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Celestial News & Events

This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 14 – 22

Jupiter stands alone at dusk. The Moon dances with Castor and Pollux while Iris creeps in the background. And you can't keep Venus down for long; its tiny crescent reappears at dawn.

3D galaxy map

Cosmology

Astronomy in Pictures: Largest 3D Map of Our Universe and a Stellar Intruder

This week astronomers have announced the completion of the largest 3D map of galaxies across the cosmos, plus exquisite radio observations show what happens when a stellar intruder interrupts planet formation.

Enceladus's plumes

Solar System

Do the Plumes from Saturn’s Icy Moon Reach Down to Its Ocean?

The plumes erupting from Saturn's moon Enceladus may originate in slush in the moon's icy crust rather than its deep, subsurface ocean.

Local Bubble lined with stellar nurseries

Milky Way

1,000-light-year "Bubble" Is the Source of All Nearby Baby Stars

Supernovae that carved out the Local Bubble, a cavity around the Sun, have also triggered star formation at the bubble's edges.

Twelve for dinner

Milky Way

Stellar Streams Are Revealing Their Secrets

A detailed study of 12 streams of stars swirling in and around the Milky Way will ultimately help shed light on our galaxy's dark matter halo.

An artist's impression of the dramatic outflows from an active galaxy’s nucleus.

Galaxies

Dwarf Galaxies Shed Light on Black Hole Origins

Astronomers are searching nearby dwarf galaxies for the ancient origins of supermassive black holes.

Flame Nebula

Stellar Science

The Flames of Orion and a Supergiant Star's End

Astronomers watch starbirth and stardeath, capturing a unique view of a stellar nursery and witnessing a supergiant's supernova.

JWST

Space Missions

Deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope Is Complete

The James Webb Space Telescope has unfolded its primary mirror, marking the end of the deployment phase for the observatory.

Saturn and Mercury in the sunset, Jan. 12, 2022

Celestial News & Events

This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 7 – 15

Mercury draws close to Saturn low in twilight, then turns shy and runs away. Jupiter watches from above. The Moon, careless of such goings-on, waxes through first quarter to show off for your telescope.

Map of the Milky Way and the C-19 stellar stream

Milky Way

Astronomers Discover Celestial Ruins on Our Galaxy’s Edge

A stream of stars scattered across 15 degrees of sky was once part of a globular cluster torn apart by our galaxy’s gravity. The stars represent some of the oldest in the Milky Way.

Comet 19P/Borrelly on Dec. 30, 2021

Explore the Night with Bob King

Comet-seeking on Cold, Crunchy Nights

Did the recent apparition of Comet Leonard whet your appetite for more of these beautiful unpredictables? Here are five more you can see with your telescope this season.

JWST

Space Missions

Critical Step Complete as Webb Space Telescope Deploys Sunshield

Its sunshield now in place, the James Webb Space Telescope is unfolding by the numbers while en route to its new home.

Moon Venus Mars & Mercury before dawn on Jan 28-30

Sky Tour Astronomy Podcast

January: Evening Planet Adieu

There’s no better way to start the new year than listening to our monthly Sky Tour astronomy podcast. It’s an informative and entertaining 12-minute guided tour of the nighttime sky.

Moon Saturn and Mercury on 3-4 Jan 2022

Celestial News & Events

This Week's Sky at a Glance, December 31 – January 8

As the calendar flips to a new year, the night sky brims with bright stars, planets, and a potential meteor shower to help you celebrate.

Sirius and M41

Celestial Objects to Observe

Tour 15 of the Brightest Stars on New Year's Eve (VIDEO)

Tour 15 of the sky's brightest stars all in one night on this New Year's Eve! This interactive Worldwide Telescope video will show you the way.

Geminid fireball over Tucson

Observing

The Best Meteor Showers of 2022

Sky & Telescope predicts that the year’s best meteor shower will be the Quadrantids, which peak in the very first days of 2022. But the normally weak Tau Herculids (late May) and Leonids (November) might deliver dramatic outbursts.

Psyche

Space Missions

Spaceflight 2022: Missions to Watch in the Coming Year

The New Year will see missions returning to the Moon and much more.

Comet Leonard on Dec. 24, 2021

Observing

Comet Leonard: A Gift at Christmastime

Multiple bright outbursts have transformed Comet Leonard into a stunning photographic object that’s also visible without optical aid from southern locations. More disruptions are likely in store as it approaches perihelion.

Liftoff!

Space Missions

The James Webb Space Telescope Is Headed to Space

Over a generation in the making, the James Webb Space Telescope is finally headed for space.

Pleiades

Night Sky Sights

Getting Started with Your New Telescope

How to start right using a new telescope — a guide to what you need to know, how to set it up, and things you can start finding with it in tonight's sky.