SUNSET: 
Did Astronomers See a Distant, Dying Star? Or an Earth-bound Satellite?
What seemed a lucky break — the discovery of a gamma-ray burst in the most distant known galaxy — might instead be the flash of passing space debris. As satellites fill low-Earth orbit, such events might become common.
BepiColombo First Picture of Mercury (Updated)
BepiColombo is set to make the first of several flybys past Mercury on Friday, October 1st.
October: Three Planets at Dusk
Take advantage of October's crisp, clear evenings and early-arriving dawns to explore the nighttime sky with our audio guided tour.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, October 1 – 9
Venus shines in twilight; watch Antares and the head of Scorpius slide toward it. Check out Jupiter, and hop from Saturn to two binocular double stars. The evenings are dark for deep-sky observing; the waning Moon crosses Leo before dawn.
Comet 29P Undergoes Brightest Outburst in Recent Years
Catch one of the most active small bodies in the solar system during a rare superoutburst.
Cassiopeia Cornucopia — Pretty Little Clusters All in a Row
See nine unique open clusters in Cassiopeia while barely moving your telescope.
Addressing a Gap in Our Knowledge of Black Holes
Gravitational waves offer a test of whether supernovae can produce black holes between 55 and 120 times the Sun's mass.
60-second Astro News: Magnified Galaxies Provide Window to Early Universe
Astronomers use cosmic magnifying lenses to peer into the universe's distant past.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, Sept. 24 – Oct. 2
Jupiter and Saturn shine in the south-southeast at dusk, Venus low in the southwest. They're all close to the ecliptic, so a straight line from Jupiter through Saturn points almost exactly to Venus. Don't believe it? Stretch a string tightly between your hands wide apart, hold it up to the three planets, and see for yourself!
Mars Hosted Supervolcanoes in the Ancient Past
Scientists have found massive ash deposits that formed over millions of years of volcanic super-eruptions, the first evidence for such explosive activity on Mars.
Hail-like “Mushballs” May Fall on All Our Giant Planets
"Mushballs," first inferred to exist on Jupiter, may fall within the atmospheres of all the solar system's giant planets.
Supernova Blasts Hollowed Out "Giant Cavity" in Space
Some 10 million years ago, dying stars cleared a giant cavity in space and ultimately inspired a new generation of star formation.
Shredded Star Reveals Elusive Middle-Mass Black Hole
Astronomers have used the death of a star to uncover details about a hidden intermediate-mass black hole.
Misfit Meteorite Sheds Light on Solar System History
Scientists have discovered the first meteorite that doesn't fall into one of two fundamental groups. The meteorite provides a unique glimpse into the era of asteroid formation and migration.
NASA Announces Moon Landing Site for VIPER Mission
NASA’s VIPER rover will land and search for water ice in the unexplored Nobile region at the Moon's south pole.
The Last Wildflowers: Globular Clusters Greet Autumn
These four globular clusters are easy to find in autumn skies and a perfect way to welcome the season.
CUPID Sun-Earth Space Weather CubeSat to Launch With LandSat-9
A small mission will hitch a ride to space in late September to study interactions at the Earth-Sun boundary.
Infant “Hot Neptune” Provides Clues to Its Birth
How’d a nice young ice giant end up in such a hot orbit? Scientists investigate the mysterious exoplanet AU Microscopii b.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, September 17 – 25
The waxing gibbous Moon shines with Jupiter and Saturn on its way to full. And as summer turns to fall, Deneb replaces Vega as the zenith star after dusk.
60-second Astro News: Solving Supernova Mysteries
This week, astronomers have solved one supernova mystery and predicted a new one — to be solved in 2037.
