SUNSET: 
No Signal from Cosmic Dawn
Four years after one experiment found tentative signs of the "cosmic dawn," the era of the first stars, another experiment finds nothing.
These Two Black Hole Behemoths Will Merge in 10,000 Years
Astronomers have discovered a pair of supermassive black holes that whirl around each other every two years.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 25 – March 5
As the winter Milky Way rides high, open star clusters near and far, and from compact to sparse, await your binoculars or telescope, At dawn catch the Venus-Mars pair, and try for the closer Mercury-Saturn pair lower down.
Black Hole Spins Crookedly
Astronomers have found a black hole leaning decidedly askew in its orbit with a star.
Fast Radio Burst's Unlikely Home Puzzles Astronomers
Astronomers have found a fast radio burst — presumably a flash from a young stellar remnant — amongst the ancient stars of a globular cluster, challenging ideas about what produces these enigmatic flashes.
The Parker Solar Probe Captures Surprising Images of Venus Nightside
A visible glow from our sister planet’s nightside sheds new light on a 300-year-old observing enigma dubbed the “ashen light.”
Protostar Companions in Orion
How are stars born? One of the best places to test ideas about stellar birth is in Orion.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 18 – 26
With the Moon gone from the evening sky, trace out Monoceros the Unicorn walking behind Orion. Spot the famous binocular star clusters at his eye and horn-tip, and don't miss M41 under Sirius. Meanwhile, the waning Moon, passes Venus, Mars and Mercury at dawn.
Supermassive Black Hole Hides Behind a Ring of Dust
A high-resolution infrared image has revealed a dust screen obscuring a gas-devouring supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy NGC 1068, confirming 30-year-old predictions.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Reveling in the Winter Milky Way
With the Moon departing the evening sky, now's a good time for a closer look at the northern winter Milky Way and its southern summer counterpart, too. No equipment required!
Booster Set to Hit the Moon Turns Out to be Chinese Rocket (Updates)
The booster previously identified as SpaceX hardware turns out to be from the Chang’e 5-T1 mission. The timing and site of the impact remain the same.
How Galaxies Lose Their Dark Matter
A careful study of cosmological simulations shows that dark matter–less galaxies aren't impossible — just really rare.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 11 – 19
The Winter Hexagon hosts the Moon. Then Castor and Pollux nail the Moon. Then the Little and Big Dog stars arc gracefully away from it. Meanwhile in early dawn, Mercury, Venus and Mars continue as a triangle low in the southeast.
Solar Tsunami Hit Earth 9,200 Years Ago
Scientists examining ancient ice cores have found radioactive evidence of an extreme solar storm that took place in 7,176 BCE.
Space Storm Knocks Out Latest Batch of Starlink Satellites
A minor space storm took down much of the latest Starlink batch shortly after launch.
New Planet Discovered Around Proxima Centauri, Star Nearest the Sun
A new instrument on a powerful telescope has enabled astronomers to discover another planet around our nearest stellar neighbor.
Meteorite Evidence Suggests Earth’s Water Was Here Before Earth Was
Where did Earth’s water come from? One of the oldest meteorites on Earth is adding new pieces to an old puzzle.
Astronomers Watch the Making of a Super-Earth
Gaseous mini-Neptunes may become rocky super-Earths when they lose their atmospheres. Now, astronomers have caught that process in action.
Citizen Scientists Find 1,000+ Asteroids Photobombing Hubble Images
The combined power of citizen science and machine learning have led to the discovery of more than 1,000 new asteroids in archival images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 4 – 12
This is the part of the month when the evening Moon is at its telescopic best in many skywatchers' opinions, as the terminator sweeps across the middle of the Moon's disk. And in February, the Moon at these phases rides especially high. Jupiter sinks low in evening twilight, and a triangle of planets displays in early dawn.
