SUNSET: 
Alien Mars Announced
Aided by an amateur astronomer, Kepler scientists have detected an exoplanet system containing three sub-Earth-sized planets, the smallest of which is about the size of Mars.
Black Hole Shoots Bullets
Observations of a black hole that spat out twin blobs of superhot material may help astronomers understand how the mysterious beasts create powerful jets that shoot out from their poles. The blobs appeared just as the system went quiet in X-rays.
New Maps of Dark Matter
An intensive study of dark matter’s distribution in the universe has verified predictions of where the invisible stuff that makes up the majority of cosmic matter resides.
New Supernova in Leo
Along with the usual galaxies, dark matter, and exoplanets, the American Astronomical Society's January meeting is abuzz with the discovery of a supernova by a team of amateurs. Astronomers are rushing to observe the explosion before it fades.
January 9 - 15, 2012
[skyweekvid id="b09020gs"]Sirius, the night sky's brightest star, is on great display during January evenings.
Heartbeat Suggests Smallest Black Hole
Strange, regular pulses from a black hole-star binary system suggest that the smallest black hole yet discovered lies behind the signals. Similarities between it and another known mystery object may mean the black holes are hiccuping as they eat.
Wanted: Meteorites from Mercury
Dynamical oddsmakers insist that several samples of the innermost planet, blasted into space from fresh craters such as Mena, should be lying somewhere on Earth. So where are they?
Eclipses in 2013
This year features two "central" eclipses of the Sun: an annular in May (visible from Australia and the South Pacific) and a "hybrid" (annular/total) in November that you'll have to travel to Africa to see.
January 2 - 8, 2012
[skyweekvid id="j08m4sr5"]Weather permitting, North Americans can enjoy a little-known but unusually strong meteor shower before dawn on Wednesday morning.
GRAIL's Twins Safely Reach the Moon
Braking rockets fired on cue yesterday and today, placing twin spacecraft in lunar orbit. In the coming months, they will exploit the Moon's own gravity to revolutionize what we know about the lunar interior.
