SUNSET: 
"Potentially Habitable" Planet Found
Not too hot, not too cold, Gliese 581g orbits in the liquid-water temperature zone of a dim red-dwarf star just 20 light-years away.
Sky at a Glance | September 25th, 2010
The red variable star Mira is nearing its maximum brightness. But the eye-catcher dominating the evening is Jupiter, blazing unusually big and bright in the southeast.
Sky at a Glance | September 24th, 2010
The red variable star Mira is nearing its maximum brightness. But the eye-catcher dominating the evening is Jupiter, blazing unusually big and bright in the southeast.
Sky at a Glance | September 17th, 2010
Jupiter is having an unusually close opposition this week. On the night of Wednesday the 22nd the Moon shines next to it, also at opposition — full Moon!
Sky at a Glance | September 10th, 2010
Venus still lurks in the sunset, with Mars and Spica hiding nearby. Watch the Moon march past them. Big bright Jupiter, however, is the night's starring attraction — as it nears an unusually close opposition.
Two Exoplanets in an Interactive Dance
Two transiting planets of the star Kepler 9 are tugging on each other and swapping orbital energy back and forth. And a third planet may be watching on.
Sky at a Glance | August 20th, 2010
Spica joins Venus and Mars low in the afterglow of sunset. And late in the week, the Moon passes Jupiter.
A Runaway Star with a Story To Tell
Now streaking away in the Milky Way's outermost halo, HE 0437-5439 had a very close run-in with the galaxy's central black hole. And that was just the beginning.
Home Computers Dredge Up Weird Pulsar
The Einstein@Home project logs its first discovery, 17,000 light-years away in Vulpecula, through a computer in a couple's basement.
Sky at a Glance | August 13th, 2010
The Perseid meteors are still active late tonight! Meanwhile, the triangle of Venus, Saturn, and Mars continues to morph low in evening twilight.
Sky at a Glance | August 6th, 2010
The triangle of Venus, Saturn, and Mars continues its daily evolution low in the west after sunset. And Jupiter is now showing well in late evening.
An Evening Dance of Planets
Step outside as evening twilight fades, and you’ll find brilliant Venus, along with fainter Mars and Saturn, shining low in the west.
Sky at a Glance | July 30th, 2010
Venus, Saturn, and Mars have formed up into a triangle at dusk. Watch it change shape day by day. And Vega overhead means the Sagittarius Teapot, rich in deep-sky objects, is on best display in the south.
Dark Nights for the Perseids
Don't miss the year's best-known meteor shower, predicted to peak on the night of August 12th.
The August Mars Hoax Is Back
No, Mars will not shine as big and bright as the full Moon. But you can't stop a good e-mail chain letter, now in its eighth year.
Sky at a Glance | July 23rd, 2010
At dusk, Venus guides the way to Mars and Saturn on one side of it and Mercury on the other side of it.
Sky at a Glance | July 16th, 2010
Mars continues closing in on Saturn at dusk. The Moon crosses Scorpius. And Jupiter is now up before midnight.
Sky at a Glance | July 2nd, 2010
Venus is closing in on Regulus at dusk. Mars is closing in on Saturn. And before dawn, Jupiter keeps getting higher and brighter.
Sky at a Glance | June 25th, 2010
Saturn, Mars, Regulus, and bright Venus form a diagonal line in the summer evening twilight. And the full Moon has a partial eclipse for the western U.S. before dawn on Saturday June 26th.
Saturday's Predawn Lunar Eclipse
You'll have to get up early — or party into the wee hours the night before — to see the Moon slide partly through Earth's shadow before dawn on June 26th.
