SUNSET: 
Van Allen Probes Peek at Radiation Belts
The twin Van Allen Probes have only been spaceborne for 60 days, but they’ve already returned heaps of data about the radiation belts, whose "killer electrons" endanger satellites.
Making Planets Around Brown Dwarfs
Astronomers searching for forming planets have a new place to look. Even the thin disks around brown dwarfs are capable of forming grains large enough that, one day, they could potentially coalesce into a rocky planet.
Voyager's On-ramp to Interstellar Space
Now more than 11 billion miles from home, NASA's long-lived interplanetary probe is immersed in a flow of particles coming directly from beyond the heliosphere — an experience that mission scientists have hoped for since the 1970s.
Curiosity Gets a Whiff of Organic Matter
When NASA's newest rover cooked up its first samples of Martian soil, one instrument reported finding traces of organic molecules. But they're probably false alarms, say mission scientists.
Tour December's Sky! | November 30th, 2012
Mars lurks low in the west after sunset, just as Jupiter rises dramatically in the east. Meanwhile, a mythic tale unfolds among the stars and constellations overhead.
A Big Black Hole in a Small Galactic Pond
A record-breaking black hole lurking at the center of a compact galaxy weighs about 17 billion Suns, a new study finds. Now astronomers are wondering: how did such a small galaxy come to harbor a leviathan?
Advanced Imaging Conference 2012
Watch Dennis di Cicco's recent interview with Apogee Imaging Systems’ president Wayne Brown at the 2012 Advanced Imaging Conference.
Mercury's Polar Ice Defies the Odds
Today scientists confirmed a suspicion raised some 20 years ago: despite all logic to the contrary, the hellish planet Mercury is hiding substantial deposits of water ice in its polar regions.
Sky & Telescope January 2013
Sky & Telescope's January 2013 issue is now available to digital subscribers. Some print subscribers may have already received it, and it's officially on-sale at newsstands starting December 4th.
Making Mini-Oort Clouds
A new set of simulations shows that systems with so-called "hot Jupiters" might also have mini-Oort clouds detectable by today's space telescopes, giving astronomers a new potential tool for finding exotic extrasolar systems.
A Planetary Nebula Reborn — For a While
A stunning image from the Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory reveals a planetary nebula come back to life.
The 2012 Leonid Meteor Shower
The annual Leonids should peak early Saturday morning. While they probably won't make a big impression this year, an absent Moon and the possibility of a second meteor peak next week raise the cool factor.
Tilt a Black Hole and Watch What Happens
A simulation published in yesterday's Science shows how black holes govern their surroundings. Watch a black hole work its magic in this new video.
Asteroid Pieces Make Pretty Meteorites
A new analysis of crystals in pallasite meteorites suggests that these beautiful objects had a violent birth — but one quite different than scientists had imagined.
Totality Down Under
The total solar eclipse on November 13-14 drew tens of thousands of umbraphiles to northeastern Australian and onto several ships in the South Pacific.
Not in Australia? Watch Today's Eclipse Online
Watch today's total solar eclipse even if you haven't traveled Down Under. At 3:35 p.m. EST, the Moonwill cover the Sun for a maximum of 4 minutes and 2 seconds. Two sites will let you see the spectacle live online.
Cosmic Web Weeds Dwarf Galaxies
Astronomers have discovered an unexpected explanation for why they can only find a small fraction of the satellite galaxies the Milky Way is supposed to have.
Making the Moon Anew
One of the solar system's most nagging problems literally stares into the collective faces of planetary scientists on many nights every month. It's the Moon — or, specifically, how it came to exist.
A New Goldilocks Planet
Astronomers have found a system of six super-Earths, one of which is at the "Goldilocks" distance for sustaining liquid water. The Sun-like host of the system lies only 40 light-years away.
Explaining Cosmic Butterflies
Planetary nebulae, left behind by stars like our Sun, come in chimerical shapes. New observations confirm that many of these shapes may have a common explanation.
