Technician working on Sputnik 1, 1957.

Astronomy & Observing News

Sputnik 1: Celebrating 60 Years of Spaceflight

The launch of Sputnik 1, Earth's first artificial satellite, paved the way for Moonwalking astronauts, robotic exploration of the planets, and space tourism.

Astronomy & Observing News

An Early Universe Teeming With Stars

By taking a 3-dementional look at the Hubble Deep Field, astronomers are learning about the earliest epochs of star formation.

Astronomy & Observing News

Assessing and Reporting Impact Risks

Astronomers are heavily debating the best way to accurately inform the public about the risks of deadly impact on Earth.

Astronomy & Observing News

Cooperation on Texas Dark Skies?

Thanks to some diplomatic efforts by amateur astronomers, the skies above George Observatory, outside Houston, Texas, may be saved from additional light pollution.Courtesy Charles Gray. In the ongoing struggle between expanding development and the protection of vanishing dark skies, it looks like there's a success story in the making outside…

Astronomy & Observing News

Decoding Titan's Climate

Astronomers may be one step closer to understanding why Titan has a detached smoggy layer in its upper atmopshere. Click on image for a processed view showing the detached layer of atmospheric haze weakly visible above Titan's day side.Courtesy NASA/JPL. With blistering heatwaves in the U.S. and devastating floods in…

Astronomy & Observing News

An Inexpensive Rooftop Fireball Patrol

An amateur astronomer has devised an inexpensive, home-built fireball monitor.

Astronomy & Observing News

Lakebed Testifies to Warm, Wet Mars

New evidence of ancient lakes on Mars suggest a much warmer past for the red planet.

Astronomy & Observing News

Backyard Search for Asteroids and Extrasolar Planets

An Arizona-based amateur astronomer is giving professional asteroid hunters stiff competition

Astronomy & Observing News

Surprises from Solar X-rays

The RHESSI craft has identified continued X-ray bursts on the Sun.

Astronomy & Observing News

Supernovae in 3-D

Astronomers have finally succeeded in modeling in three dimensions the behavior of a massive star during the final seconds of its life.

Astronomy & Observing News

Solar Weather Probed in Depth

The global solar image shows average wind speeds for the region just below the stellar surface. The speeds are averages of the weather patterns observed over 14 days in April 2002. Large hurricane-like swirling winds are clearly visible.Courtesy University of Colorado/JILA A new analysis of observations from the Solar and…

Astronomy & Observing News

Globular Cluster Shredded by Milky Way

Astronomers have uncovered a globular cluster being torn apart.

Astronomy & Observing News

Mars Odyssey Support for Visual Ice Flashes?

Spacecraft orbiting Mars may have confirmed that flares detected by amateur observers are due to Martian ices.

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