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The best views of comet C/2011 L4, better known as PANSTARRS for the survey that discovered it, will grace the early evening sky by the second week of March, according to the editors of StarDate magazine.

The best viewing for this year's Leonid meteor shower will be several hours before dawn on November 17, according to the editors of StarDate magazine.

The Sun and Moon will team up to produce a brilliant ring of fire across the western United States on the afternoon of May 20, known as an annular solar eclipse, according to the editors of StarDate magazine. The eclipse occurs because the Moon will pass directly between Earth and Sun, covering the Sun's disk. The Moon will be near its farthest point from Earth, however, so it won't be quite big enough to cover the entire disk. Instead, a thin ring of sunlight will encircle the Moon.

Four of the five planets visible to the unaided eye huddle quite close together in the pre-dawn sky next week, according to the editors of StarDate magazine.