David Dickinson

David Dickinson is a freelance science writer and long-time sky watcher. He has built telescopes and observatories, chased eclipses, and travels and observes with his wife, Myscha, on a mission to get ‘eyes on the sky’ worldwide. His books The Universe Today Ultimate Guide to Observing the Cosmos, The Astronomer’s Deep-Sky Field Guide and science fiction short stories are available here.

Recent Articles

See the Perseid Meteors on a New Moon Year

August 04, 2026

You couldn’t ask for a better year for one of the top annual meteor showers. If skies are clear be sure to watch for one of the top skywatching draws of 2026: the August Perseid meteor shower. While the Perseids are a draw on any year, 2026 is special, and has a few things going for it in terms of the Moon phase, peak timing and prospects.
ESCAPADE Images Earth and Moon From Its Temporary Home

July 29, 2026

Sometimes, you have embark on a journey to appreciate home. The Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission recently gave us just such a view of our homeworld and our large natural satellite, as seen from the spacecrafts’ temporary orbit around the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point.
Into Totality: Our Guide to the August 12th Total Solar Eclipse

July 28, 2026

Where will you be on August 12th? Many an eclipse chaser and the ‘eclipse curious’ will make the journey to stand in the Moon’s shadow on that fast-approaching Wednesday date. This unique eclipse sees the pencil-thin shadow of our Moon curl around the Earth’s pole, before arcing across Greenland, Iceland and the Iberian peninsula towards a dramatic sunset over the western Mediterranean.
Catch Comet 10P Tempel While You Can

July 21, 2026

A low-number periodic comet is stalking our fair planet this summer, and putting on its best show of several generations. We’re talking about Comet 10P/Tempel. The comet is currently loitering in the early dawn sky, presenting a good target for large binoculars or a small telescope. But act fast, as the comet is taking the plunge southward in August, post-perihelion.
FCC Approves First Launch for Space Reflector Constellation

July 17, 2026

The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently approved the first test launch of Reflect Orbital’s Eärendil-1 satellite. Sporting an 18 by 18 meter-wide reflector once unfurled, the satellite will test the ability to reflect sunlight back to Earth, on demand. The company envisions more than 50,000 reflectors girding the Earth in low Earth orbit by 2035, while many in the astronomical community have raised concerns on the project's impact.
An Ancient Stellar Passage Altered the Orbits of Comets We See Today

July 14, 2026

A recent study out of the Planetary Science Institute notes that the close passage of the star HD 7977 may have triggered a cascade, sending long-period comets sunward. What’s more, the same uptick in long-period comets may still be underway today. The study was recently presented at the American Astronomical Society Division on Dynamical Astronomy.
Watch the Moon Occult Venus in the Daytime for North America on June 17th

June 11, 2026

If you’re like us, you’ve been following the close conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in the June dusk sky. Next week, the Moon enters the evening scene, and actually occults (passes in front of) the planet Venus in what promises to be one of the top skywatching events for 2026.
Catch Comet 220P McNaught in Outburst

June 08, 2026

We witnessed a surprise outburst late last week, from a lesser known periodic comet. Posts flashed across message boards late last week, alerting comet watchers to a dramatic change in brightness for periodic comet 220P McNaught. Though it wasn’t on our list for bright comets to watch for in 2026, Comet 220P is now in range of binoculars or a small telescope, low to the east at dawn as it heads towards perihelion this coming weekend.
Cosmic Tryst: Venus Meets Jupiter at Dusk

June 04, 2026

It’s a familiar annual question, that we’re already hearing as we enter into June. “What are those two bright objects in the west?” They’re none other than the two brightest planets in the sky, Jupiter and Venus. Keep an eye on the dusk sky over the next week, and you’ll see the two worlds getting ever closer to each other in the west. Though this happens every year or so, an evening conjunction assures that lots of the general public will see one of the best planetary pairings of 2026.
ESA Selects Two New Scout-Class Missions

