SUNSET: 
A Blast from the Past
An exquisite new image from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the crater gouged out when a Saturn IV-B rocket slammed into Oceanus Procellarum 40 years ago..
S&T's Audio Sky Tour for April 2010
If you've always wanted to spot Mercury, here's your chance. Find out where and when to look for the fleet-footed planet using this month's audio sky tour. Host: S&T's Kelly Beatty. (6.5MB MP3 download: running time: 6m 52s)
Tour April's Sky! | March 26th, 2010
If you've always wanted to spot Mercury, here's your chance. Find out where and when to look for the fleet-footed planet using this month's audio sky tour. Host: S&T's Kelly Beatty. (6.5MB MP3 download: running time: 6m 52s)
Future Shock From Gliese 710
Is our solar system's Oort Cloud in danger of being stirred up by a passing star? A fresh analysis of Hipparcos observations argue that the answer is most likely "yes" — but not for another 1.4 million years.
NASA to Upgrade, Overhaul Its "Big Ears"
Day in, day out, the radio antennas of NASA's "Deep Space Network" handshake with dozens of spacecraft across the solar system. Now the network's three stations are getting improvements that will keep them operating for decades.
The Milky Way's Killer Instincts
Don't let its graceful spiral form fool you: our home galaxy is a cannibal. It's long been accused of having gobbled up smaller dwarf galaxies in its vicinity — and two new observations make an ironclad case for the prosecution.
Zodiacal Light's Mystery Solved
Eerie and elusive, the zodiacal light is created from sunlight glinting off countless dust particles in the inner solar system. At last, astronomers have figured out where all that grit comes from.
Fastest Known Binary Star
In the time it takes you to read this news story, the ultra-tightly paired stars known as HM Cancri will have completely spun around each other.
Ski Luna!
Geologists once believed the Moon was utterly dry. But just-announced results argue that abundant water ice lies stashed inside lunar craters near the north pole.
Halfway to Pluto
Zipping outward at more than 36,000 miles per hour, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has reached a point where it's closer to its target, Pluto, than it is to the Sun. Only 1½ billion miles to go!
S&T's Audio Sky Tour for February 2010
Say "goodbye" to Jupiter and "hello" to Mars, as the midwinter evening skies come alive with activity. Learn to identify what stargazers call the Winter Hexagon, and much more. Host: S&T's Kelly Beatty. (3.9MB MP3 download: running time: 4m 8s)
S&T's Audio Sky Tour for March 2010
What a difference a month makes! The lengthening days, together with a switch to daylight time, mean that the evening constellations are changing rapidly. Host: S&T's Kelly Beatty. (6.5MB MP3 download: running time: 6m 52s)
Tour March's Sky! | February 25th, 2010
What a difference a month makes! The lengthening days, together with a switch to daylight time, mean that the evening constellations are changing rapidly. So use this easy-to-follow audio tour to figure out what's what. Host: S&T's Kelly Beatty. (6.5MB MP3 download: running time: 6m 52s)
Spiral Galaxies Exist — But Why?
New observations of the early universe, combined with models of how galaxies formed and collided in the eons since, are helping cosmologists understand why so many beautiful pinwheels dot the sky.
Stargaze Locally, Party Globally!
Get ready for a worldwide star party! Global Astronomy Month will feature a host of activities, large and small, throughout April.
NASA's New Eye on the Sun
Thursday's launch of the Solar Dynamics Observatory gives astronomers the power to reveal the goings-on deep inside our star.
The New Face of Pluto
Planetary scientists scratching their heads over the dramatic face-lift that this distant little world underwent sometime between 1994 and 2002.
A "Whodunit" in the Asteroid Belt
Astronomers are still trying to piece together the story of an object that's looking more and more like the aftermath of the collision between two small asteroids.
World's Largest Solar Scope
If one final permit can be obtained — and some Hawaiian preservationists won over — construction on the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope should begin later this year.
Tour February's Sky! | January 30th, 2010
Say "goodbye" to Jupiter and "hello" to Mars, as the midwinter evening skies come alive with activity. Learn to identify what stargazers call the Winter Hexagon, and much more. Host: S&T's Kelly Beatty. (3.9MB MP3 download: running time: 4m 8s)
