SUNSET: 
Kissing in the Kuiper Belt
Astronomers may have identified the third known contact binary, a system in which two minor planets either nearly or actually touch each other.S&T: Steven A. Simpson. Among the strangest denizens of the solar system are contact binaries. In these systems, two minor planets orbit each other so closely that they…
Uranus Weather Picks Up
If you had to vote for the most boring planet, you might pick Uranus. But recent near-infrared images demonstrate the old maxim that first impressions can be deceiving.
Mars Methane Boosts Chances for Life
Two independent teams have reported new tantalizing evidence of Martian methane — a gas possibly suggestive of current life on the red planet.
The Dwindling Kuiper Belt
Following observations by several teams with various telescopes, astronomers are realizing that Kuiper-Belt objects are generally smaller than previously thought.
More Science Findings From Cassini
Scientists at the American Astronomical Society's Division of Planetary Sciences Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, were treated to a slew of results from the Cassini spacecraft.
Asteroids Tell Tale of Jupiter Migration
Scientists assembled this Jupiter mosaic from a series of Cassini images taken during the December 2000 flyby. New research suggests that Jupiter formed farther from the Sun and migrated in to its present orbit.Courtesy NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute. In 1984 astrophysicists Julio A. Fernández and Wing-Huen Ip…
Clash of the Titans
This XMM-Newton image reveals the X-ray brightness of the intergalactic gas in Abell 754. Core gas from the larger of the two clusters appears as the white and red area at the left. The regions with the highest density of matter are the brightest regions.Courtesy ESA / XMM-Newton / J.…
Mars Methane Boosts Chances for Life
Mars Express's Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS)mapped the distribution of water vapor in Mars's thin atmosphere. Water is distributed uniformly at high altitudes, but at low altitudes it is concentrated in three equatorial regions: Arabia Terra, Elysium Planum, and Arcadia-Memnonia. Highest water concentrations are in green; the least are in purple.…
Hubble Presses Toward Cosmic Dawn
Astronomers are busily mining the Hubble Ultra Deep Field to understand the early universe.
Two More Neptune-mass Exoplanets
Astronomers find two low-mass planets orbiting other stars.
Amateur Detects Exoplanet Transit
This artist conception depicts a Jupiter-size planet transiting its host star at a close distance. Astronomers know of six stars that are transited by exoplanets; two have been detected by amateurs, including the recently discovered planet TrES-1.S&T illustration by Steven A. Simpson. On August 24th, a team of professional astronomers…
Tiny Telescope Finds Big Planet
An artist depicts the newly discovered extrasolar planet, TrES-1, and its host star. Because of its close proximity to the star, TrES-1 is heated to about 850 degrees C (1,560 degrees F).Courtesy Jeffrey Hall and Lowell Observatory. Until now, all of the 125 or so known extrasolar planets were discovered…
Astro Image in the News:
A Martian Mountain Vista
Spirit is climbing the Columbia Hills and looking down upon Gusev Crater.
Stringy Holes: Hawking Concedes Defeat
The famed British physicist joins the mainstream in believing that black holes preserve information.
Mars Rovers Find More Evidence of Water
As Spirit and Opportunity visit new science targets, they continue to make important discoveries.
Eta Carinae Plays Purple Haze
Recent studies show that the southern-sky supergiant Eta Carinae isn't just one massive star, it’s two.
Possible New Milky Way Spiral Arm
Radio astronomers may have identified a fifth spiral arm in the outer reaches of our galaxy.
Mars Rovers Rockin' and Rollin'
One NASA rover sets a distance record while the other heads for the hills.
Black-Hole Construction Zone
The inner region of the galaxy M82, imaged by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The brightest source seems to be an intermediate-mass black hole. It is located near M82's center, which is marked by a green cross.Courtesy NASA / SAO / CXC. Mother Nature usually forms objects in a continuum of…
Star Formation Peaked Later than Thought
A new study show that the universe's star formation peaked 5 billion years ago.
