SUNSET: 
Eris Gets Dwarfed (Is Pluto Bigger?)
On November 6th, it only took 76 seconds for astronomers to realize that the distant dwarf planet Eris is substantially smaller than thought — and now might even be a bit smaller than Pluto.
Mr. Hartley's Amazing Comet
For the fifth time, a spacecraft has revealed close-up images of a comet's nucleus. Comet Hartley 2 is perhaps the wildest and most dramatic of them all.
Kicking SOFIA's Tires
Take a peek inside an amazing "flying telescope" now being readied for routine observing runs in the stratosphere.
S&T's Audio Sky Tour for November 2010
The change back to standard time brings earlier nightfall — and a chance to spot mighty Jupiter dominating the November evening sky. Host: S&T's Kelly Beatty.
Tour November's Sky! | October 29th, 2010
The change back to standard time brings earlier nightfall — and a chance to spot mighty Jupiter dominating the November evening sky. Host: S&T's Kelly Beatty. (5MB MP3 download: running time: 5m 33s)
How Many Earths?
A team of planet-hunting astronomers argue, based on discovery statistics, that Earth-mass worlds should be orbiting a quarter of stars like the Sun.
How Dark Are Your Skies?
Take part in this year's Great World Wide Star Count, and you'll be joining thousands of other "citizen scientists" in raising dark-sky awareness around the globe.
Mike Lynch's "Exploding" Telescope
Last week a popular Minnesota meteorologist and stargazer got a wake-up call about the power of the Sun.
Our "New, Improved" Solar System
Recent computer models suggest a radical yet robust concept: in order to get the Sun's planets and asteroids arranged as they are today, Jupiter must have once been much closer to the Sun.
Crash Scene in the Asteroid Belt
What exactly created the "comet" designated P/2010 A2? Two sets of observations argue that two small asteroids must have collided in early 2009.
Watching a Planet's Death Spiral?
The exoplanet OGLE-TR-113b is already too close to its host star for comfort — and new observations suggest it's being gradually drawn inward to its doom.
Titan's Hazes: A Rich Brew
With a little help from neighboring Enceladus, Saturn's big moon Titan might well be cooking up an incredible mix of prebiotic molecules in its upper atmosphere.
Last Call for Martian Volcanism
Hopeful geologists have pored over thousands of spacecraft images looking for fresh eruptions on Mars, but they've come up empty.
A Deluge of Draconids?
Heavy downpours — and a nearly full Moon, unfortunately — are forecast for next year's Draconid meteor shower.
My "Backyard" Radio Observatory
Nestled in the woods of suburban Boston is a 1,300-acre complex of radio telescopes that have served civilian astronomers — and super-secret defense projects — for nearly 50 years.
Sun's Heliopause: A Moving Target
A NASA spacecraft has found the collision of the Sun's magnetic bubble with interstellar space is more varied and dynamic than anyone had imagined.
S&T's Audio Sky Tour for October 2010
Just after sunset, flip around to see mighty Jupiter rising in the east. Then enjoy a leisurely stroll through the star patterns of northern autumn. Host: S&T's Kelly Beatty.
Tour October's Sky! | September 30th, 2010
Just after sunset, flip around to see mighty Jupiter rising in the east. Then enjoy a leisurely stroll through the star patterns of northern autumn. Host: S&T's Kelly Beatty. (5MB MP3 download: running time: 5m 30s)
Darkness Still Reigns Over Kitt Peak
Since astronomers started calling Tucson home in 1958, the city's population has quadrupled to more than 500,000. Yet the night sky above the observatories on nearby Kitt Peak is as dark now as it was 20 years ago.
Phobos: A Chip Off of Mars?
New results from the European spacecraft Mars Express suggest that the Martian moon Phobos has a lot in common with the planet it orbits.
