SUNSET: 
Mount Wilson Escapes Wildfire; Amateur Observatory Destroyed
Firefighting crews held the line as wildfire threatened Mount Wilson; an amateur observatory built by the Tri-Valley Stargazers was not so lucky.
Race to Venus: How We’ll Verify Phosphine
Confirming phosphine's presence on Venus is difficult from Earth . . . and that makes a good case for a mission to our sister planet.
Sun’s Activity Cycle Is Stabilizing
Solar Cycle 25 is here, and forecasts suggest the next decade of the Sun’s activity will mimic the last one — halting a 40-year trend.
Uranian Moons Are Like Dwarf Planets
The moons of Uranus exhibit heat signatures similar to dwarf planets in the Kuiper Belt — where the moons were likely born.
Potential Biosignature Found in Venus’s Clouds
Astronomers might have found a potential indication of life in the clouds of Venus.
Hubble Images Reveal Dark Matter Problem
Astronomers studying Hubble Space Telescope images of massive galaxy clusters have uncovered a potential problem with dark matter.
Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson
Amateur Astronomer Finds Kilometer-size Asteroid
A grant front the Planetary Society enabled an amateur astronomer's discovery of kilometer-size asteroid 2020 QU6.
Astronomers Map Andromeda’s Halo
Astronomers have observed 43 quasars in back of our sister galaxy, Andromeda, using the distant beacons to map its halo of hot gas.
Stormy Times on Jupiter, Comet Howell Steps Up, and More
Colder weather might be coming, but don't pack away that telescope! You'll miss a powerful storm that's remaking Jupiter's North Temperate Belt, a returning comet, Mira on the rise, and a bright supernova in the Great Bear.
Study Suggests Jupiter Could Have 600 Moons
New detections of candidate moons suggest that the king of planets could have hundreds of smaller satellites.
Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson
Historic Lick Observatory Survives California Fire
The Lick Observatory, a major astronomical institution outside San Jose, has survived a devastating California wildfire mostly unscathed.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, September 4 – 12
Mars is big, bright and close as it nears opposition! It nears the gibbous Moon this weekend.
Meet Antares: The Star That Is Not Mars
Antares is a red supergiant that — like Betelgeuse — will one day go supernova.
Record-breaking Signal Reveals New Population of Black Holes
Gravitational-wave observatories have detected the most massive black hole merger yet, and it's challenging our ideas of black hole formation.
September 2020: Four Planets & More!
Take advantage of September's beautiful evenings to gaze upward as you listen to our guided tour of the star-filled sky.
Twinkling Quasar Hints at Mysterious Nearby Plasma Cloud
Radio observations have turned up evidence of a cloud of hot plasma near — or even in — the solar system. But its distance estimate is still up for debate.
The Origin of Earth’s Water
Scientists have discovered a new candidate source for Earth's water: building blocks of the primordial solar system known as enstatite chondrites.
Half-ton OGO 1 Spacecraft Set to Reenter
NASA's Orbiting Geophysical Observatory 1, a bus-sized relic of the early Space Age, is set to reenter in the coming week.
How Did Pluto's Moons Form?
A massive collision with Pluto’s moon Charon could have formed the dwarf planet’s collection of smaller moons.
Astronomy and Stargazing Projects
Take a Roller Coaster Ride on a Fast Eclipsing Binary
How would you like to see a star drop two magnitudes in the time it takes to eat dinner? Easy to do. Just check out one of these fast eclipsing binaries — they'll make your head spin.
