SUNSET: 
Eclipses in 2009
Get ready for the total solar eclipse of the century — along with a hard-to-reach annular eclipse and a handful of modest lunar eclipses that take place during the International Year of Astronomy.
Meteor Showers in 2009
Sky & Telescope predicts that 2009's best meteor showers should be the Quadrantids, Orionids, and Geminids — with the added possibility of a spectacular outburst from the Leonids in mid-November.
Hunt Antarctic Meteorites, Stay Warm
Once again an intrepid team of scientists and other adventurers is combing the ice fields of Antarctica for meteorites. Follow the searchers on their quest — and learn about the leaders who return for a cold soak year after year — by reading the team's daily weblog.
Have a Hot Time on WASP-12b
An international team of observers has found an alien world where the temperature is always a toasty 4,600°F and it takes just a second or two to get a great suntan.
Dark Energy: Real and Overwhelming
The universe just isn't making galaxy clusters the way it used to. Compelling new evidence argues that "dark energy" has overwhelmed gravity's influence on forming these largest cosmic structures.
Remembering Steven Ostro
On December 15, 2008, planetary science lost one of most gifted and passionate practitioners — a radar astronomer whose work greatly improved our knowledge of near-Earth asteroids.
Rare Eclipse of EE Cephei Is Set to Begin
During January 2009 a faint star in Cepheus will fade, as it does every five or six years, when "something" goes in front of it.
Time for Another "Leap Second"
For the first time since 2005, the world's official timekeepers will add an extra second to the clock on New Year's Eve.
A Distant World in Hot Water
Astronomers report that a planet circling a star 63 light-years away in Vulpecula is wreathed in an atmosphere containing water vapor.
Tycho's Supernova in Reruns
436-year-old light echoes give a look today at a blast in the Renaissance past. The catch? They're only a twenty-billionth as bright as the original.
Hubble's Replacement Now Taking Shape
Testing has begun on the first of 18 mirror segments for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the gargantuan craft that will join the aging Hubble in space as early as 2013 — and eventually replace it as NASA's premier space observatory.
Will the Leonids Roar Again?
Anyone who remembers the spectacular displays of Leonid meteors in 1999–2002 would surely love to see them again. Good news! Theorists predict that the Leonids might be back for a modest encore in mid-November 2009.
Hubble Mission Gets OK for May
NASA managers have decided on a date to dispatch Space Shuttle flight STS 125, the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.
Martian Mega-Rover Gets a "Time Out"
Plagued by a technical obstacles that could threaten its success, a $2 billion Mars rover has been postponed two years by NASA officials. The Mars Science Laboratory's new launch date is 2011.
Catch Ceres at Its Closest
Ceres, the biggest asteroid and the first to be discovered, has an extraordinary good apparition in February and March 2009.
A Very Oddball Comet
Periodic Comet Machholz 1 has such a unique composition that a researcher suggests it may have come from another solar system. Though the odds against this seem long.
Tour December's Sky! | November 30th, 2008
After listening to this podcast, you'll have no trouble spotting Venus, Jupiter, the Pleiades star cluster, and much more in the evening sky! Host: S&T's Kelly Beatty. (5MB MP3 download: running time: 5m 47s)
The "Venus & Jupiter" Show
At the end of November and the beginning of December, the two brightest planets perform a dazzling dance in the evening twilight. On December 1st they're joined by the slender crescent Moon, which makes for a pretty trio in the Americas — and which will cover Venus in spectacular fashion for lucky skywatchers in Europe.
Betelgeuse is Making Waves
The famously red supergiant star that marks Orion's shoulder is creating an enormous shock wave as it plows through the interstellar medium. New infrared views from a Japanese space observatory called Akari show what's going on with unprecedented clarity.
Chandrayaan 1 is a Hit
India's first deep-space mission has chalked up another success during the first days of its two-year mission: slamming an instrumented probe into the lunar surface.
