MAGICAL MORNING: On Thursday morning, Oct. 21st, pieces of Halley's Comet will spray out of the constellation Orion. Meteors will fly past Venus and Saturn, Sirius, Castor and Pollux. Don't miss the show! [full story]

LUNAR ECLIPSE: Mark your calendar: On Oct. 27th and 28th, sky watchers around the world can see a total eclipse of the moon. The event begins next Wednesday at 9:14 p.m. EDT. [full story]

SOLAR MINIMUM: Something strange happened on the sun last week: all the sunspots vanished. This is a sign, say forecasters, that solar minimum is coming sooner than expected--probably in 2006, followed by a new solar maximum in 2010.