and welcome to the Night Sky Observer (NSO) astronomy and space news website. Most pages (especially news and podcasts) are updated several times a day.

There are many resources, news sources and headlines, articles, astro-photos and links on this site and the navigation bar (at left) will let you navigate around the website.

On this site, you'll also find software products I've created (mostly with amateur astronomers in mind) and links to some of the best suppliers of astronomical gear and space-related memorabilia on the navigation bar.

Gary Nugent

Top News Stories Endeavour Crew Busy with Inspections During First Full Day in Space Signs of liquid water in Saturnian moon Orion Planets - StarDate: February 9 Astronauts giving shuttle a post-launch scan Enceladus water story reinforced For more News, visit: Astronomy & Space News

Announcements:
	Astronomy News: All the latest astronomy and space news updated hourly.
	January 26: This week Earth and Mars are having a close encounter. On Jan. 27th, the Red Planet will be only 99 million kilometers away and look bigger through a telescope than at any time between 2008 and 2014.
	January 26: After six years of unprecedented exploration of the Red Planet, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit no longer will be a fully mobile robot. NASA has designated the once-roving scientific explorer a stationary science platform after efforts during the past several months to free it from a sand trap have been unsuccessful.
	January 16: The premiere observatory of the next decade, the James Webb Space Telescope, will launch in 2014 in search of the first stars and galaxies ever formed in our Universe. But there's a dawning awareness among astronomers that the world's largest infrared telescope is going to be a good hunter of planets circling faraway stars.
	January 5: NASA's Kepler space telescope, designed to find Earth-size planets in the habitable zone of sun-like stars, has discovered its first five new exoplanets, or planets beyond our solar system.
	December 18: NASA's Cassini spacecraft has photographed a flash of sunlight reflecting from a lake on Saturn's moon Titan, confirming the presence of liquid hydrocarbons on a part of the moon dotted with many lake-shaped basins.
	December 17: A network of cameras deployed around the Arctic in support of NASA's THEMIS mission has made a startling discovery about the Northern Lights.
	December 16: 2009 was another trailblazing year for NASA, with it reaching a number of important milestones on Earth and in space.
	December 15: Dr. Axel Schwope (Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam) requests time-series monitoring of the magnetic cataclysmic variable V405 Pegasi, beginning 2009 December 28 and continuing through 2009 December 30.
	December 5: NASA has invited more than 350 student rocketeers from middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities - 37 teams nationwide - to take part in the 2009-2010 NASA Student Launch Projects.
	December 3: Talented engineering students who have ideas on how future explorers might live on the moon could find themselves working at NASA as paid interns.
	December 2: The Spirit Mars Rover's spinning wheels have broken through a crust, and scientists have found something supremely interesting in the disturbed soil...
	November 8: Mars today is bitter cold and bone dry. The rivers and seas are long gone. What happened? Why did Mars dry up and freeze over? A few years from now we might finally know the answer, thanks to a new orbiter NASA will send to Mars called MAVEN.
	October 31: Request for observations of the blazar 3C 66A. Dr. Markus Boettcher (Ohio University) requests optical observations of the blazar 3C 66A during its current high state.
	October 29: Request for additional epsilon Aurigae observations. Dr. Robert Stencel (Denver U.) requests enhanced coverage of the bright, long-period eclipsing binary star epsilon Aurigae through Wednesday.
	October 29: Nova in Sagittarius (V5584 Sgr = N Sgr 2009 No. 4), discovered on October 26.439 UT, 2009.
	October 21: The annual Orionid meteor shower peaks this week. Normally, the shower produces 10 to 20 meteors per hour, a modest display. The past few years, however, have been much better than usual.
	October 13: The WZ Sge-type dwarf nova EG Cancri has been reported in outburst by Ian Miller (Swansea, Wales). He reported EG Cnc at m(CV) = 14.3 on 2009 October 12.138 (JD 2455116.638).
	October 9: The LCROSS Centaur and Spacecraft impacted the moon at approximately 4:30 a.m. PDT. Scientists are reviewing the initial data and will report what they know at a Post Impact News Conference at 7:00 a.m. PDT / 10:00 a.m. EDT on NASA TV.
	October 8: The observers of the AAVSO are asked to participate in a long-term photometric monitoring campaign on a number of magnetically active dwarf stars, requested by Dr. Styliani (Stella) Kafka of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institute of Washington.
