How do asteroids get their names? You have to discover an asteroid to name it, but you still can't name it after yourself or your cat. You also can't buy the naming right, though someone might give theirs to you.

Constellations, asterisms, galaxies and star clusters are all groups of stars. So how are they different? Why isn’t the Big Dipper a constellation? Where are the globular clusters? And if Saturn is in Virgo, has it left the Solar System?

An enormous dragon circles the northern celestial pole. The constellation Draco contains a star that was the pole star at the time of the pharaohs, some interesting galaxies and the most complex planetary nebula yet discovered.

A mile above the California desert stands Palomar Observatory. Its 200-inch mirror was officially impossible to make, but George Ellery Hale's vision inspired a nation in the grip of the Great Depression and became the jewel in the crown of astronomy for the second half of the twentieth century.

Two English policemen chased a UFO through the Devon countryside. It was the planet Venus. A news reporter had quite a scoop when she found a UFO hovering over New York City. It was the planet Jupiter. Why are planets and stars often mistaken for spacecraft or aircraft?

Is it an ill omen, an amazing or terrifying experience, or a great opportunity for scientists? Solar eclipses have been all of these things and more. Read on to find out what it's all about.