Sky & Telescope Magazine
Ready the Hot Cocoa and Recliner — Here Comes the Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower!
You might be tempted to sleep through this annual shower but then you'd miss seeing some of the fastest meteors around. Not to mention their parent is the most famous comet of all.
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May Podcast: Big Dipper Shows the Way
High above you on May evenings is an one obvious star pattern that just about everyone knows: the Big Dipper. This “Swiss Army Knife of the sky” can help you find many other key springtime stars and constellations. Just download or stream this month’s Sky Tour podcast.
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What Happens After a Supernova Blows? Watch and Find Out
New time-lapse videos from the Chandra X-ray Observatory show the Crab Nebula and the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant over more than 20 years.
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A Cosmic Arrow Pierced Pluto's Heart — Is It Still There Beneath the Surface?
A giant impact likely formed Pluto's heart-shaped basin, Sputnik Planitia. A big chunk of the impactor’s core might still be buried under the ice.
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This Week's Sky at a Glance, April 26 – May 5
All the planets now huddle around our line of sight toward the Sun. However, these moonless evenings present us the Spring Triangle, the Great Diamond with a sugar sprinkle on its edge, and the Pointers aligned vertically.
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Earth’s Mini-Moon Linked to Farside Lunar Crater
Researchers might have located the birthplace of 469219 Kamo‘oalewa, a small asteroid that has been described as Earth’s “mini-moon.”
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Sail into the Southern Skies with Vela
The large constellation Vela contains many hidden treasures.
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How Saturn’s Moon Mimas Might Have Melted
Maybe everything in the outer solar system is an ocean world.
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Meteorites Tighten Timeline for Giant Planets’ Movement through the Solar System
By linking a family of meteorites on Earth to their relatives in the asteroid belt, scientists have arrived at a new understanding of the giant planets' movement early in the solar system's history.
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Sky & Telescope Joins the Northeast Astronomy Forum
Sky & Telescope met with readers old and new at the annual Northeast Astronomy Forum.
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Watch a Hotspot Orbit Our Galaxy's Black Hole
Astronomers have reconstructed a 3D video of hot gas orbiting a stone’s throw away from our galaxy’s central black hole.
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This Week's Sky at a Glance, April 19 – 28
Springtime Leo walks high in the south, springtime Hydra snakes a quarter of the way around the celestial sphere, and the bright Moon aligns with Spica.
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See Amazing Views of the April 8th Total Solar Eclipse from Space
Millions of viewers were wowed by last week’s total solar eclipse. Now, we get to see the eclipse from another angle: space.
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Amateur Astronomers Caught Sungrazing Comet during Solar Eclipse
Wide-field photos of the total solar eclipse taken by several astronomers along the path of totality, caught a comet approaching the Sun.
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Jupiter Meets Uranus in Twilight; Supernova Erupts in Nearby Spiral Galaxy
Jupiter aligns with distant Uranus before it exits the evening sky as a bright supernova flares in the southern galaxy NGC 3621.
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NASA Struggles to Find Way Forward for Mars Sample Return
NASA's Perseverance mission has been collecting samples for later retrieval and return to Earth. Now, it's unclear how we'll get those samples home.
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See What Happens When Stars Collide
A star in the constellation Norma appears to have been created when two stars merged.
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This Week's Sky at a Glance, April 12 – 21
Jupiter is easy to spot, shining low in the west at nightfall. Near it are Uranus and Comet Pons-Brooks, tougher catches that require binoculars or a wide-field telescope — and some finding skills.
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The Planet K2-18b May Not Be Habitable After All
New research suggests Exoplanet K2-18b may actually be a gas-rich planet with no habitable surface instead of a habitable water world.
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Plan Now for the 2026 Total Solar Eclipse in Europe
On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse will be visible across Greenland, Iceland, and Spain, with plenty of inspiring itineraries.
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