	October 6: On Friday morning, Oct. 9th, you can watch a pair of spacecraft crash into the Moon with your own eyes. The purposeful impacts are the climax of NASA's LCROSS mission to unearth signs of water in lunar soil. Find out how and where to look.
	October 2: A Request for observations of NSV 99 in support of HST observations. Dr. Brian Espey (Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland) has requested photoelectric photometry and bright star CCD photometry of the semiregular variable NSV 99 (= khi Peg) beginning immediately.
	September 24: NASA scientists have discovered water molecules in the polar regions of the moon. Instruments aboard three separate spacecraft revealed water molecules in amounts that are greater than predicted, but still relatively small.
	September 24: NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft will fly by Mercury for the third and final time on Sept. 29. The spacecraft will pass less than 142 miles above the planet's rocky surface for a final gravity assist that will enable it to enter Mercury's orbit in 2011.
	September 22: A Supernova 2009ig in NGC 1015 has brightened according to two unfiltered CCD images taken by Yoshiteru Matsuura (Nada-ku, Kobe, Japan) with a 0.23-m f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector.
	September 11: NASA has selected a final destination for its Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS. Cabeus A will be the target crater for the LCROSS dual impacts scheduled for 7:30 a.m. EDT on Oct. 9, 2009.
	September 10:: New Hubble Images: stronomers have declared NASA's Hubble Space Telescope a fully rejuvenated observatory with the release of observations from four of its six operating science instruments.
	August 20:: Jupiter Moon Movie: On August 16th, Philippine astrophotographer Christopher Go used a modern 11-inch Celestron telescope to photograph Io casting its shadow on Ganymede.
	August 18: My solution to securing my EQ6 mount head to my pier.
	August 18: A Nova in Ophiuchus has been discovered By: K. Itagaki (Teppo-Cho, Yamagata, Japan).
	August 14: Monitoring of EX Hya and DQ Her - Kunegunda Belle, Don Hoard and Steve Howell are observing two cataclysmic variables with Spitzer during the next couple of weeks. They request ground-based light curves spanning the observation intervals so that they can identify the state each variable is in during the Spitzer visits.
	August 13: The EQ6 telescope mount adaptor I had made goes onto the pier head.
	August 11: The annual Perseid meteor shower is about to peak. The show begins after sunset on Tuesday, August 11th, and continues until the sun rises on Wednesday, August 12th.
	August 9: A new nova in Sagittarius has been discovered.
	August 5:: What hit Jupiter last month? Now that the Hubble Space Telescope and the Gemini Telescope have taken images of the impact area, are there any explanations as to what the object was?
	July 28: Edward Smith (STScI) has requested nightly photometric monitoring of the symbiotic star AG Draconis during the period 2009 August 2, and tentatively scheduled to continue through mid-September 2009.
	July 27: While checking the memory card on my camera, I found a photos I took out in Dunsink on June 20th that I'd forgotten about. SolarFest, organised by the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, ran that day and consisted of a series of talks about Sun-related topics and an exhibition about the Sun.symbiotic star AG Draconis
	July 21: Tomorrow's solar eclipse is the longest of this century, lasting 6 minutes and 39 seconds. It's visible only from parts of Asia. But the eclipse will be webcast for those who won't be there. a new impact site.
	July 20: Amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley from Canberra, Australia, captured an image of Jupiter on July 19, 2009 showing what jas now been confirmed as a new impact site.
	July 19: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11 when man first landed on the Moon.
	July 19: NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has returned its first imagery of the Apollo moon landing sites.
	July 17: Here's a list I've compiled of the Apollo 11 related documentaries that can be seen in Europe over the next few days.
	July 15: Here is a series of questions and answers prepared by Michael Collins, command module pilot for Apollo 11. Collins issued the statement in lieu of media interviews.
	July 10: AAVSO Alert Notice 398: 2009 The bright, long-period, eclipsing binary star epsilon Aurigae is predicted to begin its next eclipse late July or early August of 2009.
	July 4: In two studies, international teams have analyzed gamma-rays from two dozen pulsars, including 16 discovered by NASA's Fermi Telescope. Fermi is the first spacecraft able to identify pulsars by their gamma-ray emission alone.
