SUNSET: 
The Saga of an Astronomer's Hat
When a rampaging bushfire tore through Australia's Warrumbungle National Park, home to Siding Spring Observatory, it spared all of the telescopes but destroyed the homes of several staffers — the author's among them.
Mapping the Milky Way
New observations of spaghetti-thin clouds, faraway star-forming regions and mysterious magnetic fields are revealing the hard-to-see structure of the galaxy we call home.
Jupiter Dances with the Moon
On the night of Monday, January 21, 2013. Jupiter, the second-brightest planet, appears less than a finger-width from the Moon as seen from North America. And in much of South America, the Moon passes in front of Jupiter, hiding it from view.
Galactic Bubbles Spark Debate
New microwave and radio observations resurrect controversy over gigantic lobes seen ballooning from the Milky Way’s center.
NuSTAR’s New Views
NASA’s newest high-energy X-ray telescope has released two stunning images of a stellar explosion and ravenous black holes.
Fire Damages Siding Spring Observatory
Yesterday bushfires swept through Australia's Warrumbungle National Park, home to Siding Spring Observatory. The telescopes there appear to have escaped harm, but some support facilities and staff homes were destroyed.
Mapping Alien Atmospheres in 3D
A new technique charts the stormy weather of a brown dwarf 35 light-years away, allowing astronomers to probe deep into the atmosphere as well as across the cloud tops.
NGC 6872: The Largest Spiral Galaxy
Our Milky Way ranks near the top in the pecking order of spiral galaxies, but it's no match for an enormous "island universe" in the constellation Pavo that is more than 500,000 light-years across.
Floating Ice on Titan?
Astronomers had thought that ice on the Saturnian moon's methane-ethane seas would sink. But a new study suggests that, if the right conditions are met, ice could actually float on this alien-Earth world.
Beyond the Standard Model — Or Not
Scientists keep trying to disprove the Standard Model that governs modern physics. And they keep failing.
Asteroid Apophis Takes a Pass in 2036
The early results are in from a giant radar dish tracking asteroid 99942 Apophis, and it's good news for planet Earth: there's essentially no chance that this threatening object will hit us in 2036.
Watch the Moon Pass Mars
A beautiful crescent Moon passes Mars shortly after sunset this weekend. But make sure you find the right spot to skygaze, or you might not see it.
Planets Orbit Zombie Stars
Forget finding Earth 2.0 around a Sun-like star. Some astronomers aim for more exotic fare, searching for exoplanets around white dwarfs and pulsars. These studies could also teach us about the solar system’s fate.
Kepler Zeroes in on Alien Earths
NASA's Kepler space observatory is finally achieving its goal of finding many Earth-size exoplanets with surface temperatures suitable for liquid water — and thus potentially habitable.
Kepler Hits Planet Bonanza?
Kepler observations have revealed several thousand potential planetary transits. The results are preliminary, but if they hold up there could be more than 200 habitable planets in the mix.
A Chunk of Martian Crust — on Earth!
The meteorite known as NWA 7034 is a 2-billion-year-old sample of the Red Planet's crust, with unique geochemical properties and far higher water content than that of any other Martian meteorite.
Follow the Morning Moon
The Moon is the great highlight of the early morning sky this week, as it heads for a spectacular rendezvous with Venus at dawn on Thursday, January 10th.
Meteor Showers 2013
Sky & Telescope predicts that 2013's best meteor shower should be the Perseids in mid-August, but this will also be a good year for the lesser-known Eta Aquariids in early May.
ALMA Minds the (Planet‑Forming) Gap
For the first time, astronomers have imaged a key stage in planet formation, witnessing the gas streams that signal two gas giant planets sweeping up material around a star.
Tour January's Sky! | January 1st, 2013
Jupiter is the unrivaled king of the evening sky this month. Use it as a benchmark to find a pair of star clusters and other interesting celestial sights.
