SUNSET: 
Stardust's Date With Comet Tempel 1
Low on fuel but right on the money, NASA's Stardust spacecraft visited its second comet earlier today. Scientists are eager to see the crater supposedly punched in the icy nucleus 5½ years ago. One small problem: there's not much of a crater to see.
Biggest Solar Blast in 4 Years
Solar activity is indeed ramping up: the strongest solar flare in four years erupted on February 15th, dealing a glancing blow on the 18th.
Measuring Skyglow with Digital Cameras
Digital cameras are great for measuring skyglow, but more work needs to be done to automate the process.
Inside Sky & Telescope's April 2011 issue
Sky & Telescope's April 2011 issue is now available to digital subscribers.
A New Light on Jupiter
With the help of Jupiter's moon Europa, astronomers have imaged the re-emerging South Equatorial Belt in unprecedented detail.
Get Ready for a Solar-System Bonanza
We already have spacecraft orbiting the Moon, Venus, Mars, and Saturn — and another more than halfway to Pluto. But the year 2011 stands to be one of the busiest ever for new interplanetary missions.
New Images from Old Data
Find out how Joe DePasquale converted grayscale ESO data into beautiful full-color images as part of the Hidden Treasures competition.
The Sun Has Nothing to Hide
For the first time, scientists can examine the front and back sides of our star at the same time, thanks to a pair of distant Sun-watching spacecraft.
Kepler's Outrageous Six-planet System
NASA's Kepler space telescope has found1,200 likely new planets, including the most bizarre planetary system yet.
Gemini Telescope's "Bad-Seeing Blaster"
Ten years in development, a new system now being tested in Chile uses a 50-watt laser to create a constellation of five artificial stars high in the atmosphere. The goal? Soon it will allow the giant Gemini Telescope to record ultrasharp views never before possible.
Jupiter Swallows an Asteroid
Some careful spectroscopic detective work has led astronomers to conclude that a cruise-ship-size asteroid — not a small comet — smacked into the king of planets in July 2009.
Tour February's Sky! | January 28th, 2011
February brings into view Orion and his faithful hunting dogs, a set of constellations that sparkle with bright, colorful stars.
Sun Worship in Cambridge
On a few days each year, sunlight shines all the way down an 825-foot-long corridor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a phenomenon that has been dubbed MIThenge.
A Galaxy when Galaxies Were Young
News media worldwide are reporting today on the new "farthest galaxy ever found," but the discovery is not quite as definite as it’s being made out.
R. Jay GaBany Wins Chambliss Award
California astrophotographer R. Jay GaBany wins the 2011 award for cutting-edge amateur research.
"Hidden Treasures" Winners Announced
It was challenging to pick the best of the best from among nearly 100 entries. But there's no argument that the melding of raw European Southern Observatory images with amateur astrophotographers' creativity has produced stunning results.
Shining New Light on "Hanny's Voorwerp"
A mysterious, galaxy-size cloud of glowing gas, discovered by a Dutch schoolteacher in 2007, is teaching cosmologists a thing or two about how quasars work.
A Sign of the Times
What's with the sudden realization that the zodiac has 13 constellations and that Sun signs have shifted due to precession? S&T devotees — and astrologers — have known this all along.
The Crab Nebula Flickers!
A recent study shows that the Crab Nebula, long considered a steady source of X-rays, actually fluctuates.
S&T's Cosmic Cruise
Imagine warm ocean breezes, sparking waves, exotic scenery, great speakers — and, at night, constellations you've perhaps never seen before!
