SUNSET: 
Catching Ancient Stardust
Tiny grains blown off from stars that existed before the solar system formed are sifting down all around us.
Mapping the Big Bang
Results from NASA's MAP satellite strengthen the new cosmology.
Exoplanet's Mass Pinned Down
For the first time, astronomers have measured a star's side-to-side wobble caused by an orbiting planet.
Observing the Leonids
Here are some tips to help you observe the Leonid meteor shower.
Cosmic Rays from the Kuiper Belt
The "anomalous cosmic rays" have finally had their origin pinned down — in the outer reaches of the solar system.
Dark Matter Gets a Reality Check
There's no way to avoid it; galaxies really are surrounded by halos of unknown, invisible stuff.
A Double Star's Planet
Astronomers have discovered the first planet that orbits one star of a close pair.
Gamma-Ray Burst Caught in the Act
A fast worldwide alert enables astronomers to snag their best-observed gamma-ray burst ever.
Midsize Black Holes in Midsize Star Clusters
Black holes with several thousand times the Sun's mass have unexpectedly turned up in the cores of globular clusters.
SETI@home Spells Out New Plans
Your computer may soon be able to join a widened search for ETs. Above: The Parkes radio telescope in Australia.
An Average Perseid Meteor Shower
This year's Perseids performed just about as expected, though hazy, humid skies hindered the view from many places.
Not a Quark Star After All?
A weird object announced last April appears to be an ordinary neutron star, not a strange new type of matter.
Omega Centauri's Checkered Past
Signs of swallowed star groups have turned up in this great globular cluster. . . which may not really be a globular cluster at all.
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.
Moon Pairs with Jupiter and Venus
The crescent Moon forms two beautiful conjunctions with the two brightest planets during twilight Wednesday and Thursday.
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.
Big Bang Picture Sharpens Up
New, sharper maps of the cosmic microwave background radiation are telling astronomers they're on the right track.
A Cyclic Universe?
Maybe the Big Bang wasn't the beginning, but only the latest in an endless cycle of destructions and rebirths.
Fainter Faint Fuzzies
They're not open clusters and they're not globulars; astronomers have found a third kind of star cluster inhabiting some galaxies.
OGLEing Possible New Planets
By carefully watching the brightnesses of 52,000 stars, astronomers have found 43 that have small, dark objects periodically crossing their faces.