	July 3: NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has transmitted its first images since reaching lunar orbit June 23. June 30, 2009
	July 3: There's a Penumbral Eclipse of the moon on July 7th. June 30, 2009
	July 1: AAVSO Alert Notice 397: Request for optical photometry of the bright X-ray binary V884 Sco (4U 1700-377) June 30, 2009
	June 22: TOn the mornign of June 23, NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) spacecraft will fly by the Moon and send pictures back to Earth from only 9000 km above the lunar surface. Watch a live video stream of the flyby.
	June 22: Activity on the Sun has been almost non-existant of late but today a pair of new-cycle sunspots is emerging in the sun's southern hemisphere. This is a good opportunity for readers with solar telescopes to watch sunspot genesis in action.
	June 21: The new Herschel Space Telescope snaps it's first test image - M51.
	June 19: NASA successfully launched the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, on June 18, 2009 on a mission to search for water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at the moon's south pole.
	June 18: NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter launched today at 5:32 p.m. EDTaboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The satellite will relay more information about the lunar environment than any other previous mission to the moon.
	June 6: The annual Arietid meteor shower peaks on Sunday, June 7th.
	June 1: The 2009 Noctilucent Cloud season starts. Noctilucent clouds are tenuous, high-altitude clouds that are sometimes seen during the summer months in high latitudes after sunset. The first clouds this season have been spotted over Europe and Russia.
	May 15: Here is something incredible. Thierry Legault has taken extraordinary photos of space shuttle Atlantis and the Hubble Space Telescope passing together in front of the sun.
	May 15: AAVSO Alert Notice 396: Nova in Centaurus discovered By: G. Pojmanski, D. Szczygiel, and B. Pilecki (Warsaw University Astronomical Observatory).
	May 7: NASA has just released an interactive, 3-D photographic collection of internal and external views of the International Space Station and a model of the next Mars rover.
	May 7: The primary mission of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is about to end after more than five and a half years of probing the cosmos with its keen infrared eye. Within about a week of May 12, the telescope is expected to run out of the liquid helium needed to chill some of its instruments to operating temperatures.
	May 7: AAVSO Alert Notice 395: Nova in Sagittarius discovered By: K. Nishiyama (Kurume, Fukuoka-ken, Japan) and F. Kabashima (Miyaki-cho, Saga-ken, Japan).
	May 6: NASA's STEREO-B spacecraft is monitoring an active region hidden behind the sun's eastern limb. On May 5th, it produced an impressive coronal mass ejection (CME) and a burst of radio emissions signalling the passage of a shock wave through the sun's outer atmosphere. Activity continued on May 6th, with at least two more eruptions. The blast site is not yet visible from Earth, but the sun is turning the region toward us for a better view. Is a new-cycle sunspot in the offing? Readers with solar telescopes could see it emerge as early as May 7th or 8th.
	May 3: A NASA spacecraft gliding over the surface of Mercury has revealed that the planet's atmosphere, the interaction of its surrounding magnetic field with the solar wind, and its geological past display greater levels of activity than scientists first suspected.
	Apr. 14: In my experience, many amateur astronomers are also Star Trek fans. If you're of my vintage, you'll have grown up watching original runs of the original Star Trek episodes. Here's one amateur astronomer's thoughts on the upcoming movie...
	Apr. 13: NASA is inviting the public to vote online for the most important contribution the space agency has made to exploring Earth and improving the way we live on our home planet.
	Apr. 1: How low can it go? The Sun is plunging into the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century. he sunspot cycle is behaving a little like the stock market. Just when you think it has hit bottom, it goes even lower.
	Mar. 18: NASA scientists will reveal new information and images about our sun and its influence on Earth and the solar system for Sun-Earth Day, recognized each year in conjunction with the spring equinox. The highlight of this year's celebration is a webcast for students and teachers around the world beginning at 1 p.m. EDT, Friday, March 20.
	Mar. 14: V3.30 of LunarPhase Pro has been released. Mostly a bug fix release but adds a couple of new features. If you're an existing owner, open the software's About screen and click the "Check for new Verison" button to get this latest upgrade.
	Mar. 12: I've compiled a list of my recommended astronomy and space-exploration DVDs which ranges from documentaries like The Universe, Seeing in Dark and Apollo 1 to movies and TV Series like Space Race, From the Earth to the Moon and October Sky to seminal TV series such as Cosmos, Planet Earth and Earth - The Documentary.
	Mar. 07: NASA's Kepler Mission to seek other Earth-like planets has been successfully launched.
