Astronomy

Astronomers have found another super-Earth. It's about 10 times more massive than Earth, and orbits in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star about 2475 light-years away. These massive Earth-like planets hold key information about how planets form and evolve.

When the New Horizons spacecraft swept past Pluto and Charon in 2015, it revealed two amazingly complex worlds and an active atmosphere on Pluto. Those snapshots redefined our understanding of the system. Now, new observations using the James Webb Space Telescope taken over the space of a week, show that Pluto's atmosphere is completely different from any other one in the Solar System.

As the years go by, the chance of Europa hosting life seems to keep going down. But it's not out of contention yet.

On the surface (you're welcome for the joke), Venus is not even close to being hospitable to life. But that's not the end of the story.

Chinese rocket startup Space Epoch put on a show recently, with a demonstration test launch of their reusable Yanxinghe-1 rocket booster.

Mars is by far the most Earth-like planet in the solar system…but that's not saying much.

Amid a patchwork of fields, towns, and winding rivers and roads in central Brazil stands a monolithic oval-shaped plateau. This conspicuous feature, the Serra de Caldas (also known as the Caldas Novas dome and Caldas Ridge), is perched about 300 meters (1,000 feet) above the surrounding landscape in the state of Goiás.

Astronomers at the International Astronomical Union report that we have now detected more than 200 gravitational-wave events, most the merger of two black holes.

The post Status Report: Gravitational Waves appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The Perseids peak on Sunday night, August 11-12 and just might be joined by a colorful display of northern lights. 

The post Tonight's Perseid Meteor Shower May Be Dipped in Aurora Sauce appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

It's time again for the annual August meteor-shower fest, the Perseids. This year's display should be a beauty with only minor moonlight and a special surprise at dawn.

The post Woo-hoo — The Perseid Meteor Shower Is Coming! appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The Perseid meteor shower peaks late Sunday night August 11th and maybe Monday night too. Jupiter and Mars have a close conjunction on the morning of the 14th, looking radically different in the same telescopic view.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, August 9 – 18 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The year’s long-awaited Perseid meteor shower will be accompanied by a graceful planetary conjunction. It’s well worth staying up all night to watch.

The post Prepare for the Perseids and a Pretty Planetary Pairing appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Fifteen years ago, the Hubble Space Telescope gazed intently at the infrared glow of galaxies in a tiny fraction of the sky. New research shows how this patch of space has changed since then.

The post The Hubble Ultra-Deep Field, 15 Years Later appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

New data on the brightest pulsar observed with a telescope on the International Space Station suggests neutron star interiors are "squishy."

The post Neutron Stars Might Be Squishy Inside appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Amateur astronomers are all life-long learners — and this "back to school" time of year provides just the right motivation.

The post Enroll in the School of Stars appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The Perseid meteors ramp up this week to their peak. Saturn is nicely up in the east by late evening. Jupiter and Mars near their conjunction in the morning sky. And there's a story behind Poniatowski's Bull.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, August 2 – 11 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

"Leopard spots" on a Mars rock could come from life — or they could simply be a sign of a type of chemical reaction that requires water.

The post Does This Mars Rock Show a "Potential Biosignature"? Or Just "Wet Chemistry"? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Let’s go on a night-sky tour of the stars and planets that you’ll see overhead during August. Find a good seat for some great “shooting stars,” watch Saturn climb in the eastern sky in early evening, check out the summer's brightest stars, and start looking for a once-in-your-lifetime star blast. 

The post August Podcast: Nova Watch in the Northern Crown appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Future funding for NASA's remaining Great Observatories — Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope — is still up in the air.

The post Reading the Tea Leaves: The Future of the Hubble and Chandra Space Telescopes appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A professional astronomer turned dark-sky champion, David L. Crawford became synonymous with the fight against light pollution around the world.

The post David Crawford, 1931–2024 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.