Observing

Alien Signals May Hide in Unexplored High Radio Frequencies

By Laurence Tognetti, MSc - July 30, 2026

Confirming the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence via radio signals, also called technosignatures, is the cornerstone of radio astronomy. While humanity has been asking since time immemorial whether or not we’re alone in the universe, radio astronomers are at the frontlines trying to tirelessly answer this longstanding question. To accomplish this, they’ve traditionally focused on a specific radio frequency band called the “water hole”, which resides between 1.42 and 1.66 GHz. This is due to two water-forming molecules, hydrogen and hydroxyl, emitting these frequencies.

Into Totality: Our Guide to the August 12th Total Solar Eclipse

By David Dickinson - July 28, 2026

Where will you be on August 12th? Many an eclipse chaser and the ‘eclipse curious’ will make the journey to stand in the Moon’s shadow on that fast-approaching Wednesday date. This unique eclipse sees the pencil-thin shadow of our Moon curl around the Earth’s pole, before arcing across Greenland, Iceland and the Iberian peninsula towards a dramatic sunset over the western Mediterranean.

New Images Reveal the Stunning Properties of the Black Hole at the Center of M87

By Matthew Williams - July 24, 2026

Researchers from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with international collaborators, carried out the first spatially resolved dual-frequency spectral study of the M87 black hole using observations obtained in 2018 with the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) and the Global Millimeter VLBI Array (GMVA).

Hubble Discovers the First "Missing" Black Hole in this Famous Star Cluster

By Matthew Williams - July 24, 2026

Combining over 20 years of archival data from Hubble with new data from the James Webb Space Telescope, a team of astronomers has found the first of the "missing" black holes.

Catch Comet 10P Tempel While You Can

By David Dickinson - July 21, 2026

A low-number periodic comet is stalking our fair planet this summer, and putting on its best show of several generations. We’re talking about Comet 10P/Tempel. The comet is currently loitering in the early dawn sky, presenting a good target for large binoculars or a small telescope. But act fast, as the comet is taking the plunge southward in August, post-perihelion.

Astronomers Determine that Exoplanets Around Barnard's Star are Extremely Uninhabitable

By Matthew Williams - July 20, 2026

Scientists have painted the most detailed portrait yet of the planetary system orbiting Barnard’s Star. Unfortunately, the picture is not encouraging, as all four planets appear to be "extremely uninhabitable."

Submillimeter Array Catches a Gamma-Ray Burst Thanks to new Fast-Response System

By Matthew Williams - July 18, 2026

The Submillimeter Array's (SMA) new semi-automated alert system demonstrates how the radio interferometer quickly responds to discoveries from space-based telescopes.

Ultra-Black Coating Could Mitigate Light Pollution Caused by Satellites

By Matthew Williams - July 09, 2026

Astrophysicists working tirelessly to tackle the growing impact of satellite constellations have pioneered a new ultra-black coating as one possible way to mitigate the problem.

Astronomers Using Chandra Data Produce the Most Detailed View of the M87 Jet in X-rays

By Matthew Williams - July 07, 2026

Combining data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory with advanced image-processing techniques to produce the sharpest X-ray view yet of the relativistic jet from M87's supermassive black hole.

Astronomers Characterize "Improbable" System Shaped by Brown Dwarf

By Matthew Williams - July 05, 2026

An international team involving over ten institutions, with a strong participation from ESO and INAF, has characterised TOI-201 c, the transiting brown dwarf with the longest period for which mass has been measured. The study, published today in Nature, reveals a compact, coplanar system in which the presence of a massive, eccentric object redefines the stability boundaries for the inner planets

Hubble Spots Two Galaxy Clusters in the Process of Merging

By Matthew Williams - June 28, 2026

This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features a galaxy cluster, called CL0016+1609 or MACS J0018.5+1626, that is very bright at X-ray wavelengths and is one of the most extensively studied clusters at X-ray and radio wavelengths. The X-ray observations of this cluster revealed that it is two clusters merging along our line of sight.

