Pasi Hakala

Comet PanSTARRS twinkles amid the glow of the northern lights over Lempaala in central Finland on March 17.

The skies were lit up with glowing auroral displays as well as the twinkle of Comet PanSTARRS over the weekend, and a few skywatchers could see both celestial phenomena at once. One of those lucky few happened to be Pasi Hakala, an astronomer at the University of Turku's Tuorla Observatory in Finland.

"I was preparing to take some pictures of Comet PanSTARRS (just as a hobby, even if I'm a professional astronomer) with my camera ... as the aurora appeared right next to it," Hakala said in an email. He said this picture was taken with "an old Olympus E-330 plus a legacy, fast Konica 57mm f/1.2 lens" — which just goes to show that you don't need the latest, greatest camera to take a great picture of the night sky.

It's also true that you don't need to be in Finland to get a great view of the aurora. This weekend's geomagnetic storm was so strong and sweeping that the northern lights were seen as far south as Colorado. "We generally only get to see auroras this far south of the Arctic Circle a few times a decade, when the sun is near the peak of its 11-year sunspot cycle," Jimmy Westlake, an astronomy professor at Colorado Mountain College, wrote in a column for the Steamboat Pilot & Today.

Check out Westlake's photo and more views of the northern lights and Comet PanSTARRS below.

Jimmy Westlake

Colorado Mountain College's Jimmy Westlake captured this view of the aurora behind the twin stone monoliths of Rabbit Ears Peak near Steamboat Springs, Colo. The picture was taken early March 17, "during the wee hours of St. Patrick's Day morning," using a Nikon D700 camera with 50mm lens at f/3.8, 30-second exposure at ISO 6400. As for Comet PanSTARRS: "Colorado has had one storm after another" over the past week, Westlake said, but he has seen the comet through holes in the clouds on three different nights. Check out Westlake's comet shot on SpaceWeather.com.

Chris Cook

Photographer Chris Cook and his son watch Comet PanSTARRS from First Encounter Beach in Eastham, Mass., on the evening of March 13. The photograph was taken via remote shutter release, using a Canon 5D and a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L lens. The image served as NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for Monday. Even though PanSTARRS has passed its peak brightness, the comet can still be seen by Northern Hemisphere observers after sunset in the western sky.

Submitted by Christoph Malin / FirstPerson

Christoph Malin sent in this picture of Comet PanSTARRS via NBC News' FirstPerson photo upload page. The comet was seen during the Imaging Expedition of the Institute of Astro- and Particle Physics at the University of Innsbruck, which went to the 10,000-foot-high (3,050-meter-high) Gaislachkogel Mountain in Ötztal, Austria. Check out this Vimeo clip, and look down below for links to more night-sky views submitted via FirstPerson and Twitter,

More photos of the aurora and the comet:

• Dori Sig (a.k.a. Halldor Sigurdsson) captures the aurora over Reyjavik, Iceland
• Irma Eriksson posts a Facebook picture of the aurora over Stockholm, Sweden
• LeRoy Zimmerman shares a view of the aurora over Alaska. More from LeRoy.

More about auroras and comets:

• Solar eruption supercharges auroral displays
• Video: Airplane provides clear look at comet
• Cosmic Log archive for auroras and comets

Tip o' the Log to @dorisig and @imycomic.

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log and the rest of NBCNews.com's science and space coverage, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Mike Massee

Comet PanSTARRS and the crescent moon loom over a mountaintop row of wind turbines near Mojave, Calif., on Tuesday night. The pairing of the comet and the moon made for one of the year's best opportunities for astrophotography.

Two elusive superstars came out on Tuesday evening to greet their adoring fans — in L.A. and Vegas, as well as in California's Mojave Desert and the mountaintops of Arizona and California. As a matter of fact, observers around the world could catch a glimpse of Comet PanSTARRS and the barely lit crescent moon, as long as the skies were clear.