	Mar. 05: NASA's Kepler mission to seek other Earth-like planets is undergoing final preparations for liftoff Friday, March 6, from Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft launch aboard a Delta II rocket has two windows of opportunity Friday, from 10:49 to 10:52 p.m. and 11:13 to 11:16 p.m. EST.
	Mar. 04: In case you weren't aware of it, 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy and coincides with the 400th anniversary of the first recorded astronomical observations with a telescope by Galileo. 130+ Countries around the world are involved with astronomy events and education this year, so something is probably going on where you live.
	Feb. 19: Something is about to happen on Saturn that's so pretty, even Hubble will pause to take a look. On Feb. 24th, there's going to be a quadruple transit of Saturn's moons. Titan, Mimas, Dione and Enceladus will pass directly in front of Saturn and we'll see their silhouettes crossing Saturn's cloudtops—all four at the same time.
	Feb. 18: Comet Lulin is approaching Earth and brightening rapidly. Observers say it is now visible to the naked eye as a faint (magnitude +5.6) gassy patch in the constellation Virgo before dawn. Even city dwellers have seen it.
	Feb. 11: Astronomers using NASA's Swift satellite and Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope are seeing frequent blasts from a stellar remnant 30, 000 light-years away. The high-energy fireworks arise from a rare type of neutron star known as a soft-gamma-ray repeater. Such objects unpredictably send out a series of X-ray and gamma-ray flares.
	Feb. 11: In conjunction with Galileo's birthday on Feb. 15, NASA is releasing images from its Great Observatories - the Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, and Chandra X-ray Observatory -- to more than 100 planetariums, museums, nature centers and schools across the U.S.
	Feb. 11: The plasma tail of Comet Lulin, torn off by a solar wind gust on Feb. 4th, has already grown back. Also, observers in dark-sky locations report that the comet is now visible to the naked eye as a pale "fuzzy patch" in the constellation Libra before dawn. The comet is brightening as it approaches Earth for a 38-million-mile close encounter on Feb. 24th.
	Feb 10: AAVSO Alert Notice 394: Nova in The Large Magellanic Cloud discovered by W. Liller (Vina del Mar, Chile) on February 05.067 UT, 2009. Discovery Magnitude: 10.6
	Feb. 6: Comet Lulin is gracing the skies in the early hours of the morning. It's still not clear if it will be visible to the naked eye later this month. But at the least, it should be a sweet binocular sight. And catch it while you can. It won't be back for a million years.
	Feb. 4: There's a Penumbral Eclipse of the Moon this month on February 9th.
	Jan. 6: A NASA-funded study describes how extreme solar eruptions could have severe consequences for communications, power grids and other technology on Earth.
	Dec. 24: 40 years go today, the astronauts aboard Apollo 8 were the first humans to circumnavigate the Moon. It was on that historic mission that one of the most iconic photos of the 20th Century was taken - Earthrise. To celebrate that anniverasary, watch Earthrise as seen from the Japanese Kaguya Lunar Probe.
	Dec. 21: Ursid Meteor Shower: Earth is passing through a stream of debris from comet 8P/Tuttle and this is causing the annual Ursid meteor shower. Forecasters expect the Ursids to peak on Dec. 22nd with 8 to 10 meteors per hour flying out of the constellation Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper) not far from the north star. The display is usually mild, but outbursts of Ursids occasionally surprise observers with rates many times normal. The last time this happened was in 2006.
	Dec. 18: For the first time, astronomers have clearly seen the effects of "dark energy" on the most massive collapsed objects in the universe using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
	Dec. 17: NASA landed on Mars, photographed distant worlds, added to the International Space Station, took part in a lunar science mission with India and made major progress toward returning astronauts to the moon as the agency celebrated its 50th birthday in 2008. Here are the top ten accomplishments of America's space agency in its golden anniversary year.
	Dec. 09: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has discovered carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star. This breakthrough is an important step toward finding chemical biotracers of extraterrestrial life.
	Dec. 08: AAVSO Alert Notice 392: The supernova SN 2008hy has been identified as a Type Ia supernova, and is believed to be near maximum light. The object is located approximately 100 arcseconds NNE of the center of IC 334.
	Dec. 07: Last night, a fireball one hundred times brighter than the full Moon lit up the sky near Colorado Springs, Colorado (USA).
	Dec. 1: When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look south. Beaming through the twilight is one of the prettiest things you'll ever see--a tight three-way conjunction of Venus, Jupiter and the crescent Moon.
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