Astronomy

Can you spot famous celestial objects in this image?

NASA’s 10 new astronaut candidates were introduced Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, following a competitive selection process of more than 8,000 applicants from across the United States.

John Seach hit the jackpot, discovering novae in both Centaurus and Sagittarius within a day of each other.

The post Australian Amateur Discovers Back-to-back Novae! appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Comparing a map of the neurons in a nematode worm - the connectome - with a map of how signals travel across those neurons has revealed a surprising number of differences, suggesting that the structure of the brain alone doesn't explain how it works

Comparing a map of the neurons in a nematode worm - the connectome - with a map of how signals travel across those neurons has revealed a surprising number of differences, suggesting that the structure of the brain alone doesn't explain how it works

Lunar minerals can rust when bombarded with high-energy oxygen particles, experiments show

A fossil from about 66 million years ago reveals a species of dinosaur that is new to science, with claws that would have ripped through its prey's flesh

A fossil from about 66 million years ago reveals a species of dinosaur that is new to science, with claws that would have ripped through its prey's flesh

Although narcissistic personality disorder is rarer than you might think, psychological research suggests it can come in two different types, one of which may be underdiagnosed

Although narcissistic personality disorder is rarer than you might think, psychological research suggests it can come in two different types, one of which may be underdiagnosed

Particles similar to axions, the leading candidate for dark matter that has long eluded detection, may have already been created in particle colliders – and remained hidden in the data

Particles similar to axions, the leading candidate for dark matter that has long eluded detection, may have already been created in particle colliders – and remained hidden in the data

Researchers have dated the appearance of microbial life in a 78 million year old impact crater. Life colonized the fractured hydrothermal system the impact created, and thrived for millions of years. It could do the same on other worlds.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope recently imaged an extremely large and symmetric protostellar jet at the outskirts of our Milky Way galaxy. From tip to tip, this protostellar jet is 8 light-years across, about double the distance from our Sun to its closest neighboring star system, Alpha Centauri.

You know, if you take away the lack of air and water, the weaker Sun, the lower gravity, and the toxic soil, Mars isn’t all that bad of a place to live.

It seems like most of the planets have fled the evening scene. But that’s about to change this week. Saturn reaches opposition on Sunday, September 21st, passing closest to the Earth at just over 8.5 Astronomical Units (AU) or 1.3 billion kilometers distant, and rising opposite to the setting Sun. This marks the best time to view the ringed world, as it dominates the night sky from sunset until sunrise.

When considering the unnamed major features of all the moons, asteroids, and comets in our solar system there are still a lot of places out there that need proper names. That means the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the non-governmental body responsible for naming astronomical objects, has its work cut out for them. Recently they tackled a relatively easy challenge by approving a series of names on the asteroid Donaldjohnson, the first and only target of NASA’s Lucy mission in the main asteroid belt. With those names come a whole new way to talk about one of the asteroids that humanity has studied most closely thus far.

The discovery of a rare Einstein Cross — five images of the same galaxy — reveals a trillion-solar-mass dark matter clump.

The post Astronomers Spot Rare Einstein Cross — and a Massive Clump of Dark Matter appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continues to affect infants and older and immunocompromised people around the world. These graphics reveal where the burden lies and what the effects of immunizations are

American Indian and Alaska Native infants experience the highest rates of RSV-related hospitalization in the U.S., but a breakthrough immunization is helping to close the gap