picket fence" of rays associated with STEVE. The short streaks at the base of the rays are the mysterious green "cannonballs," point sources of glowing oxygen that are about 1,100 feet across. They're moving horizontally, the reason they appear as streaks during the time exposure. (Debra Ceravolo)

Astro Bob Dec 1st 2020 - 6pm

Astro Bob: Aurora-like STEVE spins off mysterious spheres of light

Seen here in far ultraviolet (UV) light, a powerful solar flare erupts on Nov. 29 from a new sunspot region located just beyond the sun's edge. The spidery shapes at right are hot gases cycling along magnetic lines of force in two sunspot groups. (NASA / SDO)

Astro Bob Nov 30th 2020 - 2pm

Astro Bob: Solar activity escalates with a major flare and lots of spots

The moon rises in penumbral eclipse over the Duluth Ship Canal on Feb. 10, 2017. Penumbral shading is visible over the left half the lunar disk. (Bob King)

Astro Bob Nov 29th 2020 - 2pm

Astro Bob: How to see the Nov. 30 lunar eclipse

By late November Orion climbs into the southeastern sky during convenient evening viewing hours. (Bob King)

Astro Bob Nov 25th 2020 - 12pm

Astro Bob: Orion — anatomy of a hunter

Bright, orange dust fills the vast canyon system Valles Marineris (Valley of the Mariners) on Nov. 16. More bright dust appears above the canyon while dimmer, blustery dust clouds are visible between the canyon and Mars's south polar cap. (Anthony Wesley)

Astro Bob Nov 23rd 2020 - 2pm

Astro Bob: Rolling dust storm sweeps across Mars

Green pillars of aurora are reflected in the ice of Boulder Lake north of Duluth, Minn. early Sunday morning. (Clint Austin)

Astro Bob Nov 22nd 2020 - 5pm

Astro Bob: Watch for Northern Lights on Sunday, Nov. 22

$Parents and kids observe the moon and Venus through a variety of telescopes at a star party in Duluth, Minn. several years ago. The red scope on the left is a refractor; the one on the right a reflector. (Bob King)$

Astro Bob Nov 19th 2020 - 11am

Astro Bob: Guide to shopping for a telescope

On June 23, 2020, I caught this partial crescent just before moonset. Clouds and trees often add interest to a scene. (Bob King)

Astro Bob Nov 16th 2020 - 1pm

Astro Bob: Make a pretty picture of the moon this week

Ferris Hall captured this Leonid fireball several years ago as it streaked toward the constellation Oriion (lower right). (FerrisHall.com/stars)

Astro Bob Nov 15th 2020 - 4pm

Astro Bob: Leonid meteor shower peaks Tuesday morning

Mercury is easy to see now through the next week low in the southeastern sky below Venus from about 90 minutes to one hour before sunrise. (Bob King)

Astro Bob Nov 12th 2020 - 10am

Astro Bob: Shy Mercury joins Venus and the moon at dawn

NASA's Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) took this photo of Earth on Nov. 3, 2020. The United States, Mexico and part of Central America is at top with South America to the right of center. (NASA)

Astro Bob Nov 10th 2020 - 12pm

Astro Bob: How to prove the Earth is round

The smoky, gray band low in the eastern sky is the Earth's shadow. It's topped by the pink-hued Belt of Venus. Both rose in the eastern sky shortly after sunset on Nov. 4. (Bob King)

Astro Bob Nov 8th 2020 - 12pm

Astro Bob: Astronomy in the neighborhood — shadows, halos and sunspots

This artist’s impression shows a view of the surface of the planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the solar system. The double star Alpha Centauri also appears in the image to the upper-right of Proxima itself. (ESO / M. Kornmesser)

Astro Bob Nov 5th 2020 - 12pm

Astro Bob: What would the sun look like from Alpha Centauri?

...