SUNSET: 
Lakebed Testifies to Warm, Wet Mars
New evidence of ancient lakes on Mars suggest a much warmer past for the red planet.
Stellar Water Fountains
Radio observations find jets of water streaming from a dying star.
Long Eclipse Suggests Planet in Dust
An arc of dust eclipsing a newborn star hints at something massive at work.
A Close Asteroid Flyby
Hurtling out of the “blind spot” between the Sun and crescent Moon, asteroid 2002 MN skimmed about 120,000 kilometers above the Earth’s surface during the early hours of Friday, June 14th. Nobody saw it until three days later, despite the fact that it penetrated to within 30 percent of the…
Celestron's Fate Still in Limbo
With parent company Tasco in liquidation and chief competitor Meade challenging it in court, telescope maker Celestron faces an uncertain future.
A Familiar Orbit in a New Crop of Exoplanets
A well-behaved giant planet orbits the Sunlike star 55 Cancri at the same distance Jupiter orbits the Sun.
June 2002's Transpacific Solar Eclipse
Bad weather foiled some observers, but many others enjoyed fine views of the partial eclipse of the Sun on June 10-11, 2002.
Moon Pairs with Jupiter and Venus
The crescent Moon forms two beautiful conjunctions with the two brightest planets during twilight Wednesday and Thursday.
Astro News Briefs: June 10–16
Mount Wilson's Improved Eye Finds Faint Companions June 14, 2002 | A new infrared camera is helping to bring the venerable 100-inch Hooker reflector atop Mount Wilson back into frontline research — despite its location near light-polluted Los Angeles. Jian Ge (Penn State) announced this week that the first-light images…
Backyard Search for Asteroids and Extrasolar Planets
An Arizona-based amateur astronomer is giving professional asteroid hunters stiff competition
Surprises from Solar X-rays
The RHESSI craft has identified continued X-ray bursts on the Sun.
Supernovae in 3-D
Astronomers have finally succeeded in modeling in three dimensions the behavior of a massive star during the final seconds of its life.
Hubble's Infrared Camera Back in Business
Dead for three years, the Hubble Space Telescope's NICMOS camera is again providing infrared views of the universe.
Solar Weather Probed in Depth
The global solar image shows average wind speeds for the region just below the stellar surface. The speeds are averages of the weather patterns observed over 14 days in April 2002. Large hurricane-like swirling winds are clearly visible.Courtesy University of Colorado/JILA A new analysis of observations from the Solar and…
Globular Cluster Shredded by Milky Way
Astronomers have uncovered a globular cluster being torn apart.
Astro News Briefs: June 3–9
This week astronomers from around the world have gathered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the 200th meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Below are assorted news briefs highlighting some of the announced research findings. Come back for more updates throughout the week. Image of Betelgeuse Reveals Bloated Atmosphere June 6,…
Celestron, Tasco Out of Business?
Due to rising debts, Tasco Worldwide has begun selling its assets, including Celestron International.
Big Astronomy in Big Bear
A slew of astronomers bought, sold, and traded telescopes and equipment at the annual RTMC swap meet.S&T: Gary Seronik This past weekend, more than 1,700 astronomers from the southern California region and beyond gathered in the mountains above Los Angeles for the 34th annual Riverside Telescope Makers Conference and Astronomy…
Astro News Briefs: May 20–26
A brown dwarf near a star, Europa's deep ocean, and an asteroid impact that may have helped the dinosaurs.
Big Bang Picture Sharpens Up
New, sharper maps of the cosmic microwave background radiation are telling astronomers they're on the right track.
