Observatories
Many of the World’s Greatest Observatories Suffer from Some Light Pollution
In a recent study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, an international team of researchers examined…
Arecibo Won’t Be Rebuilt
The National Science Foundation announced last week that it won’t rebuild or replace the iconic Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico,…
Astronomers Watched a “Near-Sun” Comet Disintegrate as it Flew too Close to the Sun
Comets that venture close to the Sun can transform into something beautiful, but sometimes they encounter incineration if they get…
Here are All of Hubble’s Observations in One Picture
Over the past 32 years, Hubble has made about 1.4 million observations of our Universe. Physicist Casey Handmer was curious…
Ground-Based Observatories Could use Starshades to see Planets too
All hail the occulter: an orbiting starshade for ground-based telescopes. (more…)
Astronomy Jargon 101: Adaptive Optics
In this series we are exploring the weird and wonderful world of astronomy jargon! Adjust your eyeglasses to read about…
The Carina Nebula. Seen With and Without Adaptive Optics
Ever wonder how modern astronomical observatories take such clear images of distant objects? Advances in mirror design have allowed for…
Climate Change is Making the Atmosphere Worse for Astronomy
Modern astronomical telescopes are extraordinarly powerful. And we keep making them more powerful. With telescopes like the Extremely Large Telescope…
Japan Suspends its Funding for the 30-Meter Telescope
Japan has suspended its funding contribution to the controversial Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) in Hawaii. An international consortium is behind…
Good-bye Spitzer. We’ll Miss You But We Won’t Forget You.
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has reached the end of its life. Its mission was to study objects in the infrared,…