Space News & Blog Articles

The Perseid meteors ramp up this week to their peak. Saturn is nicely up by late evening. Jupiter and Mars near their conjunction in the morning sky. And there's a story behind Poniatowski's Bull.

It's time again for the annual August meteor-shower fest, the Perseids. This year's display should be a beauty with only minor moonlight and a special surprise at dawn.

Let’s go on a night-sky tour of the stars and planets that you’ll see overhead during August. Find a good seat for some great “shooting stars,” watch Saturn climb in the eastern sky in early evening, check out the summer's brightest stars, and start looking for a once-in-your-lifetime star blast. 

Future funding for NASA's remaining Great Observatories — Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope — is still up in the air.

A professional astronomer turned dark-sky champion, David L. Crawford became synonymous with the fight against light pollution around the world.

Gravitational-wave astronomers have identified ripples in spacetime from the coalescence of a neutron star with what’s likely one of the smallest black holes ever found.

Very low in the west in bright twilight, have you picked up Venus yet? Binoculars help. Much tougher will be Mercury and Regulus. Their arrangement changes all week.

New analysis has revealed 21 Sun-like stars in mutual orbit around dark objects of neutron star–like masses — rare systems that have escaped destruction by supernova.

New James Webb Space Telescope observations of LHS 1140b hint at a temperate water world with a nitrogen-rich atmosphere.

The James Webb Space Telescope has for the first time detected the difference between the morning and evening of a tidally locked gas giant planet.

Scorpius poses at center stage in the south. The Sagittarius Teapot follows behind it. And Rasalhague, the head star of Ophiuchus. turns the Summer Triangle into a big, upright diamond.

A new look at data from NASA's Cassini mission confirms methane cycles on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, just as water cycles on Earth.

Having survived two recent threats — high-velocity space dust and enhanced solar activity — Gaia is now returning better data than ever.

The development of the VIPER lunar rover has been discontinued.

The latest smartscope astrophotography craze opens the door to some incredible opportunities for both beginners and seasoned observers.

Little-known Norma, a small constellation in the southern sky, contains several stellar and deep-sky delights.

Small galaxies in the early universe might have had centers dominated by dark matter, according to new research.

The parent company of Orion and Meade telescope manufacturers has shut its California offices. Stay tuned for updates.

Some galaxies hailing from the infant universe may already hold vast populations of old stars.

Mercury lurks in the sunset. The July Moon rides low across the sky this week as it waxes from first quarter to full. It occults springlike Spica, then passes summery Antares to hang with the Teapot.

New supercomputer simulations reveal the journey gas takes to enter a galaxy and surround and enter its black hole. That journey holds a few surprises for astronomers.