SUNSET: 
Sky at a Glance | February 10th, 2012
Bright Venus and Jupiter are closing in on each other a little more each day. Mars is almost as big and bright as it's going to get. And the waning Moon passes Saturn.
New Evidence for Ancient Martian Ocean
For decades planetary scientists have speculated about whether a huge depression that dominates the northern hemisphere of Mars was once flooded with water eons ago. Now radar soundings are showing that the answer might be "yes".
The Dwarfs are for the Dwarfs
Two teams of astronomers have independently announced the detection of a dwarf galaxy being eaten by another dwarf galaxy, NGC 4449. Seen in this image as a faint swipe of red stars, the satellite will probably be shredded after only a few orbits of its host, adding its stars to that galaxy's collection.
Comet Garradd Stays the Course
Comet Garradd (C/2009 P1) was closest to Earth in early March. So the moonless period in mid-March is your best remaining chance to view this remarkable comet, which is now conveniently placed in the evening sky.
The Spin's the Thing
Astrophysicists’ new work suggests that a black hole spits out a more powerful jet if it’s spinning the same direction as the hot material falling into it. The conclusion adds to an ongoing debate about how (or whether) the direction of a black hole's spin affects the outflow it spews into space.
Sky at a Glance | February 3rd, 2012
Venus and Jupiter in the dusk are now 30° apart and closing. On the other side of the sky, the Moon marches much faster toward Mars.
Show Your Support for Pluto's Probe
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is now just 3½ years from its historic flyby of Pluto. Mission scientists have launched a petition to have the spacecraft commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp — and they want you to sign it!
S&T's Audio Sky Tour for February 2012
The sky's brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, serve as anchors in a wintertime sky full of bright stars and familiar constellations.
Tour February's Sky! | February 1st, 2012
The sky's brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, serve as anchors in a wintertime sky full of bright stars and familiar constellations.
SkyWeek TV
S&T associate editor Tony Flanders muses on the rewards and challenges of scripting a television program.
Galaxy in a Bucket
A tiny lab experiment could provide additional evidence for how galaxies come by their magnetic fields. The physics isn't new, but that's part of the allure.
The Eros Parallax Project
The asteroid 433 Eros is paying us a rare, close visit right now, and with a simple photographic setup you can join observers worldwide in calculating its distance from Earth — repeating a historic astronomical milestone.
Sky at a Glance | January 27th, 2012
Venus blazes high at dusk. The bright Moon passes Jupiter, then shines over Orion. And Mars and Saturn rise ever earlier in the night.
Time Committee Procrastinates
An international committee formed to settle the protocol for civilian time once and for all recently announced an important decision — they're going to put off the decision for another three years.
March 5 - 11, 2012
[skyweekvid id="ltrmupw8"]This is a dramatic week for planet watchers. In the east, Mars is at its brightest and closest to Earth for 2012. On the opposite side of the sky, Venus and Jupiter form a spectacular pair.
February 27 - March 4, 2012
[skyweekvid id="jgoc353l"]This week the night sky’s six or seven brightest objects are all visible 45 minutes after sunset, something that won’t happen again for decades.
February 20 - 26, 2012
[skyweekvid id="xf53xgi3"]The waxing crescent Moon passes close to three planets this week: Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter. All of them lie close to an imaginary line in the sky called the ecliptic.
February 13 - 19, 2012
[skyweekvid id="o24ge3x1"]Orion is center stage in the south as the sky grows dark. This constellation contains 7 of the sky’s 100 brightest stars. And most of Orion’s main stars are physically related.
February 6 - 12, 2012
[skyweekvid id="mf8bdls0"]Mars, the Red Planet, is beginning to appear in the evening sky. In many ways, Mars is the planet most like Earth, with deserts, dust storms, and maybe even running water on rare occasions.
January 30 - February 5, 2012
[skyweekvid id="z4t9hmkk"]This week Eros, the grandaddy of all near-Earth asteroids, is making its closest approach to Earth since 1975, just 16.6 million miles away. That make it our second-closest neighbor after the Moon.
