"When beggars die, there are no comets seen;
The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes."

— William Shakespeare
Julius Cæsar

Astronomy

Best Sony lenses in 2025: Make the most of your Sony camera

Space.com - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 8:00am
The best Sony lenses are the best glass you can get for your Sony camera. Our guide takes you through models that suit a range of budgets and photography styles.
Categories: Astronomy

NASA’s Artemis Albatross

Universe Today - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 7:43am

While all the technology of the Apollo program still exists in the form of blueprints and designs, all the human expertise that went into crafting those rockets and spaceships is now either retired or passed away.

Categories: Astronomy

NASA's Junocam Heals Its Radiation Damage

Universe Today - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 7:43am

The JunoCam on NASA's Juno spacecraft has given us fantastic images of Jupiter and its moons, especially volcanic Io. But the instrument is suffering after years of exposure to Jupiter's intense radiation. There are few options for repairing that damage from such a great distance, but it looks like NASA's done it.

Categories: Astronomy

Zero-Boil Fuel Storage Undergoes System Testing

Universe Today - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 7:43am

From an engineering perspective, space is surprisingly hot. Or, more specifically, solar energy can make systems that need to be kept at a very cold temperature heat up much more quickly than expected, given the reputation that space has of being cold. In some cases, this heating causes issues with long-term missions, which is why NASA is actively testing a two-stage active cryogenic system to keep one important consumable as cold as possible - fuel.

Categories: Astronomy

Astronomers Discover Mysterious Radio Pulsing White Dwarf

Universe Today - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 7:43am

A team of astronomers using the Netherlands' powerful LOFAR radio telescope has found a white dwarf that's defying everything we thought we knew about them. Located over 3,500 light-years away, it’s pulsing out radio signals every 14 minutes with a twist, its radio waves mysteriously switch between spinning in circles and vibrating in straight lines. It's like discovering a lighthouse that randomly changes the shape of its beam, except this lighthouse is a star that died long ago and should be quietly cooling in space.

Categories: Astronomy

Act now to save $50 on these stargazing Celestron binoculars, perfect for observing August's sturgeon moon

Space.com - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 7:32am
Want to bring the cosmos closer? Save nearly 40% on these Celestron Skymaster 15x70 binoculars, but with Prime Day ending soon you'll have to be fast!
Categories: Astronomy

Tomb of Ancient Maya City’s First Ruler Has Been Uncovered by Archaeologists

Scientific American.com - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 6:45am

A team of archaeologists excavating the ancient Maya city of Caracol discovered the tomb of its first ruler, which contained pottery, jadeite jewelry and a rare death mask

Categories: Astronomy

John Cena searches for love in parallel dimensions in the new 'Peacemaker' Season 2 trailer (video)

Space.com - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 6:00am
Christopher Smith and the gang deal with parallel realities and ARGUS in the second trailer for DC Studios and HBO Max's Peacemaker season 2.
Categories: Astronomy

VV27 road to liftoff

ESO Top News - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 5:00am
Video: 00:07:00

Highlights and liftoff of Vega-C flight VV27 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, at 23:03 local time on 25 July (03:03 BST/04:03 CEST on 26 July).

Flight VV27 was operated by Arianespace and launched Airbus’s four CO3D satellites and the French space agency CNES MicroCarb mission.

The four small satellites in the CO3D constellation (an abbreviation of the French 'Constellation Optique en 3D') are set to map the globe in three dimensions from low Earth orbit, to serve public and private sector needs.

MicroCarb is designed to map sources and sinks of carbon dioxide on a global scale. ESA coordinated and procured the launch of MicroCarb on behalf of the European Commission, as part of its In-Orbit Demonstration / In-Orbit Validation (IOD/IOV) programme.

Categories: Astronomy

How to Watch Double Meteor Shower as Southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids Peak Tonight

Scientific American.com - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 12:00am

The Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids are due to peak at the same time and may add up to something magical

Categories: Astronomy

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum reopens 5 renovated galleries starring SpaceX rocket parts, a 3D-printed Mars habitat and more

Space.com - Mon, 07/28/2025 - 5:00pm
Hundreds of people lined up outside of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Monday (July 28) to see five newly renovated galleries devoted to aviation and space exploration history.
Categories: Astronomy

<p><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod

APOD - Mon, 07/28/2025 - 4:00pm

Can some supernovas explode twice?


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

Tampa Breaks Heat Record as Heat Dome Bakes Eastern U.S.

Scientific American.com - Mon, 07/28/2025 - 2:35pm

Records are starting to fall to the continuing heat dome that is covering much of the eastern U.S.

Categories: Astronomy

Hubble Spies Swirling Spiral

NASA Image of the Day - Mon, 07/28/2025 - 12:40pm
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy NGC 3285B, a member of the Hydra I cluster of galaxies.
Categories: Astronomy, NASA

Scientists Create First Antimatter Qubit

Scientific American.com - Mon, 07/28/2025 - 12:00pm

The first antimatter qubit will help search for differences between matter and antimatter

Categories: Astronomy

Deep Sea Volcanic Vents Could Provide Clues About Alien Life

Universe Today - Mon, 07/28/2025 - 11:39am

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 22, 2025 NASA has awarded $621,000 to University of Massachusetts Amherst microbiologist James Holden to investigate what life might look like on Europa, Jupiter's ice-covered moon. To pursue answers, Holden is focusing his research on Earth's deep-sea volcanic hydrothermal vents-environments that may closely resemble Europa's subsurface conditions. Europa, beneath its frozen exterior, is believed

Categories: Astronomy

This Trans-Neptunian Object Moves in Sync With Neptune. Was it Captured by Neptune?

Universe Today - Mon, 07/28/2025 - 11:39am

Astronomers have detected a Trans-Neptunian Object (TNO) that's moving in rhythm with Neptune. It's called 2020 VN40 and is the first confirmed object that orbits the Sun once for every ten Neptune orbits. It could be an example of an object caught by Neptune's gravity.

Categories: Astronomy

Tetris Presents Math Problems Even Computers Can’t Solve

Scientific American.com - Mon, 07/28/2025 - 9:00am

How complex can a simple game be? Tetris pushes even supercomputers to their limits and amazes mathematicians

Categories: Astronomy

Why Genetically Optimizing Embryos Is Misleading, Unethical—And Not Even Possible

Scientific American.com - Mon, 07/28/2025 - 9:00am

A genomics firm saying they can help parents with “genetic optimization” of their embryos is tone-deaf Silicon Valley marketing trampling over legitimate science. Parents should be wary

Categories: Astronomy

You Don’t Remember Being a Baby, but Your Brain Was Making Memories

Scientific American.com - Mon, 07/28/2025 - 7:00am

Brain scans capture memory formation in babies, raising new questions about why people forget their earliest years

Categories: Astronomy