Astronomy

A Planetary System That Never Was Teaches About Those That May Be

May 22, 2012

While Kepler and similar missions are turning up planets by the fist full, there’s long been many places that astronomers haven’t expected to find planetary systems. The main places include regions where gravitational forces conspire to make the region around potential host stars too unstable to form into planets. And there’s no place in the [...]

Read the full article →

Weekly SkyWatcher’s Forecast: May 21-27, 2012

May 21, 2012

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! Here’s hoping you had an opportunity to witness yesterday’s eclipse! Even the partial phase here in Ohio was exciting… and to be able to watch virtually via live feeds was equally impressive! The week begins with dark skies and deep studies. Get up early to enjoy the apparition of Jupiter and Mercury [...]

Read the full article →

Family Guy Creator To Bring Back COSMOS

May 18, 2012

COSMOS. Seth MacFarlane. Neil deGrasse Tyson. Need we say more? (If you DO want to find out more, read Dorothy Pomerantz’s write-up for Forbes here.) “I never met Carl Sagan, but this is my way to give something back to him for all of the things he gave to me.” – Seth MacFarlane

Read the full article →

How Do The Biggest Telescopes Work?

May 17, 2012

Located high in the mountains of Chile’s Atacama Desert, the enormous telescopes of the European Southern Observatory have been providing astronomers with unprecedented views of the night sky for 50 years. ESO’s suite of telescopes take advantage of the cold, clear air over the Atacama, which is one of the driest places on Earth. But [...]

Read the full article →

Weekly SkyWatcher’s Forecast: May 14-20, 2012

May 13, 2012

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! Dark skies mean galactic studies and this is going to be a terrific week for sacrificing Viginis. But, hang on to your socks… Because it’s solar eclipse time! We’re talking about an annular event that occurs over a 240 to 300 kilometre-wide track which crosses eastern Asia, the northern Pacific Ocean and [...]

Read the full article →

Asterisms: Signposts in the Sky

May 11, 2012

Humans have been grouping stars into patterns since the beginning of time, each culture placing its own myths and folklore in the sky, but it wasn’t until 1930 that the International Astronomical Union (IAU) divided the sky into 88 constellations each with its own strict boundary. Though many of these are well known, and the [...]

Read the full article →

M55 — Or a Swarm of Angry Bees?

May 10, 2012

Globular clusters are my absolute favorite telescope targets. Okay, Saturn, and then globular clusters. And that’s why I’ve absolutely fallen in love with this amazing picture from the European Southern Observatory of the globular cluster M55, located in the constellation Sagittarius. In fact, it’s my new desktop wallpaper (it should be yours too, click here [...]

Read the full article →

We Are In This Universe; The Universe Is In Us

May 9, 2012

The latest installment of the excellent Symphony of Science series is out, and like every one of them it’s a fun, inspirational and educational trip through the cosmos with voiceovers by leading astronomers and physicists. These are great, and if you haven’t seen the others be sure to check them out on creator John Boswell’s [...]

Read the full article →

Searching for Exoplanet Oceans More Challenging Than First Thought

May 8, 2012

As astronomers continue to discover more exoplanets, the focus has slowly shifted from what sizes such planets are, to what they’re made of. First attempts have been made at determining atmospheric composition but one of the most desirable finds wouldn’t be the gasses in the atmosphere, but the detection of liquid water which is a [...]

Read the full article →

Weekly SkyWatcher’s Forecast – May 7-13, 2012

May 6, 2012

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! With the Moon rising a bit later each night, it’s time to begin the galaxy hunt once again! Keep an eye on Venus as it heads quickly towards the Sun and becomes more slender and brilliant each night. Don’t forget about Mars and Saturn, too… They are both well-placed for early evening [...]

Read the full article →

Beautiful, Glowing Dust in Orion

May 2, 2012

On Earth, dust can be pretty mundane. But in space, dust can be beautiful, especially when the dust reflects starlight – and even more so when we have the chance to see the reflections in different wavelengths. Here in NGC 2068, also called Messier 78, this dazzling submillimetre-wavelength view from the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) [...]

Read the full article →

Hundreds of Rogue Stars Found Just Outside the Milky Way

May 1, 2012

It’s not quite like being kicked off a reality TV show, but some stars can get kicked out from their home galaxy. These stars – called various names like rogue, runaway or hypervelocity stars – were predicted to exist for quite some time, and finally just in the past couple of years a few of [...]

Read the full article →

Weekly SkyWatcher’s Forecast: April 30-May 6, 2012

April 29, 2012

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! Are you ready for another week filled with bright planets, a meteor shower, challenging lunar features, interesting stars and astronomy history? Then you have come to the right place! Bring along your telescopes and binoculars and meet me in the backyard…

Read the full article →

The Mystery of Venus’ Ashen Light

April 27, 2012

May is the best time to try and spot one of the most enduring unsolved mysteries in our Solar System. Ashen Light is a faint glow allegedly seen on the unlit portion of Venus, during its crescent phase, similar to the earthshine often observed on the Moon, though not as bright. It is more commonly [...]

Read the full article →

Outer Space – Mind Blowing Video from Jupiter and Saturn

April 26, 2012

Video Caption: This mesmerizing video unveils incredibly amazing sequences around Jupiter and Saturn from NASA’s Cassini and Voyager missions set to stirring music by “The Cinematic Orchestra -That Home (Instrumental)”. Credit: Sander van den Berg Don’t hesitate 1 moment ! Look and listen to this mind blowing video of the Jupiter and Saturnian systems. If [...]

Read the full article →

Astronomy Cast, Ep: 258: Viking Landers

April 23, 2012
Read the full article →

Weekly SkyWatcher’s Forecast: April 23-29, 2012

April 22, 2012

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! What a great week to just enjoy some great unaided eye astronomy observations. Who can resist the beautiful appearance of Mars in Leo? Also this week, you’ll enjoy not one – but two – meteor showers as the Mu Virginids come to town mid-week and the Bootids light up the weekend. Get [...]

Read the full article →

Get Great Astronomy Apps and Support Astronomers Without Borders

April 18, 2012

Celebrate the last two weeks of Global Astronomy Month and get a great price on the very popular SkySafari 3 apps for Apple and Android mobile devices and Mac OS X. Not only will you get an app that has been called a ‘game-changer’ for astronomy software, but during a special promotion, 30% of proceeds [...]

Read the full article →

Dust Shells Seen for the First Time Around Dying Stars

April 17, 2012

Stars get pretty sloppy towards the end of their lives.  As the nuclear fuels start to wane, the star pulsates – expanding and contracting like a marathon runner catching her breath.  With each pulsation, the dying star belches out globs of gas into space that eventually get recycled into a new generation of stars and [...]

Read the full article →

Shuttle Discovery Mated to 747 Carrier for her Final Flight to Smithsonian Home

April 15, 2012

Following a busy weekend of work, Space Shuttle Discovery is now attached piggyback style to the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and all set for the final flight to her ultimate resting place at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia on Tuesday April 17. [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries