SUNSET: 
Nozomi (Finally) Heads for Mars
Japan's first-ever planetary spacecraft should reach Mars in mid-December &$151; but will it be functioning when it gets there?
News from the Sun
Solar astronomers meeting this week have announced a spate of new research results about our home star.
Aurora and Leviathan Highlight German Star Party
Patterned after the Stellafane convention in the US, the Internationales Teleskoptreffen Vogelsberg (ITV) drew a record crowd of more than 2,000 astronomy enthusiasts to Stumpertenrod, Germany.Photo by Guido Stein. One of the largest star parties of Europe, the International Telescope Meeting Vogelsberg (Internationales Teleskoptreffen Vogelsberg, or ITV) drew a huge…
A New Neighbor Star
Astronomers turn up a faint red dwarf just a few light-years from the solar system.
Sun Acts Up Again
Two large sunspot groups are visible on the Sun's face. One is flaring wildly, and the other looks like it's about to do the same.
Thomas R. Cave (1923–2003)
Amateur astronomy lost a vital link to its 20th-century past with the June 4th death of Thomas Roland Cave III.
"Spirit" On Course for Mars
The first of twin wheeled robots is on its way to Mars.
Astro News Briefs: June 2–June 8
Jupiter's moon count hits 61 and finding "rural galaxies.
Mars Express Launched
The first of three missions to the red planet is on its way.
Solving the Puzzle of Gamma-Ray Bursts
The fading afterglow of the March 29th gamma-ray burst, seen 2.6 days later by the 1.3-meter telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. By then the afterglow had faded to 17th magnitude — still bright enough to hide any trace of its underlying host galaxy.Courtesy Joshua Bloom et…
Celestron Claims Another Victory
Celestron has won the latest court decision in its ongoing patent-infringement battle with rival telescope manufacturer Meade Instruments.
Every Galaxy an Active Galaxy?
Even the quietest galaxies today hold central black holes that roared and blazed when fed in ages past.
A Close-up Look at the Young Universe
A "supernova factory" in a giant, dense star cluster gives a look at how globular clusters formed some 12 billion years ago.
X-Raying Planetary Birthplaces
Two different types of X-ray emission indicate stars with and without protoplanetary disks.
Planet-Formation Paradox Solved?
When young suns seem to lack protoplanetary disks, the disks may just have turned invisible.
Clear Skies and Cleverness at Camp Oakes
More than 1,700 enthusiasts flocked to the 35th annual RTMC Astronomy Expo to shop for the newest telescopes and accessories and to use them under dark California skies.
Views of the Pale Blue Dot
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor has become the latest spacecraft to image the Earth-Moon pair from afar.
An Astronaut, Bargains, and Telescopes Highlight NEAF
One highlight of the annual Northeast Astronomy Forum in Suffern, New York, is Tele Vue's factory-second sale. As attendees streamed into the exhibition hall at Rockland Community College, many headed straight for the Tele Vue booth, where they lined up to buy eyepieces and other telescope accessories at bargain prices.S&T…
Lots of Knots
While avoiding the Leonid meteor shower, the Hubble Space Telescope captured this magnificent image of the Helix Nebula in Aquarius.
Neptune's Forecast: A Cloudy Summer
Although sunlight barely warms distant Neptune, bright clouds are building in the planet's sunny southern hemisphere.
