SUNSET: 
Gamma-Ray Burst Caught in the Act
A fast worldwide alert enables astronomers to snag their best-observed gamma-ray burst ever.
Pluto Mission Gets Boost in Congress
The prospects for a mission to Pluto look better than ever.
Neutrino and X-ray Pioneers Earn Nobel Prize
The 2002 Nobel Prize for physics will be shared by three researchers who opened up two new fields of astronomical investigation.
Astronomers Warn Congress About Near-Earth Asteroid Risks
Meteor experts addressed Capitol Hill about the status of near Earth asteroid protection.
Threatening Asteroids: Fewer Hits in our Future?
New studys suggest that asteroid impacts on Earth are more rare than preciously believed.
A New Kuiper Belt Kingpin
Even though it's even farther from the Sun than Pluto, a newly discoverd object named Quaoar is so big and so bright that astronomers should have spotted it 19 years ago.
Astro Image in the News:
Interstellar Odd Couple
What seems to be a 'next-door neighbor' to NGC 4319 is actually a billion light-year distant quasar.Courtesy NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STSCI/AURA). The Hubble Space Telescope captured this scene in the constellation Draco. The large galaxy is the 80 million light-year distant NGC 4319. And to its upper…
Astro News Briefs: September 30–October 6
A new moon for Uranus and a new binary asteroid.
Lumicon's Final Exposure
A household name in the astronomical community, Lumicon officially closed its doors at the end of September.
Space Artists Honored
World-renowned space artists Don Davis and Jon Lomberg have been awarded the prestigious Klumpke-Robert Award by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
LIGO Comes Alive
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory is online and listening for black-hole collisions.
The Crab's Shimmering Shock Waves
Never-before-seen details in the inner Crab Nebula reveal that the fast-spinning pulsar at its heart is powering a dynamic sequence of events.
Polarized Microwaves Bolster New Cosmology
These scientists are posing beside DASI, a compact 'telescope' that gathers microwave radiation from the universe's infancy. DASI's latest discovery, announced today, adds credence to the new paradigm of an accelerating universe.Courtesy Stephanie Rowatt. By measuring the polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation — an unprecedented technical achievement —…
Midsize Black Holes in Midsize Star Clusters
Black holes with several thousand times the Sun's mass have unexpectedly turned up in the cores of globular clusters.
Earth's Newest "Moon"?
An unidentified object orbiting Earth has piqued the interests of amateur astronomers.
The Sun Remains Active
A large sunspot group has returned to the Earth-facing side of the Sun.
Astro News Briefs: September 9–15
NASA names the Next Generation Space Telescope.
Auroral Delights
A rare display of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, delighted observers at middle latitudes last Saturday evening. Click on the image to see a composite of four frames showing the aurora's rapidly changing form over the skies of Danbury, New Hampshire.Sky & Telescope photo by Rick Fienberg. On September…
Astronomical League Surges With Growth
From humble beginnings 55 years ago, the Astronomical League has a shiny new office and some big plans.
Assessing and Reporting Impact Risks
Astronomers are heavily debating the best way to accurately inform the public about the risks of deadly impact on Earth.