Astronomy
Discovery! More Planets Found Orbiting In A Star Cluster
As Earthlings, we're so used to thinking about planets being in simple orbits around a single star. But the Sun…
Gesundheit! Hairy And Sneeze-worthy Rings Snare Summer Sun
For the past two weeks puffy clumps of seeds have been riding the air in my town. You can't avoid…
Astronomers Spy Early Galaxies Caught In A Cosmic Spiderweb
Once upon a time, when the Universe was just about three billion years old, galaxies started to form. Now astronomers…
Searching for Pluto: A Guide to the 2013 Opposition Season
So you’ve seen all of the classic naked eye planets. Maybe you’ve even seen fleet-footed Mercury as it reached greatest…
Behind the Scenes at Kitt Peak Observatory: What is an Observing Run Really Like?
Greetings, from the Kitt Peak National Observatory, in Arizona! I’m here on a weeklong observing run, which is arguably the…
This Energy-Boosting Region In The Sun Will Have A New NASA Satellite Watching It
How does the sun's energy flow? Despite the fact that we live relatively close (93 million miles, or eight light-minutes)…
Feeling Small in the Universe?
Well, you shouldn't be. Yes, you're just one person out of over 7 billion on Earth. Yes, your lifetime --…
Arkyd Telescope Reaches $1M Goal, But Still Looking For Planet-Hunting Funds
With more than $1 million in crowdfunded money secured for a public asteroid-hunting space telescope, the ultimate question arises: what…
Book Review: The Milky Way, An Insider’s Guide
About 70 pages into The Milky Way, An Insider's Guide, a strange craving for hamburgers overtook me. The text of William…
Venus’ Winds Are Mysteriously Speeding Up
High-altitude winds on neighboring Venus have long been known to be quite speedy, whipping sulfuric-acid-laden clouds around the superheated planet…