Scientists Confirm that Two Gamma-Ray Bursts Were Caused by Collapsing Neutron Stars

By Matthew Williams - June 28, 2026

Researchers from the Los Alamos National Laboratory have confirmed that two long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) originated from the collapse of neutron stars into black holes.

Astronomers Spot a Possible Supernova Remnant Near the Milky Way's Supermassive Black Hole

By Matthew Williams - June 27, 2026

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s XMM-Newton may have found a supernova remnant near the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. If confirmed as a supernova remnant, the ejected material is moving at about two million miles per hour and is about 1,700 years old.

That "Pink Planet" Astronomers Found Turns Out to be a Salty Customer!

By Matthew Williams - June 25, 2026

Found in 2013, Pink Planet was too faint to study with ground-based telescopes. In new study, scientists used JWST and advanced processing methods to obtain its spectrum for the first time. Observations provided some of the first direct evidence for salt clouds in a cold object atmosphere. Pink Planet could be a giant planet or brown dwarf, so astronomers refer to it as a ‘planetary-mass companion’.

The History and Scientific Impact of Hubble’s Deep Field Imaging

By Andy Tomaswick - June 16, 2026

When someone asks me what originally got me interested in space exploration, my answer is always the same - the Hubble Deep Field. That image, taken in 1995, came out when I was in middle school, and had an everlasting impact on my sense of place in the universe. It’s since been improved upon by various other images, and even last week the Hubble team released yet another jaw-dropping image of the galaxy cluster MACS0329-0211 which recaptures some of the magic of that original image, and still provides the same sense of scale that never seems to truly fade once you come to terms with it. While the original Hubble Deep Field was a blind experiment to see what lay in a seemingly empty patch of sky, this new image comes from the targeted Cluster Lensing and Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH) program, focusing on the dynamics of a specific massive galaxy cluster.

Watch the Moon Occult Venus in the Daytime for North America on June 17th

By David Dickinson - June 11, 2026

If you’re like us, you’ve been following the close conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in the June dusk sky. Next week, the Moon enters the evening scene, and actually occults (passes in front of) the planet Venus in what promises to be one of the top skywatching events for 2026.

Space Telescopes Are Now Overwhelmed by Satellite Trails

By Andy Tomaswick - June 08, 2026

Unfortunately there’s more bad news to report on the clear skies front. A new paper, available in pre-print on arXiv from researchers at NASA’s Ames Research Center, reports that 73.3% of images the agency’s new SPHEREx space telescope collected between May and September of last year were contaminated by at least one artificial satellite trail. And it’s only going to get worse from here.

Catch Comet 220P McNaught in Outburst

By David Dickinson - June 08, 2026

We witnessed a surprise outburst late last week, from a lesser known periodic comet. Posts flashed across message boards late last week, alerting comet watchers to a dramatic change in brightness for periodic comet 220P McNaught. Though it wasn’t on our list for bright comets to watch for in 2026, Comet 220P is now in range of binoculars or a small telescope, low to the east at dawn as it heads towards perihelion this coming weekend.

Cosmic Tryst: Venus Meets Jupiter at Dusk

By David Dickinson - June 04, 2026

It’s a familiar annual question, that we’re already hearing as we enter into June. “What are those two bright objects in the west?” They’re none other than the two brightest planets in the sky, Jupiter and Venus. Keep an eye on the dusk sky over the next week, and you’ll see the two worlds getting ever closer to each other in the west. Though this happens every year or so, an evening conjunction assures that lots of the general public will see one of the best planetary pairings of 2026.

The Next-Generation Very Large Array Prototype (ngVLA) Gathers its First Light

By Matthew Williams - June 02, 2026

The prototype ngVLA antenna tested its systems by observing and tracking the Crab Nebula, also known as Taurus A (3C144), the remnant of an exploded star.

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