SUNSET: 
Senate Approves NASA's New Administrator
After being unanimously approved for the post by the US Senate Commerce Committee, Michael Griffin was appointed as the 11th NASA administrator on April 13th. He spoke to NASA employees the next day.Courtesy NASA / Renee Bouchard. On April 13th, just one month after President Bush nominated Michael Griffin as…
Astro News Briefs: March 28–April 3
Exoplanet Image Update April 1, 2005 | The purported planet around GQ Lupi may not be a planet at all. The newly released paper by Neuhauser and his colleagues suggest that the object in question could be as much as 42 Jupiter masses. Brown dwarfs are, by definition, between 13…
Astro News Briefs: January 10–16
Spacecraft Sets Out to Strike a Comet January 12, 2005 | NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 1:47 p.m. Eastern time today and began its six-month journey to strike a comet. If all goes as planned, Deep Impact will reach 9P/Tempel 1 in July and release…
Chi Cygni Rises Toward Maximum
Catch a orange-red variable star in Cygnus, the Swan, as its brightness peaks in early July.
The 2003 Perseids in Moonlight
This year the light from the full Moon will wash out the faint meteors belonging to this favorite shower.
Perseid Meteors to Peak on August 12th
The annual Perseid meteor shower peaks in a moonless sky on Monday, August 12th, with European and North American observers positioned for the best show.
Perseid Meteors to Peak Late on the Night of August 11th
Circumstances will be nearly ideal for watching the annual Perseid meteor shower at its predicted maximum late on the night of August 11–12.
Get a "Ringside Seat" for Saturn Spectacular
January 6, 2005 Contact: J. Kelly Beatty, Editor, Night Sky 855-638-5388 x148, [email protected] Marcy McCreary, VP Mktg. & Bus. Dev. 855-638-5388 x143, [email protected] Note to Editors/Producers: This release is accompanied by high-quality graphics and a video clip; see details below. Taking a peek at Saturn through a telescope is…
Astro News Briefs: January 5–11
Mars Express Fails to Hear Beagle 2 January 7, 2004 | The first attempt for the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter to hear from the Beagle 2 lander was unsuccessful. The spacecraft passed over Beagle 2's landing site at about 12:15 Universal Time today (7:15 a.m. Eastern Standard Time)…
Astro News Briefs: January 3-9
First light for Swift instruments and a new solar telescope.
Astro Image in the News:
Iapetus Encountered
Cassini, the craft, was about 72,000 kilometers (44,700 miles) away from Iapetus when it snapped this up-close image of the pockmarked moon.
Planet Parade and Geminid Meteors Come in Mid-December
A rare configuration of planets is followed by the annual Geminid meteor shower on the night and early morning of December 13&endash;14. Here's some advice on how, when, and where to look for "shooting stars."
Exoplanet Resonance Animations
An artist depicts the two planets orbiting the red-dwarf star Gliese 876. The two planets are locked in a 2:1 mean-motion resonance, meaning that over long time scales, the inner planet completes two revolutions every time the outer planet completes one. Courtesy Mark A. Garlick. As astronomers have discovered more…
Total Lunar Eclipse to Occur on the Night of Oct. 27th
On Wednesday night-Thursday morning, October 27–28, watch the full Moon slide into Earth's shadow. The event is beautifully timed and placed for skywatchers in the Americas.
Astro News Briefs: September 20–26
More money for Mars and Kodak's Technical Pan Film is discontinued.
Astro Image in the News:
Toutatis Encounters Earth — and Misses (This Time)
Another asteroid flyby caught on camera.
Astro Image in the News:
Rover Tracks From Space
A new imaging technique has allowed the Mars Global Surveyor to see 0.5 meter resolution views of the Red Planet.
