SUNSET: 
The Twisted Path to Unconfounding "Double Star" Messier 40
The story of Messier object No. 40 not only makes for a great yarn, but it also demonstrates the haphazard nature of scientific progress.
Methane Clouds in Motion on Saturn's Moon Titan
Astronomers have watched clouds move in Titan's atmosphere and even observed the chemistry of Saturn's moon in action.
A Pulsar Broke a Magnetic Thread in the Milky Way
Mysterious threads dangle in the Milky Way center, and a pulsar has punched through one of them — providing fresh perspective on the threads' origins.
Meet Boötes, The Herdsman
Spring in the Northern Hemisphere is a prime time to go searching for Boötes, a constellation often referred to as “The Herdsman.”
This Week's Sky at a Glance, May 16 – 25
Jupiter waves goodbye for the season. Mars forsakes Pollux and Castor and heads for Regulus. Saturn and Venus each pair up with the waning crescent Moon at dawn.
Titan Shadow Transit Season Underway
Titan shadow transits are rare, occurring only about every 15 years. Don't miss the chance to see one this observing season.
Wandering Magnetar Has Mysterious Origins
Astronomers who tracked a roaming magnetar for over a decade found that it didn’t originate from a supernova, making its origins an open question.
The Extremely Large Telescope: Our Biggest Eye on the Sky
Sky & Telescope's Govert Schilling visits what will be the world's most powerful optical telescope — the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, May 9 – 18
Every month, the Moon takes four days to cross the sky from Spica to Antares. This week it goes unusually close to each of them.
JWST Sees a Unique Mini-Neptune — the First to Match Predictions
The sub-Neptune TOI-421b is made of much the same stuff as its star — matching predictions, but bucking the trend among other similarly sized planets.
A First-timer’s Trip to the Big Ol’ Texas Star Party
I came for the stars, but I’ll be returning for the people
"Cassini's Bright Spot" Beams at Full Moon
Rayed craters pepper the Moon especially around full. Cassini's Bright Spot is one of the most striking.
Metal Shards Shed Light on the Origin of Asteroid Kalliope
Small relatives of the much-larger Kalliope, a metallic main-belt asteroid shed light on their mutual origin early in solar system history.
Priceless Flares: Magnetars Can Make Gold and Platinum
An almost forgotten observation made 20 years ago provides evidence that magnetars create some of the heaviest nuclei in the universe.
Are Proposed Science Cuts a Call-to-Arms? Or Armageddon?
Deep cuts proposed for NASA, the National Science Foundation, and other science-funding institutions are causing grave concerns in the community.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, May 2 – 11
In the evening sky, the Moon meets Mars meeting the Beehive. Low the dawn, Venus and Saturn contrast enormously in a telescope.
May Podcast: What to Call a Star?
This month we’ll look for tiny bits of Halley’s Comet; track down four planets; take stock of bright stars in the late-spring sky; and use the constellation Leo to learn what astronomers call all the stars that don’t have names. So grab your curiosity, and come along on this month’s Sky Tour episode.
Why Are Most of Andromeda's Dwarf Galaxies On Our Side?
A new look at the galaxies swarming around the Andromeda Galaxy shows that their asymmetric arrangement is rare — and difficult to explain.
See the Host Sun of Exoplanet K2-18b
While you won't see a trace of this exoplanet or alien life, it's easy to spot the red dwarf star that warms its surface.
41,000 Years Ago, Auroras Appeared Across the Globe
A weakened geomagnetic field left Earth almost defenseless against harmful cosmic radiation 41,000 years ago, but that didn’t stop humans from thriving.
