SUNSET: 
Meade and Orion Cease Operations, Go to Auction
The parent company of Orion and Meade telescope manufacturers has shut its California offices. Stay tuned for updates.
Trio of Early Galaxies Test Our Ideas of Cosmic Evolution
Some galaxies hailing from the infant universe may already hold vast populations of old stars.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 12 – 21
Mercury lurks in the sunset. The July Moon rides low across the sky this week as it waxes from first quarter to full. It occults springlike Spica, then passes summery Antares to hang with the Teapot.
New Simulation Sheds Light on Black Hole Growth
New supercomputer simulations reveal the journey gas takes to enter a galaxy and surround and enter its black hole. That journey holds a few surprises for astronomers.
A Black Hole for Omega Centauri
The motions of individual stars in the core of Omega Centauri, a massive globular cluster, confirm the existence of a black hole at its core.
Wil Tirion, 1943–2024
Dutch astrocartographer Wil Tirion will be remembered as the creator of the most beautiful star maps and atlases of our time.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 4 – 14
The waxing Moon passes Regulus on its way to occulting Spica July 13th. The Kite of Boötes tilts toward the Dipper. And the largest asteroid is at opposition.
Catch an Exciting Spica Occultation on July 13th
Don't miss Spica's dramatic disappearance at the Moon's dark limb. We also check in on the status of current bright comets.
Webb Telescope Reveals Parallel Jets from Baby Stars
A new image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope reveals a stunning alignment among the infant stars in the Serpens Nebula.
July Podcast: Spotlight on Spica
Grab your curiosity, and come along on this month’s Sky Tour. This month offers a chance to watch a dramatic coverup of the bright star Spica by the first-quarter Moon. You can also glimpse Mercury just after sunset — and Saturn very late in the evening.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, June 28 – July 7
It takes hardly more than a glance up these evenings to check for the anticipated eruption of T Coronae Borealis, the Blaze Star.
High School Citizen Scientists Join the Hunt for Exoplanets
A group of high school astronomy students helped confirm and characterize a planet slightly smaller than Saturn that closely orbits its star.
Three Neutron Stars Reveal Inside Secrets
Astronomers surveyed dozens of neutron stars, homing in on three that challenge most ideas about what these exotic objects are made of.
Is the "Blaze Star" About to Blow? You May Be the First to Know
T Coronae Borealis is a nova star that's due to suddenly — and briefly — brighten. Here's how to see this once-in-a-lifetime event.
China's Chang'e 6 Has Returned with Pieces from the Farside of the Moon
China’s Chang’e 6 mission has brought back material from the farside of the Moon.
New Observatory Opens in the Young Country of Kosovo
Europe's youngest country has inaugurated its new observatory and planetarium, and folks far and away joined the festivities.
How Long Has Jupiter's Great Red Spot Been Around?
A new study follows two lines of research to suggest that that Great Red Spot we see today has not, in fact, been going for as long as we thought.
Centaurus Constellation: Glimpse the Greatest Globular
The Centaurus constellation holds some of the best southern targets, including the Omega Centauri globular cluster and the Centaurus A galaxy.
Astronomers Trace the Family Tree of Stars Clustered in the Solar Neighborhood
Astronomers have pressed rewind on a cosmic video of the solar neighborhood, tracing the origins of young star clusters within 3,000 light-years of the Sun.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, June 21 – 30
The two brightest stars of summer balance across the zenith. Arcturus and Vega represent the two commonest spectral types, and colors, of all the naked-eye stars in the sky.
