Latest News
35-year-old ISEE 3 Craft Phones Home
Although its scientific work for NASA ended in the early 1980s, the International Sun-Earth Explorer never quite died — and this week it was revived by a team of volunteers intent on letting it continue exploring interplanetary space.
Two elements deep within Cassiopeia A, hint the supernova remnant underwent a quark nova — a theoretical second explosion that leaves behind a quark star — just days after the original supernova.
New, Intriguing Double Martian Crater
A small asteroid slammed into the Martian surface sometime between March 27 and 28, 2012, creating a crater swarm in the ground. The largest pit is 159 feet across.
Exoplanet Portraits: A Tale of New Instruments
Exoplanet missions are shifting their goals from counting to characterizing, with multiple instruments coming online to directly image these alien worlds.
Peering Into Black Holes’ Pasts
Galaxies’ central black holes are surprisingly simple creatures at heart, but they have a complicated past. New studies are starting to remove history’s obfuscating veil.
Observing Highlights
This Week’s Sky at a Glance: May 30 – June 7
The crescent Moon stars in the evening sky: a hairline sliver can be found to the left of dim Mercury tonight and the waxing crescent sweeps past Leo next week.
The Camelopardalids Disappoint
Dynamicists had predicted that Comet 209P/LINEAR would create an active meteor display in the early morning of May 24th. But that’s not what observers across the U.S. and Canada reported.
Tour June’s Sky: Three Planets In View
Days are longest and nights shortest during June. But you can still get an eyeful of celestial sights with our guided audio tour.
Community News
Two star parties, including one of the largest in the world, drew thousands of beginners and advanced amateurs alike.
Ann
BEAUTIFUL, ALSO, ARE THE SOULS OF MY BLACK SISTERS 