Astronomy
Ceres and Vesta Converge in the Sky on July 5: How to See It
I bet you've forgotten. I almost did. In April, we reported that Ceres and Vesta, the largest and brightest asteroids respectively,…
Superluminous Supernova Puzzles Astronomers
Supernovae are surprisingly dependable. These brilliant and powerful explosions that mark the end of massive stars’ lives tend to shine…
The Making of the Pillars of Creation
It’s one of the most iconic images of the modern Space Age. In 1995, the Hubble Space Telescope team released…
Observing Alert: Distant Blazar 3C 454.3 in Outburst, Visible in Amateur Telescopes
Have an 8-inch or larger telescope? Don't mind staying up late? Excellent. Here's a chance to stare deeper into the…
An Earth-size Diamond in the Sky: The Coolest Known White Dwarf Detected
We live in a vast, dark Universe, which makes the smallest and coolest objects extremely difficult to detect, save for…
Observing Challenge: The Moon Brushes Past Venus and Covers Mercury This Week
The summer astronomical action heats up this week, as the waning crescent Moon joins the inner planets at dawn. This…
Supermassive Black Hole Shows Strange Gas Movements
Sometimes it takes a second look -- or even more -- at an astronomical object to understand what's going on.…
How to Find Your Way Around the Milky Way This Summer
Look east on a dark June night and you'll get a face full of stars. Billions of them. With the moon now…
Boom! Get Up Close To Yesterday’s Mountaintop Explosion For Astronomy
Talk about starting your astronomy work with a bang! Yesterday's controlled explosion on the top of Cerro Armazones marked the start…
Powerful Starbursts in Dwarf Galaxies Helped Shape the Early Universe, a New Study Suggests
Massive galaxies in the early Universe formed stars at a much faster clip than they do today — creating the…