STFC

Why Higgs Discovery Deserves the Hype

July 5, 2012 | Physicists using the Large Hadron Collider announced yesterday their discovery of a particle consistent with the Higgs boson. The find was expected, but it’s still a big deal. > read more

Baby Star’s Hot Birthmarks

July 6, 2012 | Astronomers have pinpointed the origin of high-energy X-rays coming from a baby star. > read more

Dark-Matter Thread Revealed

July 4, 2012 | Scientists have found a dark-matter filament, a strand of the cosmic web that connects clusters of galaxies. It’s the first time an individual filament has been detected and is among our first observational glimpses of the universe’s largest structures. > read more

Titan’s Latest Twist: A Hidden Ocean

July 3, 2012 | Saturn’s biggest moon already boasts a dense atmosphere, vast dune fields, and lakes full of hydrocarbons. Now scientists have evidence for a deep ocean beneath its icy crust. > read more

Waves Might Heat Solar Atmosphere

July 4, 2012 | Astronomers are working to unravel the mystery of the Sun’s superhot corona, but new work implicating magnetic waves isn’t the final word on the matter. > read more

Sky & Telescope diagram

Tour July’s Sky by Eye and Ear!

May 30, 2012 | This month, you can see a pair of planets before sunrise and another pair after sunset. In each case, one of them is situated near a bright star. > read more

Predawn Treats for Early Risers

July 6, 2012 | If you can get yourself out of bed early, spectacular predawn vistas await your eyes, binoculars, and telescope over the next two weeks. > read more

Sky & Telescope diagram

This Week’s Sky at a Glance

July 6, 2012 | Mars speeds toward Saturn and Spica in the evening sky. Jupiter and Venus rise into prominence in the dawn. > read more