Astronomy
Amateur Astronomer Catches Record Setting Gamma-Ray Burst
Vigilance and a little luck paid off recently for an amateur astronomer. On April 27th, 2013 a long lasting gamma-ray…
Milky Way’s Black Hole Munches On Supercooked Gas
It's a simple menu, but smoking hot. The black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is sucking…
How to Catch This Week’s ‘Ring of Fire’ Annular Eclipse
The first solar eclipse of 2013 is upon us this week, with the May 10th annular eclipse crossing northern Australia…
Star’s Dying Gasp May Signal Black Hole’s Birth
A distinctive flash of light emanating from a dying star may make it possible for astronomers to watch a black…
Into Oblivion: What If the Earth Had No Moon?
AVAST gentle reader: mild SPOILER(S) and graphic depictions of shattered satellites ahead! We recently had a chance to catch Oblivion,…
Stonehenge Was An Ancient Burial Ground For the Rich: Study
The site of Stonehenge -- that mysterious collection of British rocks that could have served as a calendar using the…
Comet Lemmon, Now in STEREO
An icy interloper was in the sights of a NASA spacecraft this past weekend. Comet 2012 F6 Lemmon passed through…
A ‘Shallow’ Lunar Eclipse Coming on April 25
Eclipse season is upon us this week with the first eclipse of 2013, a brief partial lunar eclipse. The lunar…
Bright Blazar’s Emission Defies Explanations
When it comes to sheer wattage, blazars definitely rule. As the brightest of active galactic nuclei, these sources of extreme…
Mysterious Moon Flashes: Could the Transient Lunar Phenomena be Linked to the Solar Cycle?
A key mystery in observational lunar astronomy may be at least partially resolved. An interesting study appeared recently in the…