Stories by Joe Rao

The upcoming total eclipse of the moon will be the longest of the 21st century

The New York City phenomenon takes place Tuesday and Wednesday, and again in July

Sunday night is probably the best time to catch the celestial fireworks

Despite a bright moon, stargazers might see celestial fireworks Saturday night

Observers across parts of North America can watch a full snow moon penumbral lunar eclipse on February 10, 2017

Another year of skywatching is upon us, and there's a lot to look forward to in 2016

The Perseids are the most widely observed and dependable annual meteor display of the year

The Ursid meteor shower should offer skywatchers a good view this year

Weather permitting, nearly all of North America will be able to experience a partial solar eclipse of the sun on Thursday

While a bright nearly-full moon will interfere with Perseid meteor observing, six other six lesser celestial displays will reach their peak in dark skies

From the eastern U.S. and Canada, the closest approach will take place after sunset. From the central Pacific Ocean, Hawaii, western portions of Central America and the northern half of South America, the moon will occult Mars

The moon will darken slightly as it passes through the outer edges of Earth's shadow. The event is best viewed in the eastern half of the U.S.

Although we associate the Harvest Moon with autumn, this year's version is actually the last full moon of the summer season

Every August, just when many people go vacationing in areas where skies tend to be darker, the best known meteor shower makes its appearance

Amateur stargazers can see a rainbow of star colors in the night sky this summer

The largest full moon of 2013 will peak early Sunday morning

Sunday (May 5), some of the remnants of the most famous of comets will briefly light up the early morning sky

Comet ISON has stagnated around 16th magnitude for a couple months rather than steadily gaining in brightness as expected. Various signs suggest that the comet's nucleus is not "healthy"

Although unlikely, there is a small chance the Comet Siding Spring, an estimated eight to 50 kilometers in diameter, could collide with Mars in October 2014

For northern latitudes, the solstice marks the beginning of winter, but ancient skywatchers didn't understand the sun's migration, fearing it could disappear forever as it dipped below the horizon

The Geminid Meteor Shower offers stargazers a host of slow, bright fireballs and lasts for two to three days

The Leonids have been known to spark thousands of shooting stars per hour some years, making it one of the most popular meteor showers in the Northern Hemisphere

There can sometimes be discrepancies between the ecclesiastical and astronomical versions for dating Easter

Spring is arriving early in a meteorological sense in the eastern U.S., and in an astronomical sense as well, making its earliest arrival since 1896