Astronomy
When Two Supermassive Black Holes Merge, It’s a Galactic Train Wreck
Most large galaxies harbor central supermassive black holes with masses equivalent to millions, or even billions, of Suns. Some, like…
Big Asteroid 2004 BL86 Buzzes Earth on January 26: How to See it in Your Telescope
A lot of asteroids pass near Earth every year. Many are the size of a house, make close flybys and…
Like a BOSS: How Astronomers are Getting Precise Measurements of the Universe’s Expansion Rate
Astrophysicists studying the expansion of the Universe with the largest galaxy catalogs ever assembled are ushering in an exciting era…
What Is The Gibbous Moon?
What does it mean when you hear the term "gibbous moon"? It's when the Moon is more than half full,…
Did a House-Sized Meteorite Create This Mysterious Circle in Antarctica?
Endless blinding white ice as far as the eye can see. This is the common scene from the window of…
Challenge Yourself! See an Astronomical Event that Only Happens Once Every 26 Years
Update: It’s off. This past weekend, the AAVSO issued Special Notice #395 calling off the campaign to observe Alpha Comae…
Largest Digital Camera Ever Constructed will be Pointed at the Skies in 2022
The world’s largest-ever digital camera has received the green light to move forward with development. The 3,200-megapixel camera for the…
One of the Milky Way’s Arms Might Encircle the Entire Galaxy
Given that our Solar System sits inside the Milky Way Galaxy, getting a clear picture of what it looks like…
Faster-Than-Light Lasers Could “Illuminate” the Universe
It's a cornerstone of modern physics that nothing in the Universe is faster than the speed of light (c). However,…
It Looks Like These Are All the Bright Kuiper Belt Objects We’ll Ever Find
The self-professed “Pluto Killer” is at it again. Dr. Michael Brown is now reminiscing about the good old days when…