Space News & Blog Articles

Astronomers have found a black hole leaning decidedly askew in its orbit with a star.

The post Black Hole Spins Crookedly appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Astronomers have found a fast radio burst — presumably a flash from a young stellar remnant — amongst the ancient stars of a globular cluster, challenging ideas about what produces these enigmatic flashes.

The post Fast Radio Burst's Unlikely Home Puzzles Astronomers appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A visible glow from our sister planet’s nightside sheds new light on a 300-year-old observing enigma dubbed the “ashen light.”

The post The Parker Solar Probe Captures Surprising Images of Venus Nightside appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

How are stars born? One of the best places to test ideas about stellar birth is in Orion.

The post Protostar Companions in Orion appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

With the Moon gone from the evening sky, trace out Monoceros the Unicorn walking behind Orion. Spot the famous binocular star clusters at his eye and horn-tip, and don't miss M41 under Sirius. Meanwhile, the waning Moon, passes Venus, Mars and Mercury at dawn.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 18 – 26 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

With the Moon departing the evening sky, now's a good time for a closer look at the northern winter Milky Way and its southern summer counterpart, too. No equipment required!

The post Reveling in the Winter Milky Way appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A high-resolution infrared image has revealed a dust screen obscuring a gas-devouring supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy NGC 1068, confirming 30-year-old predictions.

The post Supermassive Black Hole Hides Behind a Ring of Dust appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The booster previously identified as SpaceX hardware turns out to be from the Chang’e 5-T1 mission. The timing and site of the impact remain the same.

The post Booster Set to Hit the Moon Turns Out to be Chinese Rocket — Not SpaceX appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A careful study of cosmological simulations shows that dark matter–less galaxies aren't impossible — just really rare.

The post How Galaxies Can (Rarely) Lose Their Dark Matter appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Scientists examining ancient ice cores have found radioactive evidence of an extreme solar storm that took place in 7,176 BCE.

The post Solar Tsunami Hit Earth 9,200 Years Ago appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The Winter Hexagon hosts the Moon. Then Castor and Pollux nail the Moon. Then the Little and Big Dog stars arc gracefully away from it. Meanwhile in early dawn, Mercury, Venus and Mars continue as a triangle low in the southeast.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 11 – 19 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A minor space storm took down much of the latest Starlink batch shortly after launch.

The post Space Storm Knocks Out Latest Batch of Starlink Satellites appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A new instrument on a powerful telescope has enabled astronomers to discover another planet around our nearest stellar neighbor.

The post New Planet Discovered Around Proxima Centauri, Star Nearest the Sun appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Where did Earth’s water come from? One of the oldest meteorites on Earth is adding new pieces to an old puzzle.

The post Meteorite Evidence Suggests Earth’s Water Was Here Before Earth Was appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Seeing the same target again has the comfort of a beloved rerun, while offering the opportunity for new discoveries.

The post The Comfort and Delight of Celestial “Reruns” appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Gaseous mini-Neptunes may become rocky super-Earths when they lose their atmospheres. Now, astronomers have caught that process in action.

The post Astronomers Watch the Making of a Super-Earth appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The combined power of citizen science and machine learning have led to the discovery of more than 1,000 new asteroids in archival images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

The post Citizen Scientists Find 1,000+ Asteroids Photobombing Hubble Images appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

There’s a massive star in our galaxy’s halo, far away from the usual star-forming haunts. How did it get there?

The post A Star Where It Shouldn't Be appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

This is the part of the month when the evening Moon is at its telescopic best in many skywatchers' opinions, as the terminator sweeps across the middle of the Moon's disk. And in February, the Moon at these phases rides especially high. Jupiter sinks low in evening twilight, and a triangle of planets displays in early dawn.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 4 – 12 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A new radio survey reveals a complex and chaotic galactic center teeming with supernova remnants, star-forming regions, and mysterious filaments.

The post Astonishing Radio View of the Milky Way’s Heart appeared first on Sky & Telescope.