Stories by Geoff Gaherty

At dawn on Thursday, Dec. 31, the four brightest planets outline the ecliptic, the path followed by the sun and moon. The moon visits each in turn over the next week

The next week or two Uranus, Mercury, Jupiter and Mars are making notable appearances in the night sky

Astronomers worldwide are focusing on Pluto, in anticipation of a July 14 flyby of the dwarf planet by NASA's New Horizons probe 

Unless you live in the North Atlantic or Arctic region, the Internet is the best place to watch this event 

Three asteroids are visible in the August night sky, but not to the naked eye

Even stargazers without telescopes will be able to see Saturn and the bright star Spica as they join the moon in the night sky next week

The mountains of the moon, formed mainly by asteroid impacts in the distant past, are visible for those that wish to see them this month

More than any other event, it marks the beginning of the astronomical year

This week offers skywatchers an opportunity to catch a rare glimpse of Mercury and to spot Jupiter at its biggest and brightest