Like most superstars, Comet PanSTARRS doesn't always live up to its advance billing. For months, skywatchers have been looking forward to PanSTARRS as one of the top sights in the night sky. The long-period comet is now thought to be at its brightest, due to the fact that it has just come out of its close approach to the sun. But finding it has proved more difficult than expected, because it's so easily lost in the glare of sunset.

XCOR Aerospace's Mike Massee acknowledged that it wasn't easy to capture his comet shot, which was taken in the last light of dusk from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California, where the XCOR rocket venture has its headquarters.

"At 7:20, neither the moon nor the comet were visible, but about five minutes later you could barely make out the sliver of the new moon. According to XCOR's resident astronomy guru, Randall Clague, the comet would appear about eight moon diameters to the left of the moon. So I set up an image with the moon on the right side of the frame and made some exposures," Massee said in an email.

"After a few minutes I could zoom in and see the comet in my camera, but not with the naked eye," he wrote. "As the sky grew darker the comet became more and more visible, and eventually you could just make out a fuzzy spot with your naked eye, but the camera was still the best way to review it after the shot was taken."

Over the next couple of weeks, Comet PanSTARRS will be better positioned for viewing by Northern Hemisphere observers in the western sky after sunset, but each night it's expected to grow dimmer. If there are clear evening skies, grab your binoculars and try to pick out PanSTARRS. This viewing guide can help.

While you're waiting for those dark, clear skies, check out this photo album, which includes a special shout-out to the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter's Adam Block and all those who contributed through NBC News' FirstPerson photo-upload website. 

Adam Block

The sunset glow lingers in the skies over Mount Lemmon SkyCenter in Arizona as Comet PanSTARRS and the crescent moon shine on Tuesday night. Even the dark portion of the moon glows faintly, due to reflected "Earthshine" from our own planet.

Gene Blevins / Reuters

David Schaefer of Pasadena, Calif., uses an iPad to help him spot Comet PanSTARRS over Southern California. The comet should be visible from the Northern Hemisphere until the end of March in western skies after sunset.

Gene Blevins / Reuters

Comet PanSTARRS takes its place next to the waxing crescent moon in the skies over Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Craig Yacks via FirstPerson

Craig Yacks says he took this photo of Comet PanSTARRS (left) and the moon (right) from Highlands Ranch, Colo., "as the clouds opened up just after sunset." The photo was taken with a Nikon D800 camera, set for ISO 1000 with a four-second exposure. "Zoomed in to give a better view of the comet and the moon," Yacks said.

Slideshow: Catch the coolest comets in the cosmos

Cast your eyes on pictures featuring PanSTARRS, Hale-Bopp and other crowd-pleasing comets.

Launch slideshow

More PanSTARRS photos from FirstPerson fans:

• Robert Schmidt from Newport News, Va.: "Comet PanSTARRS over the James River in Newport News. ... Spotty cloud cover made spotting the comet a bit difficult."
• John Melson from San Marcos, Calif.: "Comet PanSTARRS and the moon ... from Double Peak Park in San Marcos, taken with a Sony A77 at 7:43 p.m."
• Sergei Timofeevski from Carlsbad, Calif.: "Comet PanSTARRS next to young moon over the Pacific Ocean, San Diego, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, March 12, Nikon D7000, 110mm, f5.6, 8-second exposure, ISO 3200."
• Richard Dervan, Atlanta, Ga.: "PanSTARRS over midtown Atlanta."
• Kathy Newman, Rosamond, Calif.: "PanSTARRS and crescent moon."
• Michael Wood, Honolulu, Hawaii: "Comet PanSTARRS over Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Oahu, Hawaii."

Update for 7:15 p.m. ET March 13: So where's Comet PanSTARRS now? It's well below the moon, and you'll need binoculars to spot it. To get a fix on the comet, you can consult this sky chart from SpaceWeather.com.

Wednesday evening's images from Jens Riggelsen in Aarhus, Denmark, illustrate how tricky it can be to see the comet. The moon is high in the sky, but PanSTARRS is just a speck amid the glow of sunset. "The comet wasn't visible to the naked eye, but figured I might be able to capture it with the camera. And indeed, there it was," Riggelsen told SpaceWeather.com.

