We’re used to a lot of different natural things falling out of the sky. These can include snow, rain, and sometimes even frogs (yes, really). All of these relate to weather phenomena. Far more exotic things fall from the sky that are not related to weather. Earth is pelted by about 14 tons of micrometeoritesContinue reading "A meteorite impact may have once rained gold on Western Australia – new study"

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Sally Ride made history aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on June 18, 1983, becoming the first American woman in space 20 years nearly to the day after Soviet Valentina Tereshkova’s flight. In 1977, as she was finishing her Ph.D. in physics, Ride saw a newspaper ad placed by NASA to recruit astronauts. For the firstContinue reading "June 18, 1983: Sally Ride is the first American woman in space"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  June 17: The Moon covers Venus Now it’s Venus’ turn to close in on the Beehive Cluster (M44), which sparkles in central Cancer. Tonight after sunset, blazing Venus is just 1.3° from the center of this loose open cluster, which is visibleContinue reading "The Sky Today on Thursday, June 18: The Moon and the Sickle"

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John Vermette, taken from Starfront Observatory, Texas The famous galaxy group Markarian’s Chain in the heart of the Virgo cluster of galaxies dominates this wide-field vista as a line of eight galaxies stretching from upper left. But there are many more galaxies in this image: Every dot of light is a galaxy, as the photographerContinue reading "Virgo vertigo"

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The wait is almost over. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is just weeks, maybe even just days, away from officially beginning its landmark 10-year sky survey, according to officials at the 248th American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting in Pasadena this week. “A lot of people in the community are waiting for that moment for theContinue reading "Vera C. Rubin Observatory days away from launching decade-long sky survey"

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On June 17, in the year 2 B.C.E, a significant planetary conjunction occurred involving Venus and Jupiter. From Earth’s perspective, these two bright planets appeared to draw so close that they would have seemed to merge into nearly a single, brilliant object in the sky. This type of celestial alignment occurs because planets move inContinue reading "June 17, 2 BCE: A conjunction between Venus and Jupiter"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  June 16: The Moon meets up with Mercury and Jupiter The Moon, moving east along the ecliptic (the plane of the solar system and the line along which the planets and Moon move on the sky), passes 3° north of Jupiter inContinue reading "The Sky Today on Wednesday, June 17: The Moon covers Venus"

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Massimo Di Fusco, taken via Chilescope NGC 6727 is a reflection nebula and star-forming region in Corona Australis, part of the larger Corona Australis Molecular Cloud. It is accompanied in this image by globular cluster NGC 6723, sometimes called the Chandelier Cluster. This wide-field portrait combines 54 minutes of RGB exposure with a 20-inch f/3.8Continue reading "A glob and a stellar nursery"

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On June 16, 1963, 26-year-old Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova made history by becoming the first woman to travel into space. A former factory seamstress, Tereshkova was an accomplished amateur parachutist with over 100 jumps — a vital skill, since Vostok cosmonauts ejected before landing. Selected from over 400 applicants in 1962, she underwent months ofContinue reading "June 16, 1963: Valentina Tereshkova is the first woman in space"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  June 15: Mercury at greatest eastern elongation The Moon passes 3° north of Mercury at 4 P.M. EDT. Looking west again after sunset this evening, the Moon now sits above Mercury, forming a triangle with Mercury and Jupiter.  Half an hour afterContinue reading "The Sky Today on Tuesday, June 16: The Moon meets up with Mercury and Jupiter"

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Astronomers have created a comprehensive census of active galactic nuclei (AGN) — galaxies powered by a feeding central black hole. The new census, led by data pipeline developer Mugdha Polimera at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, began while she was a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,Continue reading "Active black holes are more common than we thought"

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On June 15, 763 B.C.E., a near-total solar eclipse occurred over northern Assyria and was recorded by observers in Nineveh, the capital city. This event is preserved in the Eponym Canon, a list of historical events made by the Assyrians on clay tablets, following a specialized calendar system. The text notes: “Insurrection in the CityContinue reading "June 15, 763 BCE: Assyrians record a solar eclipse"

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Gaetan Thibault from Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier, Quebec, Canada A meteor slices across the Summer Triangle — glowing hot blue as it reaches peak brightness in the center of its trail. This wide-field view combines 21 minutes of total exposure taken with a Canon astrophography DSLR and 20mm lens at f/3.2 (one meteor frame and 20 additional 60-secondContinue reading "A June Epsilon Cygnid"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  June 14: Irene nears opposition This afternoon, Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation at 4 P.M. EDT, standing 25° from the Sun. You’ll find the solar system’s smallest planet in the evening sky, now shining at magnitude 0.5.  Half an hour after sunset,Continue reading "The Sky Today on Monday, June 15: Mercury at greatest eastern elongation"

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On June 14, 1949, a rhesus monkey named Albert II was launched into space aboard a V-2 rocket from White Sands, New Mexico. Prior to Albert II, animals including fruit flies, mice, and another monkey (Albert I) had been launched in rocket and balloon flights as part of American space biology research, but Albert II’sContinue reading "June 14, 1949: The first mammal in space"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  June 13: Catch Comet 220P/McNaught Asteroid 14 Irene reaches opposition at 6 A.M. EDT tomorrow morning, making now a great time to catch it. Glowing at mid-9th-magnitude, Irene is already 20° high in the south an hour before midnight and stands highestContinue reading "The Sky Today on Sunday, June 14: Irene nears opposition"

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Pioneer 10 holds the titles for many “firsts”: It was NASA’s first mission to the outer planets, the first spacecraft to fly beyond Mars, the first to traverse the asteroid belt, and the first to fly past Jupiter. It was also the first spacecraft placed on a trajectory to escape the solar system into interstellarContinue reading "June 13, 1983: Pioneer 10 leaves solar system"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  June 12: The Moon meets Mars Turn your telescope toward southern Pisces this morning, where Saturn outshines any of the stars in this part of the sky. This is where Comet 220P/McNaught recently underwent an outburst, quickly brightening from 18th magnitude toContinue reading "The Sky Today on Saturday, June 13: Catch Comet 220P/McNaught"

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📷 Mark Johnston from Scottsdale, Arizona A line of filaments march toward the limb of the Sun, which itself is bedecked with multiple prominences in this Hα image. Both phenomena are made of loops and tendrils of plasma that arch off the surface of the Sun; their varying appearance depends on the viewing geometry. TheContinue reading "Prominent filaments"

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On June 12, 2021, Nova Herculis 2021 (V1674 Herculis) erupted, and was discovered by amateur astronomer Seiji Ueda of Japan. The white dwarf quickly became visible to the naked eye, surging to 10,000 times brighter than it originally had been. Its speed was unprecedented: V1674 Herculis faded from that peak brightness in just over oneContinue reading "June 12, 2021: Seiji Ueda discovers Nova Herculis 2021"

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