History
Peer Into the Distant Universe: How to See Quasars With Backyard Telescopes
“How far can you see with that thing?” It’s a common question overhead at many public star parties in reference…
All the World’s Rockets, Past, Present and Future
MOAR rockets! As a followup to our recent post about the Rockets of the World (to scale), here's another graphic…
Elon Musk and the SpaceX Odyssey: the Path from Falcon 9 to Mars Colonization Transporter
In Kubrick’s and Clark’s 2001 Space Odyssey, there was no question of “Boots or Bots”[ref]. The monolith had been left…
Hubble Makes ‘Pillars Of Creation’ Look Better Than Ever
When you look at that image on the right, make sure to thank the STS-125 crew. And all the people…
The CIA Cheekily Blames Itself For 1950s UFO Sightings
A single aircraft in the 1950s and 1960s accounted for half of all UFO sightings collected by the Air Force…
Work Those Quads: Our Guide to the 2015 Quadrantid Meteors
Quick… what’s the only major meteor shower named after a defunct constellation? If you said the January Quadrantids, you’d be…
The Curious History of the Geminid Meteors
UPDATE: Tune in this Sunday as the good folks over at the Virtual Telescope Project feature a live webcast covering…
What Is John Dalton’s Atomic Model?
Atomic theory - that is, the belief that all matter is composed of tiny, indivisible elements - has very deep…
The Perfect Holiday Gift: The Year In Space Calendar 2015!
Here's our most-recommended holiday gift every year: The Year In Space Calendar! And for 2015 it's back, it's big and…
Here’s Your Sign: Are You an Ophiuchian?
It happens to all lovers of astronomy sooner or later. I once had a friend who was excited about an…