Can you spot the comet in this brand-new view from Jamie Cooper? 

Jamie Cooper

Comet PanSTARRS is a glimmer in the sky after sunset, far below and to the right of the crescent moon. This picture was taken by Jamie Cooper from Northampton in England on Wednesday.

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log and NBCNews.com's science and space coverage, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Copyright 2013 John Sarkissian

John Sarkissian, operations scientist at the Parkes Radio Observatory in Australia, captured this view of Comet PanSTARRS hanging in the sky over the Parkes Radio Telescope on March 5. The telescope was made famous in a movie from 2000 titled "The Dish." Sarkissian told SpaceWeather.com that the comet picture is a "5-second exposure taken through my Canon 400D digital camera set on ISO 1600."

You'll be hearing a lot about Comet PanSTARRS, also known as C/2011 L4, now that it's become visible in the Northern Hemisphere — but if you're not properly prepared, the experience can be underwhelming. You have to know where and when to look, and with what. Fortunately, there are lots of resources to draw upon.

First, some quick facts: Comet PanSTARRS is thought to come from the Oort Cloud on the solar system's edge, and is making its first round through the inner solar system. It was discovered in 2011 by the Pan-STARRS Telescope team, but it didn't attract wide attention until last year, when astronomers noticed a brightening trend that promised to produce a sight visible to the naked eye. The comet is expected to shine brighter than the stars of the Big Dipper (magnitude +2 to +1) over the weekend.

The challenge is that during this time of peak brightness, the comet will be visible quite low near the western horizon, just after sunset.

"Look too early and the sky will be too bright," NASA postdoctoral fellow Rachel Stevenson said in a PanSTARRS preview provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "Look too late, the comet will be too low and obstructed by the horizon. This comet has a relatively small window."

The farther north you are, the closer to the horizon you'll have to look. Those aren't exactly ideal conditions, especially if you have an obstructed view to the west, or if there are clouds on the horizon, or if there's significant haze in the air. The best viewing spots should be at higher elevations, far from haze and the glare of city lights, where the skies can get as dark as possible as soon as possible after sunset.

Depending on your location in the Northern Hemisphere, you may not be able to get a good look at the comet until next week. But even if you miss seeing it on Thursday or Friday, it's worth checking out a variety of spots over the next few days to get ready for the peak experience on March 12 and 13. That's when Comet PanSTARRS is due to make a pretty appearance close to the crescent moon.

Although the comet has become visible to the naked eye, you'll want to pull out the binoculars to make out the comet's tail. You might notice two elements to the tail, pointing in slightly different directions: One element is made up of glowing ionized gas, while the other is made up of dust that reflects the light of the sun.

PanSTARRS is due to make its closest approach to the sun on Sunday, coming within 28 million miles (45 million kilometers). On each evening after that, the comet's position will be slightly more elevated from the horizon, and shift slightly to the north. It'll also become dimmer. By mid-April, the comet will no longer be visible to the naked eye, even under the best circumstances.

Rufus Canty

Rufus Canty posted this picture of Comet PanSTARRS to the Cosmic Log Facebook page on Tuesday. "From Puerto Rico, looks awesome," Canty wrote.

NASA

This chart shows the position of Comet PanSTARRS on several nights in March, as well as the position of the crescent moon on March 12, which is arguably the best day for comet-watching.

When PanSTARRS fades from the spotlight, don't put your binoculars back in the attic: Another starry messenger from the outer solar system, known as Comet ISON, is due to make its appearance in November. Some skywatchers have dubbed ISON the "Comet of the Century" because the most optimistic projections suggest it could shine as brightly as the full moon. It's way too early to make firm predictions, but it's a good bet that the comet-watching skills you develop while looking for PanSTARRS will come in handy when it's ISON's turn.

Got comet pictures? Share them via NBC News' FirstPerson photo upload site and we'll pass them along in a future posting.

