Biggest Stars Form in Dark Cosmic Clumps
Astronomers have found cosmic clumps so dark, dense and dusty that they throw the deepest shadows ever recorded. Infrared observations from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope of…
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Mars InSight Lander Construction Gets Go-Ahead
NASA and its international partners now have the go-ahead to begin construction on a new Mars lander, after it completed a successful Mission Critical Design Review…
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Venus Express Prepares for Final Dive Into Venusian Atmosphere
After eight years in orbit, ESA’s Venus Express has completed routine science observations and is preparing for a daring plunge into the planet’s hostile atmosphere. Venus…
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X-Ray Optics for 21st Century Space Telescopes
A new idea to use super-polished silicon wafers as the heart of a telescope is set to reveal more of the hot, high-energy Universe, peering back…
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Two Neutron Stars Birth a Black Hole
What happens when two neutron stars collide? Using a sophisticated computer simulation, NASA scientists have visualized this violent scenario in awesome degenerate-matter-crushing detail. Neutron stars are…
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Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Smaller Than Ever
Jupiter’s trademark Great Red Spot — a swirling anti-cyclonic storm larger than Earth — has shrunk to its smallest size ever measured. According to Amy Simon…
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British Planetary Scientist Professor Colin Pillinger Dies
British planetary scientist Professor Colin Pillinger, a former ESA principal investigator, died on May 7th. He suffered a brain haemorrhage at his home in Cambridge and…
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A Near Miss – Carrington-Class CME Narrowly Misses Earth
Last month (April 8-11), scientists, government officials, emergency planners and others converged on Boulder, Colorado, for NOAA’s Space Weather Workshop—an annual gathering to discuss the perils…
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A Real Find – Carl Sagan’s 1977 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
I remember being glued to the TV just after Christmas in 1977 as Carl Sagan delivered that years’s Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. This was in the…
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AAVSO Alert Notice 501: Monitoring Requested for HST/COS Observations of SBS 1108+574
AAVSO Alert Notice 501 Predicted occultation of Regulus April 30, 2014 Dr. Peter Garnavich (University of Notre Dame) and Dr. Paula Szkody (University of Washington) have…
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