Home
Amateur Astronomy And Space Exploration News
Welcome to the Night Sky Observer (NSO) astronomy and space news website. Most pages (especially news, podcasts and vodcasts) are updated several times a day.
There are many resources, news sources, articles, astro-photos and links on this site and the navigation bar (at right) will let you navigate around the site.
You'll also find software products I've created (such as LunarPhase Pro and Jupsat Pro) and links to some of the best suppliers of astronomical gear and space-related memorabilia dotted throughout the site.
If you would like to submit an article, please use the Contact page. Articles can contain up to 3 links.
Gary Nugent
Latest Astronomy News Stories:
For more News, check out the: Astronomy & Space News page.
Older announcements are listed here [older part of site]
ESA’s Asteroid Hunt Boosted by Amateur Astronomers
15 May 2012 at 1:38pm
A partnership with the UK’s Faulkes Telescope Project promises to boost the Agency’s space hazards research while helping students to discover potentially dangerous space rocks. 2m Faulkes North Telescope at Haleakalā, Hawaii, USA. Credits: Faulkes Telescope Project ESA’s Space Situational Awaren...
Read more...Herschel Snaps Stunning Image of Cygnus-X Star Nursery
13 May 2012 at 6:49pm
Chaotic networks of dust and gas signpost the next generations of massive stars in this stunning new image of the Cygnus-X star-nursery captured by ESA’s Herschel space observatory. This new view of the Cygnus-X star-formation region by Herschel highlights chaotic networks of dust and gas that po...
Read more...NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Reveals Vesta’s Secrets
11 May 2012 at 8:07pm
NASA's Dawn spacecraft has provided researchers with the first orbital analysis of the giant asteroid Vesta, yielding new insights into its creation and kinship with terrestrial planets and Earth's moon. This image, made from data obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows the mineral distribution...
Read more...AAVSO Alert Notice 458: Multiwavelength Observing Campaign on AE Aqr
11 May 2012 at 6:59pm
AAVSO Alert Notice 458 Multiwavelength Observing Campaign on AE Aqr May 11, 2012 Dr. Christopher Mauche, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and colleagues in Spain and Oman have requested AAVSO observations in support of their upcoming multiwavelength observations of the novalike intermediat...
Read more...Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Revealed Movement in Sand Dune Fields on Mars
10 May 2012 at 10:01pm
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has revealed that movement in sand dune fields on the Red Planet occurs on a surprisingly large scale, about the same as in dune fields on Earth. Back-and-forth blinking of this two-image animation shows movement of a sand dune on Mars. Image credit: NASA/...
Read more...Galaxies With Powerful, Active Black Holes Produce Fewer Stars
10 May 2012 at 7:09pm
The Herschel Space Observatory has shown galaxies with the most powerful, active black holes at their cores produce fewer stars than galaxies with less active black holes. The results are the first to demonstrate black holes suppressed galactic star formation when the universe was less than half ...
Read more...End of Mission for ESA’s Envisat Satellite
10 May 2012 at 2:39pm
Just weeks after celebrating its tenth year in orbit, communication with the Envisat satellite was suddenly lost on 8 April. Following rigorous attempts to re-establish contact and the investigation of failure scenarios, the end of the mission is being declared. Just weeks after celebrating its t...
Read more...Big Sunspot Crackling With Flares and Radio Bursts
10 May 2012 at 11:11am
Huge sunspot AR1476 is crackling with M-class solar flares and appears to be on the verge of producing something even stronger. The sunspot's 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field harbors energy for X-class flares, the most powerful kind. Radio operators are recording strong bursts of shortwave stati...
Read more...Europe Delivers MIRI – the First Instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope
10 May 2012 at 10:28am
The first instrument to be completed for the James Webb Space Telescope, MIRI, was handed over by the European consortium that built it to ESA at a ceremony held in London today, and will now be delivered to NASA aiming for launch in 2018. MIRI, the Mid Infrared Instrument, being prepared for vib...
Read more...Spitzer Space Telescope Detects Light Emanating From a “Super-Earth”
9 May 2012 at 2:33pm
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected light emanating from a "super-Earth" planet beyond our solar system for the first time. While the planet is not habitable, the detection is a historic step toward the eventual search for signs of life on other planets. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope was...
Read more...Water Droplets Dance on the Space Station
7 May 2012 at 7:41pm
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit of NASA has taught more than half a million internet viewers how microgravity affects scientific principles by using everyday objects on the International Space Station. In the latest video, Pettit takes his demonstrations to the next level by using sound ...
Read more...Mars Express Sees Signs of Flowing Water on Ancient Mars
7 May 2012 at 12:23pmESA’s Mars Express has returned images of a region on the Red Planet that appears to have been sculpted in part by flowing liquid. This again adds to the growing evidence that Mars had large volumes of water on its surface in the distant past. The transition between Acidalia Planitia and Tempe Te...
Read more...
 Astrophotography (Jewel Case) List Price: Sale Price: $9.32 You save: $0.68 (7%)  Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days  |
 Starry Night Pro Plus 6.3 Astronomy Software |
 Starry Night AstroPhoto Suite - Windows |
I have only just come across your blog and have found it to be of great interest.
I love anything to do with Space and finding your site has given me a great insight in to factors I was unaware of.
Thank you and please keep up this great work!
What an excellent resource!
Ever since a child I have been intrigued about Astronomy and the universe.
i´ve just found this blog and like it pretty much. i don´t know why i didn´t find it earlier, since you started obviously in 99 already. however i will now be frequently your guest.
This site is a great find, so many resources will certainly call in again
Quote ” August 10: Aurora Alert – The solar eruption of August 7th might affect Earth after all. Newly-arriving data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) show a CME heading our way with a significant Earth-directed component. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras when the cloud arrives on August 10th. ”
Has there been a follow up to this posting ?
I discovered your weblog site on google plus examine just a few of your early posts. Proceed to maintain up the superb operate. I simply further up your RSS feed to my MSN Information Reader. Seeking forward to reading more from you later on!…
I have been absent for some time, but now I remember why I used to love this web site. Thank you, I’ll try and check back more frequently. How frequently you update your website?
Nice blog!thank for software you put on this site, please keep updating your blog with latest software and article.
what a great collection of Astronomy news, thx 4 your hardwork.
im 7 yrs old nd dads jst gt m a telscope and he showd m ur site tday. wickd. l8tr
The universe is so amazing and I find reading your blog and many other related sites absolutely great!!
Thanks for all the time you put in to this great resource!!!
Find this site was so timely. Just caught a NOVA program on Giant Telescopes of the future and decided to do dig out my old telescope. I’ll be sure to bookmark your site for future reference.