Now for those resources:

• PanSTARRS updates from Sky & Telescope
• Astronomy Magazine's PanSTARRS guide
• All you need to know from EarthSky
• Video: When can you see the comet?
• Space.com's PanSTARRS viewing guide
• Discovery News' comet viewing guide
• Check with your local astronomy club
• Comet gallery at SpaceWeather.com
• Guide to photographing comets
• More tips from EyesOnCometISON.com
• Comet reports from "Waiting for ISON"
• Geek out at Comets-ML and CometObs
• Flash interactive: Inside a comet
• More about comets from Cosmic Log

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Minoru Yoneto

Minoru Yoneto captured this picture of Comet PanSTARRS shining over Queenstown, New Zealand, on March 2. The comet's tail has two components, consisting of glowing gas and shining dust. Yoneto told SpaceWeather.com that "it's a splendid appearance."

Observers in the Southern Hemisphere have been watching Comet PanSTARRS for weeks, but the Northern Hemisphere is due to get its first looks at one of the year's most eagerly anticipated sky extravaganzas this week. And there's good news for northerners: The up-and-down expectations for the cometary show are trending upward again.

"In the Southern Hemisphere we have a few days to enjoy it," Argentine photographer Victor Gabriel Bibe, one of many observers who have been tracking the comet's brightening glow, said in an email.

On Tuesday, PanSTARRS makes its closest approach to Earth. On Thursday or so, it should start becoming visible to Northern Hemisphere observers in the western sky, low to the horizon just after sunset. The best photo ops will come March 12 and 13, when PanSTARRS pairs up with the crescent moon.

The brightness of an astronomical object is measured by magnitude, with lower numbers denoting brighter objects. Magnitude +6 is about the limit for naked-eye observations under prime conditions. Magnitude +2 is equivalent to the brightness of Polaris, the North Star. Early on, astronomers said PanSTARRS could get to magnitude zero, putting it in a league with some of the brightest stars in the sky. More recently, they noted that the comet wasn't brightening as quickly as they originally thought and revised the forecast to around +2. Now, the consensus is that it could get to +1 or brighter — maybe not dazzling, but definitely not bad.

"As long as it continues its behavior for a few days, it looks like the Northern Hemisphere — even us city-dwellers — might get a pretty good view of this thing," said Karl Battams of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington.

The comet was discovered in June 2011 by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System, or Pan-STARRS, in Hawaii — which helps explain the genesis of its official name, Comet C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS). The "C" means that the comet is considered a non-periodic newbie, coming in for the first time from the Oort Cloud on the solar system's edge. The "L4" means it was the fourth comet discovered during the first half of June.

Victor Gabriel Bibe

Comet PanSTARRS shines above a mountain range in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. The picture was taken by Ushuaia photographer Victor Gabriel Bibe. For more of Bibe's pictures, check out El Cielo de Tierra del Fuego.

Dieter Willasch

Dieter Willasch snapped this picture of Comet PanSTARRS on March 2 from Somerset West in South Africa. Visit Astro-Cabinet for more images by Willasch.

NASA

This chart shows Comet PanSTARRS' location in the Northern Hemisphere evening sky after sunset for several dates during prime time. The position of the crescent moon is shown for March 12. Watch a NASA video about Comet PanSTARRS.

Even though PanSTARRS is still a few days away from Northern Hemisphere visibility, you can take advantage of these tips to maximize your comet-viewing experience:

• Scope out a spot with good western exposure and a minimum of trees, buildings or hills to spoil the view. PanSTARRS won't get very high in the sky, so you'll want to scan the horizon as soon as the sun goes down. But not before! It'd be a tragedy to damage your eyes for the sake of a comet.
• The farther you are from city lights and cloudy weather, the better you'll be able to see the comet. "I was very lucky to observe the comet, because in the area where I live, the weather is very unstable and the sky is always cloudy. Every time the sky clears, I attempt to observe," Bibe said.
• Although the comet is visible to the unaided eye, binoculars will enhance the view — particularly when it comes to seeing the tail. "To the naked eye, this comet has a stellar aspect. But with 10x50 binoculars you can see the tail clearly," Bibe said.
• Once it's visible in the Northern Hemisphere, the comet will rise higher in the sky on each succeeding night. If PanSTARRS follows the expected trend, the viewing should be best between March 10, when it makes its closest approach to the sun, and March 13 or so. After about that time, the glare of the waxing moon could take some of the shine off the comet. PanSTARRS is projected to fade from naked-eye visibility in April.

