SUNSET: 
Opening Days of Astronomy's "Olympics"
Every three years, the IAU holds a conference that brings together astronomers from around the world to address current issues — a sort of astronomy "Olympics."
Curiosity Zaps Its First Martian Rock
A rapid-fire burst of 30 laser pulses from the rover's ChemCam instrument created an incandescent hotspot on a fist-sized rock about 10 feet away.
IAU Readies for Conference
Stay tuned as astronomer Jay Pasachoff reports from the upcoming International Astronomical Union conference in Beijing, China.
Milky Way's Black Hole Once Active
Evidence continues to mount that our galaxy's supermassive black hole was not always the quiet neighbor it is now.
New Heavyweight Galaxy Cluster
Astronomers have discovered a supermassive galaxy cluster that both meets and challenges expectations for how clusters ought to behave.
Mount Sharp or Aeolis Mons?
Scientists associated with the Curiosity mission have two names for the towering peak inside Gale crater. SkyandTelescope.com readers told us which one they liked best.
August 13th's Occultation of Venus
If you're up for a bit of a challenge, drag out your telescope to watch a thin crescent Moon glide over brilliant Venus. This cover-up is a daylight event in the U.S., but it occurs in dark skies before dawn on the 14th for lucky observers in Japan.
Fly Through a 3D Map of the Universe
A mind-boggling 1.5 million galaxies trace out the filaments, clusters, and voids in Sloan Digital Sky Survey's new 3D map of the universe.
Curiosity's Name Game
Scientists associated with the Curiosity mission have two names for the towering peak inside Gale crater. Sky & Telescope wants to know: Which name do you prefer?
Perseids at Their Prime
The annual Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend, providing skywatchers with a great opportunity to see some incoming bits of the cosmos.
Watch Curiosity Descend onto Mars
See through Curiosity's eyes as it descends to the surface of the Red Planet.
Orbiter Spies Curiosity's "Crime Scene"
As seen from orbit, Curiosity is surrounded by wrecked pieces of the capsule that accompanied it to the floor of Gale crater.
Messenger Hits Eighth Birthday
NASA's emissary to Mercury just celebrated the eighth anniversary of its launch from Cape Canaveral in 2004. Here's a recap of some of the stuff we've learned about Mercury since Messenger arrived at the Iron Planet.
Curiosity Lands in Gale Crater
After a perilous and complicated descent to the Red Planet's surface, Curiosity has radioed "A-OK" to an anxious mission team waiting back on Earth.
Mars in the Evening Spotlight
This week countless space buffs will be riveted by Curiosity's arrival at Mars — which can be found, along with Saturn and Spica, in the west after dusk.
A History of Missions to Mars
This comprehensive list, compiled by the editors of Sky & Telescope, provides a snapshot of every mission intended to reach the Red Planet since 1960.
Star-Shredder's Brief Pulse
A supermassive black hole spotted last year as it ripped a star apart and spat out a jet had another surprise up its sleeve: a short-lived X-ray heartbeat seen only once before from a galaxy’s central beast.
Martian Landings, Then and Now
Curiosity is the latest in a string of Martian landers (and landing attempts) that stretches back more than 40 years.
The Curious Avalanches of Iapetus
Saturn's two-faced moon hosts extraordinary avalanches that cascade much longer than they should. Figuring out what makes them flow might help scientists better understand landslides on Earth.
What Happened to the Flags On The Moon?
It's a question that still gets asked: "Can you see the six flags left on the Moon by Apollo astronauts?" The surprising answer is "Yes".
