SUNSET: 
Revealing Hidden Black Holes
The NuSTAR telescope has spied high-energy X-rays from five supermassive black holes shrouded in a thick veil of dust and gas, a test run that will lead to a better census of these hidden beasts.
Down-Under Observers Track Pluto Cover-up
Deep snow, high winds, and dropped cameras didn't stop dozens of observers in New Zealand and Tasmania from recording Pluto's occultation of a bright star on June 29th.
Pulsar System to Put On a Show in 2018
Astronomers are looking forward to 2018, when a young pulsar will pass through its binary star companion’s disk.
Black Hole Too Big for its Breeches
A supermassive black hole in the early universe is at least 10 times too heavy for its host galaxy, raising questions about galaxy and black hole coevolution.
Seeing Signs of the First Stars?
Astronomers have come upon the tantalizing signal from some of the universe’s first stars.
Glimpsing Pluto’s Curious Equator
Here’s a taste of what New Horizons hopes to resolve when it passes by Pluto next Tuesday, July 14th.
C/2014 Q1 (PanSTARRS): Next Naked-Eye Comet?
Comet C/2014 Q1 PanSTARRS has been skirting the northern horizon since mid-June. Now it's ready to dip Down Under, where it may be visible with the naked eye in evening twilight.
New Horizons Hiccups, Goes into Safe Mode
Just 10 days before its history-making flyby of Pluto and its moons, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft briefly lost communication with Earth.
SOFIA Dashes into Pluto's Shadow
Despite an 11th-hour scramble due to an unexpected in predictions, NASA's flying observatory was in the right place at the right time on June 29th as distant Pluto briefly covered a 12th-magnitude star.
Photos of the Venus-Jupiter Conjunction
For the last few weeks, countless numbers of the world’s 7 billion people watched the western evening sky as the two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, edged closer and closer to one another. Last night, June 30th, they reached their least separation: 0.3° apart (at the time of twilight for the Americas).
Rosetta Spots Sinkholes on Comet
The spacecraft orbiting Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko has found 18 holes in the nucleus's surface.
Planet with a Comet Tail
Astronomers have confirmed that the planet Gliese 436b seems to be trailing a gigantic, comet-like cloud of hydrogen.
Witnessing Light Echoes from a Neutron Star
X-ray echoes from binary star system Circinus X-1 are helping astronomers measure its distance from Earth.
Do We Need "Asteroid Day"?
Are we really doing enough to find asteroids, especially the smaller ones that could destroy a city? A private initiative urges a rapid ramp-up of the search effort — but not everyone agrees.
Venus and Jupiter: Together at Last
The two brightest planets are gliding closer together in the early evening sky, and their celestial dance culminates with an ultra-close pairing on June 30th.
Volcanoes on Venus: Active or Not?
Hotspots on Venus might be researchers’ long-sought evidence for active volcanoes.
Tour July's Sky: Saturn and the Scorpion
Stargazing in July is warm and pleasant. After sunset Venus and Jupiter are together in the west and Saturn is low in the south amid the stars of Scorpius.
Weighing a Supermassive Black Hole
Combining a novel technique and a world-class telescope, astronomers have measured the mass of the supermassive black hole at the center of barred spiral NGC 1097.
Dust-poor Early Galaxies
New ALMA observations reveal low levels of dust in nine early galaxies, suggesting astronomers should revise some of their calculations.
Solar Storm Triggers Widespread Auroras
An auroral display on June 22nd surprised and delighted viewers in Northern America, Europe, and southern Australia.
