Sky & Telescope Magazine

The Winter Hexagon encompasses the brightest winter stars. Near Orion, the Big Dog prances and the Hare crouches. And the moonless dark this week opens telescopic deep-sky depths.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 6 – 15 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Virginia Trimble collected "shiny things" in astronomy — and her curated collections fascinated astronomers around the world.

The post Virginia Trimble, Memory Keeper of Modern Astronomy appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A distant Kreutz comet heading our way may grow a glorious tail in April.

The post New Kreutz Comet C/2026 A1 May Dazzle appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The proposed installation — less than 10 miles from Paranal Observatory — sparked international concern. Now it’s canceled.

The post Chilean Observatories Saved from Industrial Megaproject appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

An AI search through decades-old spacecraft images reveals that Mercury may still be alive and kicking, geologically speaking.

The post Hundreds of Bright Streaks Suggest Mercury’s Still Active appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

In this month’s episode, go on a tour of the stars and planets that you’ll see overhead during February. First we’ll keep tabs on the Moon; say good-bye to Saturn; trace out the Winter Milky Way; and explore some lesser-known constellations near Orion.

The post February Podcast: Winter’s Milky Way appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The dazzling Moon occults Regulus Monday night while Regulus is busy announcing February. Betelgeuse turns the Winter Hexagon into the Heavenly G.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 30 – February 8 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

New observations reveal a strange structure in the iconic nebula that has evaded astronomers for centuries.

The post The Ring Nebula Has an “Iron Bar”  appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Feeling sluggish and crabby? Got cloudy skies? You might be suffering from SDS.

The post Starlight Deprivation Syndrome appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The final release of data from the Dark Energy Survey widens tensions in our understanding of the cosmic evolution.

The post The Dark Energy Survey Weighs in on Cosmic Tensions appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Sculpted gases in the Helix Nebula, revealed in a new Webb image, look like the firework-like tendrils in a distant amateur-discovered supernova remnant — here's why.

The post What the Helix Nebula Has in Common with a Supernova Remnant appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Tiny Mars might have an outsize effect on Earth's climate over hundreds of thousands of years.

The post Scientists Measure Mars's Effect on Earth's Climate appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A new study suggests that an early version of Mars’s smaller moon Deimos was pulverized by its own debris, explaining the moon's oddities.

The post Martian Moon Deimos Might Have Reshaped Itself and Its Orbit appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The waxing Moon marches east across the evening sky. It says hello to binary Gamma Arietis on Saturday, then occults some of the Pleiades for Europe on Tuesday. But it's past them by nightfall in North America.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 23 - February 1 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

New videos from the Solar Orbiter and the Chandra X-ray Observatory capture magnetic avalanches on the Sun and the exploding remnants of a star 17,000 light-years away.

The post Watch Stellar Explosions Near and Far (Videos) appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Mira the Wonderful is back! Of course, it's always been there, but now it's near maximum brightness and easily visible with the unaided eye.

The post Nights with Mira, a Most Wonderful Star appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Congress has rejected a draconian budget request, passing a bill that funds the space agency similarly to 2025.

The post NASA’s Budget Woes Are Over, For Now appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Astronomers have found two gravitationally lensed supernovae that are missing images. Those images' arrival will offer a measure of the universe's expansion.

The post “Missing” Supernova Images Offer Measure of Universe’s Expansion appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

This winter the biggest planet is the brightest. The brightest star pins the Winter Triangle. And did you know Capella and Rigel march in step?

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 16 – 25 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Schmidt Sciences has unveiled details on four ambitious observatories to monitor the dynamic cosmos, with data from all four expected by 2029.

The post The Schmidt System: Four New Observatories in the Next Three Years appeared first on Sky & Telescope.