Astronomy & Observing News

Astronomer Don Osterbrock Dead at 82

One of the leading American astronomers and astronomical historians of the 20th century died on January 11, 2007.

History and Sky Lore

The Transit of Venus: Tales from the 18th and 19th Centuries

Observers and administrators gather at the US Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, in preparation for the American expeditions to the 1874 transit of Venus.Courtesy US Naval Observatory Library. A magnificent rendezvous between the planet of love and the bright orb of the Sun. One of the most celebrated phenomena in…

Astronomy & Observing News

Secret Documents Rewrite the Discovery of Neptune

Long-suppressed documents from the 1840s are changing one of the best-known stories in the history of astronomy.

Astronomy & Observing News

Venus Spokes: An Explanation at Last?

Percival Lowell's imfamous "spokes on Venus" may have simply been a reflection of structures in his own eye.

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