SUNSET: 
The Sun Is Waking Up — Right On Schedule
The Sun is ramping up activity, but contrary to some reports, this solar cycle is still consistent with scientists' predictions.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, May 20 – 28
The advancing spring sends Vega high and Capella low. The Coma Berenices cluster glitters shyly way up, big and dim. Glance up anytime to check on changing Beta Lyrae. And now in the dawn, Jupiter aligns with Mars.
Seeing Inside a Cosmic Superaccelerator
Astronomers are exploring a celestial particle accelerator in the Eel Nebula that surrounds a distant pulsar.
NASA's Insight Lander Detects Monster 'Marsquake'
NASA’s Mars Insight lander witnessed the largest quake detected on another world at just the right time — as the lander begins to run low on power.
A Cosmic Collision Could Have Made Two Dark Matter–Less Galaxies
Astronomers connect the dots between two strange doppelganger galaxies, uncovering what might be a string of galactic pearls created in a cosmic collision 8 billion years ago.
Spotting Dots on the Sun
You’ve heard of sunspots, but how about Sun dots? A recent solar mission has snapped photos of tiny, bright dots on the Sun, and astronomers are contemplating their cause.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Witness a Total Lunar Eclipse on Sunday, May 15–16
The full Flower Moon ducks inside Earth's shadow in a total lunar eclipse this month. We help you prepare for all the highlights of the special event.
The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle
Astronomers Unveil Image of the Milky Way’s Central Black Hole
Using a worldwide array of telescopes, the Event Horizon Telescope team has given us our first look at Sagittarius A*.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, May 13 – 21
The Moon becomes totally eclipsed, Corvus eyes Spica, Draco eyes Vega, and the last star of the rising Summer Triangle clears the horizon.
Astronomers Watched a White Dwarf Turn into a Thermonuclear Fireball
Astronomers have spotted the X-ray flash that precedes a nova. The brief flare is the first sign of a white dwarf erupting into a nuclear-fusion fireball.
S&T Authors Win Science Journalism Awards
Two Sky & Telescope authors have won prestigious awards recognizing excellence in science journalism.
How to Image an Exoplanet with Just a Few Pixels
Using Earth as an example, astronomers are testing a new technique that could image rocky exoplanets without resolving them.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, May 6 – 14
The Moon aligns with Pollux and Castor – but how precisely for you? Three zero-magnitude stars form a far-flung spring triad. And with Libra and Bootes up, the two oldest things you will ever see await your binoculars or scope.
A Possible Optical Counterpart to a Fast Radio Burst?
What’s the mechanism behind millisecond-duration bursts of radio energy coming from outer space? A team searched for visible-light counterparts to constrain the origin of fast radio bursts — and found one.
Wartime Skygazing: An Amateur Astronomer in Ukraine
Plakha Alexander — amateur astronomer, owner of Astro-Gadget.net, and Ukrainian — shares his experiences since Russia's invasion began.
Where Did Earth’s Trojans Go? Ask the Moon
Why doesn't Earth have Trojan asteroids of its own? Large impacts in the early years of the solar system may be to blame.
May: An Eclipse, Planets & More
Download this month's Sky Tour podcast to find which planets are visible in the morning and evening skies, along expert tips for how to view the total lunar eclipse on May 15–16.
The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle
10 New Merger Events in Gravitational-Wave Data
An independent team has found additional black hole mergers in LIGO data.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, April 29 – May 6
Mercury passes the Pleiades at dusk. Jupiter passes Venus in the dawn as Mars and Saturn watch. And can you name the three brightest stars of these spring nights? Hint: They're all magnitude zero.
Scientists Wonder: Is the Origin of Life Extraterrestrial?
A new analysis method has revealed DNA building blocks in meteorites, suggesting that these prebiotic molecules might have formed during the solar system's earliest years.