SUNSET: 
Mars has Front-Row Seat for 2014 Comet
Comet Siding Spring (C/2013 A1) has a small chance of striking the Red Planet in October 2014. It'll likely miss — but come close enough to put on a spectacular show for spacecraft on or near the planet.
Earth Briefly Gains Third Radiation Belt
Last September, just days after launching twin spacecraft deep into Earth's magnetosphere, space physicists discovered a third region of trapped high-energy particles in the Van Allen radiation belts.
Mystery Structure Around Black Hole
An X-ray flare revealed a bizarre black hole binary system, where a mysterious, moving structure blocks its visible light.
Tour March's Sky! | March 1st, 2013
Spring arrives on March 20th, astronomically speaking, and for a few days beforehand you have a chance to see Comet Pan-STARRS low in the west soon after sunset. Meanwhile, Jupiter is still riding high in the evening, along with Orion, the Hunter, and Sirius, the "Dog Star."
Black Hole Caught Spinning?
X-ray observations of a distant supermassive black hole might end a decades-long debate over the nature of these X-ray signals. But not everyone’s convinced that the observations are what they appear to be.
Tiny Telescopes Launch
Successfully launched February 25th, a pair of diminutive telescopes inside basketball-size cubes will give scientists new views of the brightest stars in the galaxy.
Scorching Rain on the Sun
NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory captures "coronal rain," a beautiful and mysterious phenomenon on the Sun.
The Moon Meets (and Hides) Spica
On Thursday, February 28th, late-evening skywatchers in the Americas can see a waning gibbous Moon nestled very close to Virgo's alpha star. Those in Central and South America might even see Spica wink out!
Comet PanSTARRS Still Punking Out
In March, Comet PanSTARRS will climb above the sunset horizon into twilight view. But it won't be as bright as we hoped — and maybe not even visible to the unaided eye.
Info on Russian Meteor Pours In
The fireball that exploded over Russia on February 15th left more than a million square feet of damaged windows, bringing home how fragile life on Earth can be. Here's what S&T's staff has managed to piece together about what happened.
Tiniest Exoplanet Around a Sunlike Star
The Kepler mission has discovered an exoplanet smaller than Mercury orbiting a Sun-like star.
"Black Rain" on Callisto and Ganymede
Those distant, dinky irregular moons of Jupiter are likely responsible for deep drifts of dark dirt on the two largest Galilean satellites.
Stellar Senior Citizen
Astronomers have confirmed that the star HD 140283 is nearly as old as the universe.
Baby Black Hole Discovered
Astronomers investigating a supernova remnant see nothing but swirls of gas. The lack of stellar remains means the explosion must have birthed a black hole only 1,000 years ago.
Lessons from the Russian Meteor Blast
Friday's meteorite explosion over Russia offers the strongest motivation yet for investigation of near-Earth objects.
Culprit Pegged for Cosmic Rays
Astronomers working with the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope say they might finally have the “smoking gun” they’ve needed to convict supernova remnants as the origin of energetic particles called cosmic rays.
Asteroid 2012 DA14 to Zip Past Earth
On February 15th, a 150-foot-wide rock will make the closest pass by Earth of any asteroid predicted far in advance. You may be able to follow it in a telescope.
A Whirlwind South Pole Tour
S&T contributing editor Govert Schilling tells the story of his recent expedition to the unique science laboratory located at the inhospitable South Pole.
Name Pluto's Moons!
Two of Pluto's moons have no proper names, but that's about to change. Planetary astronomer Mark Showalter announces a contest where you can help name the newest discoveries.
Curiosity Digs In During Drill Test
Six months after landing inside Gale crater, NASA's beefy rover finished the last major equipment check when it drilled deeply into a Martian rock.
