SUNSET: 
New Class of Low-luminosity GRBs
The ESA spacecraft XMM-Newton captures an X-ray light echo from gamma-ray burst (GRB) 031203. This GRB, which occurred 1.6 billion light-years away, is one of the closest and faintest bursts ever detected. The light echo is an optical illusion caused by gamma-rays from the burst scattering off dust in the…
Hubble Spectrograph Fails
A component failure leaves the Hubble Space Telescope unable to record cosmic spectra.
Stellar Vibrations Missing
New spacecraft results suggest that Procyon might not experiencing pulsations after all.
Bringing the Universe into the Classroom
About 200 teachers, educators, and scientists gathered in Massachusetts for a three-day symposium called Cosmos in the Classroom.
Mercury Bound!
NASA's Messenger spacecraft is finally on its way for a close look at the innermost planet, Mercury.
Astronomy Day 2004 Efforts Lauded
This year's celebration of Astronomy Day involved hundreds of organizations around the world and drew huge crowds.
Lensing Star Weighed
Astronomers have a new set of scales for measuring the masses of stars — by watching the way a star's gravity bends the light of a distant background star.
Does Clarissa Have a Moon?
In spite of recent indications that asteroid 302 Clarissa has a moon circling around it, evidence now suggests that the object may be alone in the cosmos after all. On June 24th, four observers in the northeastern United States watched as the asteroid occulted the star SAO 118999. Astronomers predicted…
Sunspots Visible
After weeks of having a face free of large blemishes, the Sun now sports a Jupiter-sized spot, large enough to be visible without magnification if you use a safe solar filter.
Is the July 31st Full Moon Really "Blue"?
Is July 31st full Moon, the second one in the month, really a Blue Moon?
Astro News Briefs: July 5–11
Mount Graham Fire Stabilizes July 9, 2004 | The wildfire threatening the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) at Mount Graham, Arizona came within 650 meters of the observatory on July 6th, but firefighters halted its progress by carrying out a controlled burn ahead of the fire's path. Now, the worst seems…
Stringy Holes: Hawking Concedes Defeat
The famed British physicist joins the mainstream in believing that black holes preserve information.
Marathon Mystery Explained?
Astronomy historians have re-dated the 26-mile dash in ancient Greece that led to today's sport of marathoning.
Mars Rovers Find More Evidence of Water
As Spirit and Opportunity visit new science targets, they continue to make important discoveries.
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9: A Decade Later
This week marks the 10th anniversary of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacting the clouds of Jupiter. Sky & Telescope contributing editor and SL9 codiscoverer David Levy reflects on some of the events surrounding the Great Comet Crash.
2004 Comet Award Winners
Veteran comet hunter William A. Bradfield with one of his comet seekers: a homemade 150-millimeter (6-inch) f/5.5 rich-field refractor on an altazimuth mount. To date, Bradfield has discovered 18 comets.Courtesy Kym Thalassoudis Two Australians will share the sixth annual Edgar Wilson Award for amateur comet discovery. According to IAU Circular…
Hubble Panel Endorses Servicing Mission
A panel of outside experts has told NASA that another Hubble servicing mission is crucial, and that it should be carried out by Space Shuttle astronauts if necessary.
Eta Carinae Plays Purple Haze
Recent studies show that the southern-sky supergiant Eta Carinae isn't just one massive star, it’s two.
Wildfires Threaten Arizona Observatories
A lightning-triggered fire raged up the slopes of Mount Graham and has come within a mile of the unfinished Large Binocular Telescope.
