SUNSET: 
Two Fine Western Star Parties
Summer star-party season is in high gear. Among the events held on the weekend of July's dark of the Moon were two premier annual gatherings — one in Washington State and another in British Columbia, Canada.
Exoplanet Baby Boom
Planets may be more common in the galaxy today than in times past, when stars contained fewer heavy elements.
Astro News Briefs:
July 7–13
Canada's first space telescope and new exoplanets.
Student's Asteroid Project Wins Intel Award
A high-school junior studying asteroids has won the country's most prestegious science fair award.
Keck "Outriggers" Face Additional Roadblocks
A recent court asks NASA to reevaluate the impact of telescope construction atop Mauna Kea.
Planetary Satellites Named
Two dozen planetary moons earned permanent names at the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.
Jupiter Visits the Beehive
During March and April, the open cluster M44 in Cancer is easy to find — just look for it beside brilliant Jupiter.
Intergalactic Globulars
Astronomers have discovered "orphaned" globular star clusters wandering like vagabonds amid the members of a cluster of galaxies in Ursa Major.
Mars Meets the Moon
Although lunar occultations of Mars aren't rare, the red planet loomed large during the dramatic meeting on July 17th.
Small Asteroids = Small Threat?
Two researchers argue that stony asteroids fall apart much easier when they slam into Earth's atmosphere — and thus are far less destructive — than previously thought.
Comet Award Winners for 2003
Five individuals will share the fifth annual Edgar Wilson Award for amateur comet discovery.
The Oldest, Weirdest Planet
It orbits not just one star, but two. And it's almost as old as the universe itself.
More Martian Dust?
Growing Martian dust-storm clouds could mean the end observable surface features for sometime.
Keck Interferometer Measures a Future Solar System
In a technological tour de force, the two giant Keck telescopes combine light waves for super-sharp resolution of the disk around a young star.
Astro Image in the News: A Martian Potato
Courtesy NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems. Since 1999 the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft has been beaming high-resolution views of the red planet back to Earth. So many pictures have arrived in the past few years that it is easy to forget just how powerful the satellite's cameras really are. Thankfully, pictures…
Solar Activity Continues
A large spot is now visible on the Sun's surface. It's big enough to be seen without optical aid, but always use a safe solar filter when viewing the Sun.
Women in Professional Astronomy: Venus Rising
On June 29-30, astronomers met in Pasadena, California for the Women in Astronomy II meeting.
Arizona Scopes Escape Wildfire
Intense firefighting efforts have saved the many telescopes of Steward Observatory northeast of Tucson.
SOHO "Healthy" Despite Antenna Malfunction
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft's main antenna has malfunctioned — but the craft is still transmitting to Earth 80 percent of the time.
NASA To Launch Glowing Night Clouds
NASA will release three luminous clouds into the night sky over the Eastern Seaboard as early as tonight.