After PanSTARRS: ISON
PanSTARRS is the first of two comets expected to take the spotlight this year. The other one is Comet ISON, which has the potential to get much, much brighter than PanSTARRS in November. Some experts are hoping it will equal the brightness of the full moon, although Battams says it's way too early to make firm predictions.

To prepare for ISON's arrival, Battams and other researchers are helping NASA organize a comet observing campaign. "We just want to make sure that all the major observatories are aware of this," Battams said.

ISON is expected to pass as close to the sun's surface as 684,000 miles (1.1 million kilometers), which could produce a dramatic brightening of the comet when it swings back out of the inner solar system. It could produce scientific insights as well.

"Sungrazing comets are unique objects that experience the most extreme thermal and gravitation forces our solar system has to offer them," the campaign's Web page says. "However, rarely do we get to see these objects more than a few hours before their demise. Comet ISON offers us the rare opportunity to study a sungrazer in great detail, for an extended period, and place it in the context of other comets."

For updates on the year of the comets, check in with the "Waiting for ISON" blog as well as SpaceWeather.com and the Remanzacco Observatory website, and follow @ISONUpdates on Twitter.

Got comet pictures? Share them via NBC News' FirstPerson photo upload site and we'll pass them along in a future posting.

More about comets:

• NASA probe tracks 'Comet of the Century'
• Comet shows and other sky highlights for 2013
• Flash interactive: Inside a comet
• EarthSky preview for PanSTARRS
• Space.com preview for PanSTARRS
• Sky & Telescope preview for PanSTARRS

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Ignacio Diaz Bobillo / Pampaskies.com

Comet PanSTARRS glows with a fanlike tail in this picture from Argentine astrophotographer Ignacio Diaz Bobillo.

The first of two comets expected to make a splash this year is already putting on a good show for Southern Hemisphere skywatchers — and by the time it makes its appearance in northern skies, Comet PanSTARRS should be visible to the naked eye.

C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS, which was discovered in 2011 by the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii, isn't expected to be as much of a spectacle as Comet ISON, which could get as bright as the full moon in November. But it's on track to reach a brightness of at least magnitude 2 in early March. That's roughly equivalent to the brightness of Polaris, the North Star.

"This comet definitely is a dynamically new comet, so we do have the wild-card factor in there," Karl Battams of the Naval Research Laboratory told NBC News in an email. "In an ordinary year, this comet would be grabbing the headlines, but most people are so worked up over ISON that this one is getting short-changed a little. It should be a good one though. ... For us urban dwellers, we might need to dust off the binoculars to get a decent look."

Battams and other astronomers say PanSTARRS is a special case because it's apparently coming in from the Oort Cloud on the solar system's edge to make its first swing through the inner solar system. That's what makes PanSTARRS a wild card: There's a chance that the comet will get brighter than expected, or stay dimmer than expected, when it wheels around the sun. "Comets do love to surprise us," Battams said.

Right now, the comet is on display only in the Southern Hemisphere, but bright enough to be seen with the naked eye under optimal conditions (as bright as magnitude 4.2). Pictures taken through telescopes, such as the shots you see here from Pampaskies.com's Ignacio Diaz Bobillo in Argentina and amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy in Australia, are already showing a fanlike double tail. One of the tails is a stream of dust illuminated by the sun, while the other is a glowing stream of ionized gas.

Terry Lovejoy via IfA/Hawaii

An image captured by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy shows Comet PanSTARRS.

PanSTARRS should start showing up in the Northern Hemisphere around March 7. "To see it, you will need an unobstructed, cloudless view of the western horizon," the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy said. "It is best to pick a dark spot, away from streetlights. Look in the direction of the sunset just after the sun has gone down. The comet will be just above the horizon."

