Astronomy
Galileo Returns to the Vatican
Four centuries after Galileo Galilei was ordered by the Catholic Church to come to Rome and stand trial on suspicion…
Oxygen-Rich Supernova Remnent N132D
Not much to say, just a pretty picture of supernova remnant N132D, captured by NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory. I don't…
Google Sky Takes You There
OK, I think I have my feet back on the ground now. But I may have gotten lost in the…
A Disk of Sand Found Orbiting a Young Binary System
It's amazing to think that the Sun and planets formed out of a diffuse cloud of gas and dust. Somehow,…
The World’s Most Powerful Telescope Sees First Light
First light is a big deal. That's when a new observatory opens up for the first time and gathers light…
Planets Might Actually Shape Planetary Nebulae (plus a gallery)
Despite the name, a "planetary nebula" has nothing to do with planets. They were given the confusing name 300 years…
Cassini To Fly Through Enceladus’ Plume March 12 (Video)
The venerable Cassini spacecraft will make an extremely close flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus, one of the most intriguing moons…
Extreme Observations of the Aurora in a Land of Polar Bears and Frostbite – Images of Research in the Freezer
Solar-terrestrial physics observations are about to get even more exciting. The University Centre on Svalbard (UNIS) has completed the construction…
That Dark Stuff, Matter and Energy
Being a very hands-on-type person, I have a hard time wrapping my brain around the concepts of dark energy and…