SUNSET: 
Equipment: Guides & Recommendations
Highlights From PATS 2011
This year's Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show is a great place to see new, old, and occasionally surprising astronomy products.
M101's Supernova Shines On
As of October 3rd the supernova in the galaxy M101 was down to about magnitude 11.1, after peaking in mid-September at 9.9. It's fading by about 0.1 magnitude every two days now, and it has changed from white to strikingly orange-red.
A Planet Orbiting Two Suns
NASA's Kepler mission has found an exoplanet that orbits a close pair of stars. This Tatooine-like world should have a lot to tell about planet formation in binary star systems.
Solar Flares Aren't What They Seemed
Recent data from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory show that solar flares are more powerful than they were previously thought to be.
50 New Worlds and a Big, Pleasant Earth?
The HARPS planet-hunting spectrograph of the European Southern Observatory has just produced 50 more worlds — one of which may be not too hot, and not too cold by Earth-creatures' standards.
GRAIL Heads for the Moon
By this time next year, the twin spacecraft of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission should have given geophysicists an unprecedented peek at the lunar interior from crust to core.
Antiope Occultation Yields Double Bonanza
When observers fanned out last July 19th to record a binary asteroid's passage across a distant star, they hoped to gain scientifically important new findings. The results are in, and they've scored big-time!
Kenya's Rain of Meteorites
On the morning on July 16th, villagers heard a thunderous explosion in the sky and later found space rocks scattered throughout their corn fields.
Sue French's New Book
Deep-Sky Wonders, the new book by Sue French, is now available for pre-order.
Trusty Comet Garradd
Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd is shining at 7th or maybe even 6th magnitude as it traverses southeastern Hercules.
Lots Going On in the Sky
The first week of September will be a memorable time for observers in the Northern Hemisphere.
Tour September's Sky! | August 31st, 2011
This is a month of transition: Northern summer becomes autumn, Saturn sets just before Jupiter rises, and Venus is moving from the morning sky before dawn to the evening sky.
Dark Skies in Ohio
Where can you go in the Midwest to view the night sky unimpeded by light pollution? Ohio has a spot for you.
Comet Elenin Self-Destructs
It was going to be the celestial highlight of 2011. Now Comet Elenin appears to have broken into pieces just two weeks prior to its perihelion.
Webb Telescope: Progress and Problems
Despite threats by the House of Representatives to cut funding, the James Webb Space Telescope plans move ahead.
A Planet Made of Diamond
Astronomers have discovered a truly weird planet-like object: a former star core apparently make of a superdense form of diamond, orbiting a pulsar with
The Moon's Uncertain Age
Is the lunar crust only 4.36 billion years old, as new results suggest, or at least 4.43 billion years old, as most researchers believe? The difference isn't much — but the implications for early lunar history are profound.
The Darkest Exoplanet Yet
Think you know all the kinds of alien worlds? Think again. Two astronomers have just added another weirdo to the list: an exoplanet darker than powdered charcoal.
Hunt for Supernova Origins
New observations are beginning to uncover the origins of some Type Ia supernovae.
Galaxies Make Giant Gas Clouds Glow
The Lyman-alpha blobs have been a mystery since their discovery in 2000. Recent research however might offer clues.