It'll be tricky to spot the comet because of the glare of the twilight sky, and even trickier after March 12, when the light of the moon will start interfering. You'll definitely need binoculars to see the tails. Actually, March 12 or 13 might be the best time for your comet-viewing, picture-taking party, because PanSTARRS should be visible alongside a pretty crescent moon in western skies.

"By the end of March, the comet will no longer be visible in the evening sky, but if you get up early, you may be able to see it in the eastern sky just before sunrise," the institute said. "However, by then the comet will be farther from both the sun and Earth, and will therefore be fainter."

When PanSTARRS fades, keep your binoculars in a handy place. You'll want to bring them out again for this year's other sky highlights, including the advent of Comet ISON in November.

Update for 10:35 p.m. ET Feb. 25: Here's a video featuring the two classiest comets in the night sky, Comet Lemmon and Comet PanSTARRS, as captured by Australia's Alex Cherney:

More about the year of the comets:

• Time for bright comets to grace the skies
• NASA probe tracks 'Comet of the Century'
• Comet spectaculars and other sky highlights for 2013
• Flash interactive: Inside a comet

Hat tip to Daniel Fischer.

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

This story was originally published on Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:44 PM EST

David Lillo / AFP - Getty Images

Comet McNaught shines above Chile in 2007. Will Comet ISON be as bright in 2013?

Next year's most eagerly awaited shows in the skies above might not happen — but that's exactly what makes them so eagerly awaited. There's nothing like uncertainty to build up the drama, and right now, Comet PANSTARRS and Comet ISON are surrounded by bright haloes of uncertainty.

The picture should be getting clearer in the weeks ahead for the comet formally known as C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS, which was discovered in 2011. It'll take a few more months to get a fix on C/2012 S1 ISON, which was first spotted this September. All we can say right now is, if the comets live up to their current high expectations, PANSTARRS could blaze as bright as Venus in March — and then, in November and December, ISON could outshine the moon to the "Comet of the Century."

"If Comet ISON can survive perihelion passage ... then we are almost surely in for a striking display in the morning sky as Comet ISON recedes from the Sun next December," veteran observer John Bortle said this month on the Comets Mailing List. "Its immense tail, partly the result of our extremely favorable viewing circumstances in this case and just as with the Great Comet of 1680, could well result in a tail of amazing length and surface brightness, even if tipped by only tiny, relatively insignificant head."

The best part is that these comets will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere, unlike the spectacles created by Comet McNaught in 2007 and by Comet Lovejoy a year ago. Why let the Southern Hemisphere have all the fun?

PANSTARRS and ISON are just two of the highlights coming up for skywatchers next year. Here's my top-10 list for 2013, plus some bonus picks from Space.com skywatching columnist Joe Rao:

Jan. 2-3 for Quadrantid meteors: If the weather's clear, the Quadrantid meteors should put on serviceable show this year. The Quadrantids are sparked by debris from asteroid 2003 EH1, and appear to emanate from an area of the sky known as Quadrans Muralis, around the northern tip of the constellation Bootes. The peak rate is expected to reach 80 meteors per hour, but the glare of a waning gibbous moon could interfere somewhat. "Unlike the more famous Perseid and Geminid meteor showers, the Quadrantids only last a few hours, so it's the morning of Jan. 3 or nothing," NASA says. Check out NASA's Quadrantids website for a video feed on the nights of Jan. 2-4.

April 25 for partial lunar eclipse: Three eclipses of the moon are coming during 2013 — and although none of them will be spectacular, they're worth keeping an eye on if you're in the right place. The April 25 partial eclipse will be visible from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. The other two lunar eclipses are a nearly imperceptible hint of a penumbral eclipse on May 25, and a somewhat deeper penumbral eclipse on Oct. 18-19 (visible, at least in part, from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia). Even if you miss seeing these eclipses with your own eyes, there'll be plenty of photo galleries showing the moon in its best light.

