SUNSET: 
Black Hole Spins as Fast as It Can
A black hole has been measured spinning more than 950 times per second, about as fast as it can theoretically go under the laws of physics.
Bob's World of Astronomy with Robert Naeye
Farewell
I will be leaving S&T at the end of today, but it's been a great 3-year ride.
Bob's World of Astronomy with Robert Naeye
Intelligent Design and the Kanootin Valve
Belief in "intelligent design" stifles human initiative to understand the natural world.
The Milky Way's Hungry Monster
The Milky Way has a monster black hole lurking in its core, but it's on a starvation diet. The black hole, known as Sagittarius A*, weighs in at about 4 million solar masses. But despite the beast's overwhelming gravitational pull, recent studies show that it consumes only a pathetic fraction of Earth's mass in a typical year. For some unknown reason, very little food is falling into the black hole, so it remains calm and quiet — radiating very little energy. But fortunately for the monster, every now and then it enjoys a snack.
AAS Supernova Roundup
At the American Astronomical Society conference in Seattle on Tuesday, independent teams of astronomers reported new results about supernovae, the cataclysmic explosions of stars. These results clarify one mystery, while challenging fundamental assumptions about what types of stars can go kaboom.
The First Triple Quasar
In an announcement made on Monday at the American Astronomical Society conference in Seattle, astronomers confirmed that quasars can come in threes.
News from the AAS
About 3,000 scientists from around the world gathered Sunday in Seattle, Washington, for the 209th meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Hundreds of discoveries were announced on the conference’s first day. Here are few of the highlights.
Bob's World of Astronomy with Robert Naeye
What Missions Do You Want NASA to Fly?
With public indifference to many NASA programs, what kind of missions would inspire future generations to reach for new heights?
Bob's World of Astronomy with Robert Naeye
Weird Cosmic Explosions
Astronomers are struggling to explain two recent cosmic cataclysms.
Bob's World of Astronomy with Robert Naeye
Bringing About Lunar Bases
If we're going to see NASA lunar bases in our lifetime, Congress is going to have to change the way it does business.
Bob's World of Astronomy with Robert Naeye
Lunar Bases? Yeah, Right
Earlier this week NASA announced plans to set up lunar bases. Don't get too excited.
Flowing Mud on Today's Mars?
Newly released images from Mars Global Surveyor strongly suggest that liquid water could be flowing across the surface of Mars right now.
Bob's World of Astronomy with Robert Naeye
Respect for the Ancients
A sophisticated Greek astronomical computer raises a lot of interesting "what if" questions.
A Millennium Ahead of Its Time
An international team of scientists has found that an ancient Greek astronomical computer is far more complex than scholars had realized.
Plethora of Puffy Planets
Astronomers have confirmed 14 exoplanets that transit their host stars. All of these worlds orbit their suns at very close distances, and thus are heated to high temperatures. Strangely, however, a bevy of these bodies are much less massive than they should be. Astronomers are trying to find out why.
Bob's World of Astronomy with Robert Naeye
Requiem for a Space Traveler
Mars Global Surveyor might be gone, but its incredible achievements guarantee it will never be forgotten.
Bob's World of Astronomy with Robert Naeye
The Universe Is What It Is
NASA's latest announcement supports the prevailing model that the universe's expansion is accelerating due to a mysterious dark energy.
Bob's World of Astronomy with Robert Naeye
Good Times, Bad Times for Astronomy
To pay for next-generation telescopes, astronomy will have to make some painful but necessary choices.
Bob's World of Astronomy with Robert Naeye
Saving Hubble: A No-Brainer
The decision to fly another servicing mission to the space telescope was the obvious thing to do.
A Planet that Runs Hot and Cold
In a "seminal result" astronomers using NASA's infrared Spitzer Space Telescope have made the first measurement of the difference between an extrasolar planet's daytime and nighttime temperatures.
