The night sky isn’t perfectly dark—instead it glows faintly, and the source isn’t exactly local By Phil Plait edited by Lee Billings Zodiacal light over Padar Island, Indonesia.

In a 2023 survey of 634 visitors of nine International Dark Sky Parks, 61.8% of Utah's state and national park visitors participated in a night sky recreation activity.

I picked up the pamphlet at the Dark Sky Point Reyes Initiative’s inaugural public meeting, which I attended a few days before the meteor shower, at the Dance Palace community center in Point ...

The brightest star in the night sky is Sirius, aka the Dog Star. Sirius is so dazzling because, at only 8.6 light years away, it is one of the closest stars to Earth.

See the ocean’s glow-in-the-dark world on a fluorescent night dive. These kaleidoscopic swims help us better understand and protect our seas. Here’s why—and where—to try it.

Yes, there are five planets — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus — that are currently aligned in the Western sky. On Monday, Jupiter and Mercury will be a “finger-width at arm’s ...

Since the 1980s, I’ve gotten special permission to be at the top of Grandfather Mountain in western North Carolina for all-night viewing and photography of the night sky.