SUNSET: 
Robert E. Fried (1930–2003)
Amateur astronomer Robert E. Fried died on November 13, 2003 in a plane crash. He was 72 years old.
Divining Lunar Water
New radar observations imply that the Moon is much drier than once thought.
Mars: The Show Continues
Mars will remain a fiery yellow-orange beacon in the evening sky during the first half of September and will shrink and fade only a little until well into October.
Another Martian Dust Storm
Less than one month after a localized dust storm appeared on the Martian surface, another dust cloud has spring up.
Refining the Cosmic Recipe
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey has helped provide astronomers with a more detailed map of the universe.
NASA to Conduct Environmental Impact Statement for Mauna Kea
Construction of the Keck "outrigger" telescopes should proceed in late 2004 after NASA assesses the results of the rigorous study.
Astro News Briefs: October 13–19
China Launches First Astronaut October 16, 2003 | The People's Republic of China became just the third nation to send a human into space. China’s first astronaut, Yang Liwei, spent 21 hours orbiting the Earth in the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft, launched aboard a Chang Zheng 2F ("Long March") rocket. The…
The Newest Closest Galaxy
Astronomers have just discovered a new dwarf galaxy that's merging into the Milky Way.
November's Lunar Eclipse
A brief total elipse on November 8–9 will be visible in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and western and southern Asia.
Solar Flare Again Spawns an Aurora
For the second time in the last few days, a powerful flare on the Sun triggered an unusual display of the aurora borealis over some of the world's midlatitudes.
Trucking the World's Largest Telescope Mirror
The world's largest monolithic telescope mirror has arrived safe atop a mountain in Arizona.
Meeting the Solar System's Final Frontier
This artist's concept shows structures in the tenuous gas where the expanding solar wind meets the interstellar medium far beyond Pluto. Voyager 1 has apparently crossed the first boundary layer, as described in the text. Voyager 2 still has a way to go.Courtesy NASA / Walt Feimer. NASA's farthest-ranging spacecraft…
Hermes Is Found
After eluding astronomers for 66 years, the long-lost asteroid Hermes has finally been retrieved. This most famous of the "lost asteroids" was originally discovered by Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg, Germany, on October 28, 1937, and tracked for only five days. Despite numerous attempts, the object that came to be known…
Star Parties Shine in Hong Kong and Nanjing
Sidewalk astronomy made a hit in one of the most brightly lit places on Earth.
Hermes Is Double!
Radar ranging shows that the newly recovered minor planet Hermes, lost since 1937, is a close binary.
Cosmology Meeting Explores the Outer Limits
Seventy of the world's leading cosmologists met last weekend to tackle the biggest questions in the universe.
A Tiny Asteroid Whizzes By
On Saturday, September 27th, a very small asteroid plunged past Earth well inside the Moon's orbit. Unseen, it passed just 78,000 kilometers (a fifth the Moon's distance) above Earth's surface before barreling back into interplanetary space. Judging by its faintness — 18th magnitude when first picked up the next day…
Astro News Briefs: October 6–12
Five more moons for Uranus makes 27 total.
The Orionids: Steady but Unspectacular
With a fat crescent Moon high in the sky during the predawn hours of the 21st, this is a so-so year for observing the annual Orionid meteor shower.
Austrian Star Party
About 300 amateur astronomers from across Europe gathered in Austria for a star party in later September.