March for Comet PANSTARRS: The comet is due to streak past Earth on March 5 and make its turn around the sun, known as perihelion, on March 9-10. The prime time for observers at mid-northern latitudes will come after perihelion, when PANSTARRS will be visible in the evening sky. On March 12, the comet is expected to share the sunset's afterglow with a beautiful crescent moon.

Issei Kato / Reuters file

Clouds cast a pall over an annular solar eclipse as seen from Hirai Daini Elementary School in Tokyo on May 21, 2012. An annular eclipse is due to occur on May 10, 2013, and in November there'll be a hybrid eclipse that morphs from annularity to totality.

May 9-10 for annular solar eclipse: A "Ring of Fire" eclipse will roll across Australia, Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific, with a partial solar eclipse visible from a wider swath of the Pacific. If past history is any guide, some of us in North America will be watching the event unfold on the evening of the 9th, via webcasts from the scene. 

May 24-28 for planetary party: Mercury, Venus and Jupiter mix it up in western skies over a series of nights in May, with Saturn and the moon adding their shine. The main event may well be the Venus-Jupiter conjunction on May 28 — but it won't be as spectacular as the double-planet feature we saw in February, because this one will take place so soon after sunset. 

June 23 for Supermoon: The moon goes full just after this year's closest approach to Earth, meaning that it'll look 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than it does at maximum distance. Last May's Supermoon made such a splash that I suspect this could turn into an annual moon-watching event. 

Aug. 11-13 for Perseid meteors: Annual meteor showers have their ups and downs, and the advance word is that 2013 will be an "up" year for the Perseids. The moon will be a mere crescent in the morning sky, cutting down on the glare. The flux of shooting stars is expected to be normal, peaking at around 100 meteors per hour.

Oct. 12 for moon observation: International Observe the Moon Night provides an opportunity for veteran skywatchers to show you the moon at its best — no, not during the full moon, but during the first-quarter phase. That's when you can get a good look at the moon's craters and shadowy mountains. Check in with the InOMN website for updates.

Nov. 3 for hybrid solar eclipse: This hybrid is a strange one, starting out as an annular "Ring of Fire" eclipse and turning into a total eclipse as the moon's shadow races across the planet. The track of annularity-totality runs across the Atlantic, goes through the middle of Africa and ends up in Somalia. If you can't afford a cruise or an expedition, keep a watch on the webcasts.

November-December for Comet ISON: Will ISON shine "brighter even than the full moon" a year from now? That seems hard to believe right now, but by next autumn, astronomers should have a good idea just how much of a phenomenon the comet could turn into. NASA's Curiosity rover may be able to snap a picture when ISON passes by Mars in September, and it could become visible to the naked eye in October. It's due to come well within a million miles of the sun at perihelion on Nov. 28 — and that will be the most dramatic moment for skywatchers. Some comets, like last year's Comet Elenin, break up when they slingshot around the sun. Others, like Comet Lovejoy, survive the encounter spectacularly. If ISON lucks out, we could well be raving about the Great Christmas Comet of 2013 by this time next year. (Just don't believe anyone who tells you it's a doomsday comet.)

Bonus round: Over at Space.com, Joe Rao's "13 must-see stargazing events for 2013" also include a close conjunction of the moon and Jupiter on Jan. 21, great evening views of Mercury from Feb. 2 to 23, and a holiday show featuring Venus in December. And don't forget the northern lights: Although auroral displays are hard to predict, the height of the sun's 11-year activity cycle should bring some great light shows to Earth's higher latitudes in 2013. 

Update for 8:50 p.m. ET: British educator-astronomer Stuart Atkinson has set up a blog titled "Waiting for ISON" to monitor the comet countdown. Atkinson is also in charge of "The Road to Endeavour" blog about the Opportunity rover on Mars; and The Gale Gazette, which keeps tabs on NASA's Mars Curiosity mission.

More about the coming comets:

• Video: A comet to watch in 2013
• Flash interactive: Inside a comet
• Comet PANSTARRS could be a stunner (or not)
• Comet ISON just might show up in daytime skies

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.