May 29, 2026

When it comes to understanding Earth and our changing environment, space is the place. Not only does it give us an overall holistic view of the planet below, but satellite-based imagery can transcend national boundaries and give us an understanding of key changes that often go unseen at ground level. Now, the European Space Agency (ESA) has chosen two new missions to address key questions in Earth environmental science: Hibidis and SOVA-S.
Why the Second Full Moon of May is a ‘Blue Minimoon’

May 27, 2026

There’s nothing like a random celestial coincidence, turned good internet meme. In this case, the chance event is this weekend’s Full Moon, which also happens to be the second Full Moon of May, and is also the most distant and visually smallest Full Moon of the year.
Study Shows How Sunspot Activity Speeds Up Reentries

May 21, 2026

It’s getting crowded up there. Over the past few years, the advent of SpaceX’s Starlink and other players in the mega-satellite constellation game are adding an exponential load of satellites and orbital debris to the low Earth orbit environment. But all that goes up, must eventually come down. Now, a new study looks at solar activity over time as a predictor for how reentries trend.
Sky Show: Watch the Moon Dance With the Planets at Dusk Next Week

May 15, 2026

The Moon has a busy week ahead of it. If skies are clear, be sure to get outside on the evenings of May 18th/19th and surrounding nights to check out the evolving view to the west, in one of the best sky shows for 2026.
Psyche Spacecraft Spies Mars Ahead of May 15th Gravitational Assist

May 13, 2026

A close flyby past the Red Planet this week will send NASA’s Psyche mission on its way towards its final destination. The mission’s closest approach to Mars occurs on Friday, May 15th, when the spacecraft passes only 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) from the surface of the Red Planet. That’s just 1.3 Mars radii distant, inside the orbits of Phobos and Deimos.
First Images From the Pandora Exoplanet Mission

May 06, 2026

A new mission promises to 'open the box' on exoplanet science. Scientists and engineers recently released the first engineering images from the Pandora exoplanet survey mission. The pictures represent the first ever images from a NASA Astrophysics Pioneers Program mission. Established in 2020, the program looks to test the feasibility of small low cost missions designed to address key questions in astronomy and astrophysics.
Hunting the Elusive Eta Aquariid Meteors

April 30, 2026

They’re a prolific, yet often elusive for northern hemisphere observers. If skies are clear, watch for a strong annual meteor shower that’s attained an almost mythical status: the May Eta Aquariids. The Eta Aquariid meteor shower is active from April 19th until May 28th, with the key night being the evening of May 5th into the morning of May 6th.
ESA’s Proba 3 is Unlocking Secrets of the Solar Wind

April 29, 2026

It has been a dream of astronomers and solar scientists for ages. A new mission gives solar researchers a powerful new tool in their arsenal: on-demand, total solar eclipses. Launched in 2024, The European Space Agency’s Proba-3 mission has proven the feasibility of a free-flying, space-based coronagraph. Now, first science results from the mission are giving us a view of the origin of space weather. The results were recently published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
See the Moon Occult Regulus for The Americas Saturday Night

April 24, 2026

Much of visual astronomy requires nothing more than clear skies, keen eyes, and patience. If you’re out skywatching Saturday evening and live in North or South America, watch for the waxing gibbous Moon pairing with Regulus at dusk. For a privileged region, the Moon will actually blot out or occult the star, in one of the best-placed lunar occultations of a bright star for 2026.
Comet R3 PanSTARRS at Perihelion

April 17, 2026

We’re one comet down, and one to go for spring season 2026. We recently wrote about prospects for sungrazer C/2026 A1 MAPS and comet C/2025 R3 Pan-STARRS in April 2026. While the bad news is, Comet A1 MAPS disintegrated like so many sungrazers before it during its blistering close perihelion passage on April 4th, comet R3 Pan-STARRS put on an amazing dawn showing for early rising astrophotographers.
Catching the 2026 April Lyrid Meteor Shower

April 15, 2026

April flowers mean one thing to springtime sky-watchers: it’s time for the Lyrid meteor shower. The Lyrids are always a good bet, and always make the top ten list for annual meteor showers. And to top it off, 2026 is a favorable year for the Lyrids, with the waxing crescent Moon mostly out of the way.