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Credit: Ryan Wick (Flickr, CC BY 2.0) Astronomy is a science and a hobby that loves long words, acronyms, and abbreviations. At times, listening to someone talking about an event happening in the sky or an object faraway in space can feel like watching one of those episodes of Star Trek where the characters spend […]

This image of the Skull Nebula (NGC 246) in Cepheus includes 20.6 hours of S2/Ha/O3 imaging with a 235 mm SCT at f/7. Credit: Michael Borland (Flickr, CC BY 2.0) Many constellations are famous for having a very special deep sky object within their boundaries, something so famous that when you read or hear the

Uranus as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI) Much of what we understand about Uranus comes from data gathered by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft. Thirty-eight years ago, this probe flew by the ice giant, providing humanity with its first close-up glimpse of the seventh planet from the sun.

SpaceX caught its Super Heavy booster in mid-air using a pair of metal “wandstick” arms, the first time such a maneuver has been successfully completed. Credit: SpaceX The sixth test flight of Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket to ever fly, will launch no earlier than 5 pm EST on Monday, Nov. 18, SpaceX

A ‘selfie’ taken by China’s Zhurong Mars rover during the Tianwen-1 mission. (Image credit: China News Service) Happy Martian New Year! Today marks the start of a new year on the Red Planet, the 38th since humans began counting in 1956. The Martian new year begins with data from a now-defunct rover spotting what appears

A photo-illustration of the optical illusion known as Mach bands, seen on Saturn. Credit: Astronomy: Roen Kelly according to Ethan Chappel About every 15 years, Earth passes through the plane of Saturn’s rings, causing them to nearly disappear from view, not to mention generating a host of other interesting phenomena. The next such apparition will

This artist’s image shows an ocean of liquid water on Mars, as the planet may have appeared about 4 billion years ago. Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser Mars is strikingly similar to Earth in many ways, but especially in its surface features, which often resemble Earth’s deserts uncannily. Both Earth and Mars share features such as valleys;

Don’t believe the tabloids: NASA astronaut Suni Williams says she’s doing just fine aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Last week, media outlets such as The Daily Mail and The New York Post published stories speculating that Williams’ health may be deteriorating in Earth orbit, citing an outside doctor’s opinion that she looks “gaunt” in

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California is a research and development lab federally funded by NASA and managed by Caltech. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) NASA’s chief center for robotic planetary exploration is conducting another round of layoffs. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California — which manages many of NASA’s high-profile robotic missions, such

A stargazing feast at Cedar Breaks National Monument in Utah. Credit: NPS Star struck Wisconsin Historical Society PressMadison, WI In Chasing the Stars, authors Kelly Tyrell and James Lattis discuss astronomical findings from the Washburn Observatory at the University of Wisconsin. The book’s 256 pages contain many images and details about the early days of