SUNSET: 
Amateurs Detect Possible Exoplanet Ringlike Structure
This artist conception depicts a Jupiter-size planet transiting its host star at a close distance, as is the case with TrES-1. Amateur astronomer observations suggest that the planet might be surrounded by a cloud or torus of particles.S&T illustration by Steven A. Simpson. Amateur astronomers may have discovered a ringlike…
A Beautiful Lunar Eclipse
Clear skies throughout much of the Americas and parts of Europe and Africa allowed millions of people to enjoy a beautiful lunar eclipse during the evening of Nov. 8–9, 2003.
Astro Image in the News:
Huygens En Route to Titan
Courtesy NASA / JPL. Cassini captured this image of the Huygens probe (bright dot at the upper right) just 12 hours after it separated from the mothership at 2:00 Universal Time on December 25th. Huygens, built by the European Space Agency, will remain dormant until it approaches Saturn's cloud-enshrouded moon…
The Geminids: An Exception to the Rule
The source of December's annual Geminid meteor shower is not what you might expect.
Astro Image in the News:
Opportune Pictures
The Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, continues to image spectacular vistas.
Comet Machholz Observed
Comet Machholz, C/2004 Q2, continues to brighten on schedule as it moves toward the northern sky.
Making New Friends
This mosaic combines five Cassini images of Saturn's moon Dione. The moon's heavily cratered surface and grooved terrain are evident. The scale is 0.9 kilometer per pixel.Courtesy NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute. Scientists are beginning to digest a plethora of new images and data following Cassini's successful flybys…
Yerkes On the Block
The University of Chicago soon may sell Yerkes Observatory and its surrounding acreage.
NASA Chief Resigns
NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe, who ran the agency for three years, announced his resignation late yesterday in a letter to President George W. Bush.
Astro Image in the News:
Return to Titan
Courtesy NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute. Cassini captured this stunning image of the surface of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, as it approached on December 11th during its second flyby. The bright region toward the bottom of the image has been dubbed "Xanadu" by scientists. Cassini captured this scene from 810,000 kilometers (503,000…
Hubble Gets a Shot in the Arm
A blue-ribbon panel of experts has recommended that NASA should return Space Shuttle astronauts to the Hubble Space Telescope to extend its scientific lifetime.
A New Chapter in the Life Story of Planets?
Scientists using the Spitzer Space Telescope may have found a missing link in the life story of solar systems like our own.
Astro Image in the News:
Jupiter Plays Peekaboo
Few observers in North America were fortunate enough to see Jupiter hide behind the Moon on the morning of December 7th.
New Comet Heading Sunward
Comet Bradfield is plainly visible in this image acquired by SOHO's LASCO C3 coronagraph on April 18, 2004. The Sun is in mid-frame, hidden by an occulting disk. Comet ASAS will not appear as bright and, unlike Bradfield, may not survive its close encounter with the Sun.Courtesy SOHO. Grzegorz Pojmanski…
Machholz Discovers His 10th Comet
This new comet, discovered August 27, 2004, will be well positioned for Northern Hemisphere observers by year's end.
'Tis the Season to Find Exoplanets
Amateur astronomers around the world will attempt to capture the transits of two exoplanets. If either planet follows an orbit that is nearly edge on to our line of sight, it will block about 1 percent of its star's light. Advanced amateurs can detect this dip with CCD cameras.S&T: Steven…
Bush Fires Threaten "The Dish"
Smoke from a bush fire billows around the Parkes radio telescope in Australia. Fortunately, the observatory was not damaged.Photo copyright: CSIRO / John Sarkissian. Over the past several days, bush fires raged within 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) of the 64-meter Parkes radio telescope, located in New South Wales, Australia. Besides…
Astro Image in the News:
Surreal Saturn Portrait
Courtesy NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute. As Cassini recedes from Saturn after completing its first orbit, the spacecraft's narrow-angle camera is returning mesmerizing images of the planet, rings, and moons. This new image showcases curving shadows cast by the rings on Saturn's northern hemisphere. The small satellite Mimas…
Kissing in the Kuiper Belt
Astronomers may have identified the third known contact binary, a system in which two minor planets either nearly or actually touch each other.S&T: Steven A. Simpson. Among the strangest denizens of the solar system are contact binaries. In these systems, two minor planets orbit each other so closely that they…
