In 1839, the president of Harvard University invited William Bond to move into a house on campus and, by virtue of bringing along his own astronomical equipment, become the university’s first astronomer in residence. With public interest spurred by the 1835 passage of Halley’s Comet and the Comet of 1843, Harvard soon had enough moneyContinue reading "July 16, 1850: Bond and Whipple photograph Vega"

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On my way to Tash Rabat from Son-Kul, both in Kyrgyzstan, sitting on the comfortable seats of a minibus, I had to pinch myself just to realize that it wasn’t a dream. I could see green valleys on one side of the road and the rugged brown Pamir Plateau on the other. As someone whoContinue reading "Capturing the night sky in Kyrgyzstan"

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The Lagoon Nebula is best spotted in the months surrounding August in the Northern Hemisphere.

Venus appeared to move closer to Jupiter in Earth's sky, as the two planets drifted farther apart in space.

Venus and Jupiter passed close to one another, setting the stage for a captivating planetary photoshoot.

Over 60 hours of light data was used to create this stunning view of the gravitationally bound "Leo Triplet" galaxies.

The second full moon of May put on a spectacular show on May 31.

The Horsehead Nebula cuts a dark silhouette against glowing clouds in the constellation Orion.