Astronomy Gig

10/10/2021

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features two interacting galaxies that are so intertwined, they have a collective name—Arp 91.

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features two interacting galaxies that are so intertwined, they have a collective name—Arp 91. Their delicate galactic dance takes place more than 100 million light-years from Earth. The two galaxies comprising Arp 91 have their own names: the lower galax...

09/10/2021

The newly-discovered void is surrounded by two star-forming regions: the Perseus and Ta**us molecular clouds.

The 490-light-year-wide void is located among the constellations Perseus and Ta**us, and was formed by one powerful supernova or a series of such events some 10 million years ago.

08/10/2021

Mercury springs into action in the last two weeks of October, offering its best morning appearance for 2021. Venus, by contrast, hangs low in the southwestern sky all month. Jupiter and Saturn dominate the evening sky, visible through midnight. And late-evening binocular views of Uranus and Neptune beckon more adventurous observers.

Catch Mercury in the morning.

08/10/2021

This week, special celestial speckles will cascade over Earth as part of a meteor shower that has never rained down on the planet before.

The shower is visible in the Southern Hemisphere and will peak around Oct. 7.

08/10/2021

Scientists have discovered the first meteorite that doesn’t fall into one of two fundamental groups. The meteorite provides a unique glimpse into the era of asteroid formation and migration.

Scientists have discovered the first meteorite that doesn't fall into one of two fundamental groups. The meteorite provides a unique glimpse into the era of asteroid formation and migration.

08/10/2021

The cosmos is the stage for a variety of giant explosions. These include stellar flares, where stars suddenly release magnetic energy; and neutron star mergers, where two dense stars collide together. But one class of explosions outshines the rest: gamma ray bursts are the most energetic explosions seen in the universe.

The cosmos is the stage for a variety of giant explosions. These include stellar flares, where stars suddenly release magnetic energy; and neutron star mergers, where two dense stars collide together. But one class of explosions outshines the rest: gamma ray bursts are the most energetic explosions....

08/10/2021

Nearly eight months into the Perseverance rover’s mission on Mars, researchers have confirmed that Jezero crater is (as was believed) an ancient lakebed, but more significantly, that it once experienced powerful flash floods that pushed boulders from tens of miles upstream into the crater basin.

Nearly eight months into the Perseverance rover’s mission on Mars, researchers have confirmed that Jezero crater is (as was believed) an ancient lakebed, but more significantly, that it once experienced powerful flash floods that pushed boulders from tens of miles upstream into the crater basin. Y...

08/10/2021

Scientists have found massive ash deposits that formed over millions of years of volcanic super-eruptions, the first evidence for such explosive activity on Mars.

08/10/2021

Designed for astrophotographers, the Canon Ra specializes in capturing the reddish cosmic glow that’s invisible to many other devices.

08/10/2021

Considered an ultra-hot Jupiter—a place where iron gets vaporized, condenses on the night side and then falls from the sky like rain—the fiery, inferno-like WASP-76b exoplanet may be even more sizzling than scientists had realized.