SUNSET: 
Chicago's Controversial Ray of Light
Chicago's Palmolive Building plans to feature a 7 billion candlepower light. Local Amateur Astronomers are concerned.
Smithsonian Debuts New Astronomy Exhibit
The National Air and Space Museum unveils its newest attraction.
FUSE in Safe Mode
The Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer has been in safe mode since December 10th due to a failing positioning system. Astronomers are currently engineering a fix to the problem.Courtesy FUSE/Orbital Sciences Corp. Just as it began its third year of observations, NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) went into safe mode…
New Eruption Offers a Taste of Io
A towering new volcano on Io, unknown prior to Galileo's close-range flyby on August 6th, created both a 700-kilometer-wide ring (left) and an umbrella-shaped plume extending to a height of at least 500 km (right). The nearby volcano Tvashtar Patera was unexpectedly dormant during the flyby.Courtesy University of Arizona and…
Deep Space 1 Spies Comet
Comet Borrelly, which orbits the Sun every 6.8 years, passed through perihelion on September 14th — just 8 days before Deep Space 1 flew past at close range. Georgia amateur Tim Puckett recorded Borrelly's coma and faint tail a half day later with his 30-centimeter telescope. After weeks of concern…
Blue-Ribbon Panel Opposes NASA Control of Ground-based Astronomy
Committee finds that NSF and NASA astronomical funding should not be combined brought under one agency.
Smoking Gun for Milky Way's Black Hole
Astronomers find conclusive evidence for a black hole in the center of the Milky Way
Moon Study Tracks Changes in Earth's Cloud Cover
Scientists are looking to the Moon to learn about Earth's climate change.
Five Planets In a Twilight Sky
Until early April, all five planets that are ever visible to the unaided eye shine at once during dusk.
Astronomers Launch Pro-Am "Registry"
Years in development, a new online service allows experienced amateur observers and willing professionals to collaborate on scientific research projects.
Astro Image in the News:
Venus Transit in a New Light
Hydrogen-alpha light provided a new view of the Venus transit.
Will the June Boötids Return in 2004?
A strong meteor shower may — or may not — return to our skies on the evening of June 23rd.
An "Impossibly" Young Planet?
The Spitzer Space Telescope finds evidence of a planet too young to have formed the expected way.
Cassini Calls on Phoebe
Cassini's first rendezvous with a Saturnian moon was a date to remember.
Venus Has Its Day in the Sun
A fog bank created a natural solar filter for this image of the just-risen Sun over Cambridge, Massachusetts. Venus is clearly visible under the clouds, as seen in this image taken through a 70-millimeter refractor.Courtesy Jessica Dawn Tytell. People all over the world watched Venus pass in front of the…
Astro News Briefs: May 31–June 6
Tiny-tiny galaxies and activity minima in Sun-like stars.
Opportunity Enters Endurance Crater
NASA engineers have decided that driving a Mars rover into a geology-rich crater is worth the risks.
The Transit of Venus: Tales from the 18th and 19th Centuries
Observers and administrators gather at the US Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, in preparation for the American expeditions to the 1874 transit of Venus.Courtesy US Naval Observatory Library. A magnificent rendezvous between the planet of love and the bright orb of the Sun. One of the most celebrated phenomena in…
