541–560 of 1,389 results
Roman Space Telescope

Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson

NASA Renames WFIRST: The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

NASA is renaming its next flagship space observatory to honor pioneering NASA astronomer and "Mother of Hubble," Nancy Grace Roman.

Whirlpool Galaxy

Explore the Night with Bob King

See Spring's Finest Spiral Galaxies

Spring skies offer some of the best sights of spiral galaxies. Point your scope at some of these magnificent cosmic whirlpools.

a half circle of a blue planet with white clouds

Cosmic Relief with David Grinspoon

Venus Is Dead. Long Live Venus.

In which I attempt a contrarian argument against my own contrarian argument.

Imaging Foundations with Richard Wright

Backyard Projects for At-home Astrophotographers

Can’t get to your favorite dark sky site? Do not despair, a great many targets and techniques are still available to the backyard imager.

Eclipse mosaic

Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson

Medieval "Dark Eclipse" Helps Date Ice Cores — and Time Volcanic Eruptions

Scientists have used a famous "dark eclipse" of the Moon to help date ice cores collected in Greenland and the Antarctic.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Supernovae Light Up in M61 and NGC 3643

Two new supernovae for amateur telescopes are keeping things lively this month.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Comet SWAN Expected to Put on a Splendid Show

Comet SWAN will grace northern skies in the days to come.

illustration of triple system HR 6819

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Closest Black Hole to Earth? Maybe

An international team of astronomers says that they’ve discovered the closest black hole to Earth — an invisible object dancing with two large, bright stars 1,000 light-years away.

Pluto atmosphere

Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson

Did Pluto Harbor an Ancient Subsurface Ocean?

New studies shed light on the early years of Pluto's formation, and whether it ever hosted a subsurface ocean.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Chase a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid As It Flies by Earth

Break out your binoculars or a small telescope, we've got a busy week ahead! Watch as a bright asteroid approaches Earth, the Moon steals a star, and Comet ATLAS's last hurrah.

Illustration of black hole merger

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Mismatched Black Holes Merge

For the first time, the LIGO and Virgo gravitational-wave detectors have "heard" gravitational waves from an unequal pair of black holes.

star draws rosette around black hole

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Black Hole Changes Star’s Orbit in Gravity Test

A long-awaited measurement indicates that a star whizzing around the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole has changed its trajectory.

Bob King blog post

Explore the Night with Bob King

Shadow-casting with Venus

Venus has a been powerful presence at dusk for months — bright enough to cast shadows. How would you like to put it to the test? The Moon won't spoil the darkness until at least April 24th — April 25th if you wait till after moonset — making it the perfect time to see your own shadow by the light of another celestial body.

Comet ISON

Imaging Foundations with Richard Wright

Astrophotography: Catching Comets

Photographing comets presents unique challenges to your astrophotography routine. A few straightforward techniques can help.

JWST

Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson

Space and Astronomy in the Time of COVID-19

The ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on spaceflight, science, and professional and amateur astronomy.

BepiColombo Flyby

Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson

BepiColombo's Flyby Past Earth

BepiColombo, the joint ESA/JAXA Mercury-bound mission, will swing by the Earth on Friday.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Oh No! Comet ATLAS Is Fragmenting

Find out when and where to see Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) — and stay tuned to see how bright (or not) this comet gets.

series of zooms on 3C 279's jet

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Event Horizon Telescope Finds Bent Jet Near Black Hole

Observations from the worldwide network of radio telescopes show the fire hose of plasma shooting from a distant galaxy does something strange near its source.

particle storm

Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson

Sunrise CubeSats Will Study Giant Solar Storms

NASA has selected a unique new mission to study the Sun, targeting a 2023 launch date.

Explore the Night with Bob King

The Pleiades Welcome Venus

You can renew your own cosmic connection on Friday night, April 3rd. That's when the planet Venus will skirt the Pleiades star cluster in a spectacular dusk conjunction visible across much of the planet.