SUNSET: 
How To See a Black Hole
Surprising advances in radio astronomy have put astronomers within reach of imaging the supermassive black hole in the Milky Way and the active galaxy M87.
Tribute to Stefan Seip
Stefan Seip, who shot the cover photo for SkyWatch 2010, is one of the world's leading astrophotographers.
My Mexican Observing Expedition
Early this month astronomers made the first serious attempt to record the passage of a Kuiper Belt object in front of a star. Here's the story of Boston-area amateur Bruce Berger's trip to an observatory in Mexico to capture this historic event.
And Then There Were 400
Thirty new extrasolar planets are announced, including more super-Earths and some that orbit low-metallicity stars.
The Orionid Meteors are Here!
October's Orionid meteor shower isn't one of the year's richest, but it's a chance to see bits of dust shed long ago by Halley's Comet colliding with Earth's atmosphere. For the next few nights, with moonlight not a factor, you might spot an Orionid every few minutes from a dark-sky location.
Simulations Justify Earth's Existence
Theories of solar-system formation have a hard time explaining why Earth didn't spiral into the Sun. Now there's a possible explanation.
Podcast: Saving Mt. Wilson
What do you do when a wildfire threatens to engulf your observatory? In the latest episode of The Universe in Mind podcast Hal McAllister tells the story of the battle to save Mt. Wilson. Author Marcia Bartusiak puts the famous observatory in context with her new book about the discovery of the modern universe.
December 21, 2012
In case you haven't heard, there's a rumor going around that the world will end on December 21, 2012. Did the Mayans really predict the world would end then? Is the astronomy for real? Do we have anything to worry about? Not surprisingly, the answers are "no," "no," and "of course not."
Mel's Arecibo Adventure
A globetrotting mascot gets a behind-the-scenes tour of the world's largest single-dish radio telescope.
The LCROSS Impact, Continued
We've added updates our story on the Moon probe that NASA hoped would raise a big dust-and-vapor splash. The debris plume has indeed been seen. But how much information can be extracted from it?
Less Ado About Apophis
Now you can make plans for April 13, 2036, without worrying about a giant space rock crashing into Earth and ruining your day.
Stargazing with the Obamas
It was a star-studded Kodak moment: Last night, under clear skies, President and Mrs. Obama did a little stargazing from the White House South Lawn.
Saturn's New King of the Rings
Faint but real, a newly found ring encircles Saturn out to distances of 11 million miles.
Veteran S&T Editor Wins Reporting Award
J. Kelly Beatty has received plaudits from the planetary-science community he has covered for 35 years.
A Fall to Earth, One Year Later
Planetary astronomers had less than a day's notice before asteroid 2008 TC3 crashed into Earth one year ago. But they've made the most of the strange black fragments of it that fell to the ground that day.
First Family to See First Light
Thanks to eight months of urging by amateur astronomers, President Obama and his family are about to host the first-ever star party at the White House.
LCROSS Readies to Shoot the Moon
Early Friday morning, two spacecraft will slam into a permanently shadowed crater near the Moon's south pole in the hope of finding water there.
Planet Trio Dances at Dawn
Jupiter, the King of Planets, has the evening sky pretty much all to itself. But three other planets — Venus, Mercury, and Saturn — are putting on quite a show in the east before dawn.
Big Pix from Herschel
Europe's new Herschel Space Observatory is up and running and showing what it can do. You've never seen the far-infrared sky like this.
Get Ready for "Galilean Nights"
Galileo saw some amazing sights when he turned his telescope to the heavens 400 years ago. Now you can relive his discoveries — and share the excitement with others!
