SUNSET: 
Tiny Telescopes Launch
Successfully launched February 25th, a pair of diminutive telescopes inside basketball-size cubes will give scientists new views of the brightest stars in the galaxy.
Perseids at Their Prime
The annual Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend, providing skywatchers with a great opportunity to see some incoming bits of the cosmos.
Black Holes Might Form Like Planets
Astronomers have plenty of evidence for small and large black holes, but have had little luck tracking down the mid-sized variety. One team of researchers suggests the search has been focused on the wrong places all along.
Discovery Channel Telescope's Debut
After seven years of construction, Lowell Observatory's Discovery Channel Telescope is about to come online. The DCT team expects the state-of-the-art 4.3-meter scope to breathe new life into the storied observatory and allow astronomers new views of comets, stars, and deep-space objects.
Do-It-Yourself Space Science
A California startup seeks to democratize space research by putting a tiny, custom-built satellite into orbit — and letting the public decide how to use it.
Exoplanet Hunters Dim the Lights
Scientists have devised a new way to dim starlight's blinding glare, a technique that improves on existing technologies to allow astronomers a clearer view of exoplanets orbiting nearby stars.
Dark-Matter Thread Revealed
Scientists have found a dark-matter filament, a strand of the cosmic web that connects clusters of galaxies. It's the first time an individual filament has been detected and is among our first observational glimpses of the universe’s largest structures.
Seeing Exoplanets in a New Light
Researchers have devised a way to peek at the atmospheres of non-transiting exoplanets. The method may prove to be a valuable tool in astronomers' efforts to characterize planets outside our solar system.
Little Scope Makes Big Finds
Scientists using the diminutive KELT North telescope have discovered two extrasolar planets, one of which is unlike anything yet seen. The finding provides researchers with raw material to study exoplanets, but it also demonstrates that sometimes, the little guys can still win big.
Small Planets’ Evolutionary Edge
The discovery that planets can form around a variety of stars — and not just specific types, as previously thought — might open the floodgates on the search for habitable worlds in the galaxy.
Failed Stars Oddly Rare
Astronomers hunting for brown dwarfs in our solar neighborhood have been thrown a surprise: these star wannabes are far less common than previously thought.
NASA’s New Spy Scopes
Out of the blue, NASA finds itself the new owner of two new Hubble-class space telescopes sitting in a warehouse, courtesy of a spy agency that didn't want them. But like many gifts, they aren't exactly free.
ALMA Coming Together
As one of the world's greatest new telescopes takes shape, preliminary results impress.