Observing – Sky & Telescope

The essential guide to astronomy

FaviconAugust: Saturn & the Perseids 1 Aug 2022, 2:00 pm

August marks the return of the Perseid meteor shower — and as you’re looking out for shooting stars while listening to this month’s Sky Tour podcast, look for Saturn low in the southeast as soon as night begins to fall.

The post August: Saturn & the Perseids appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

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FaviconThis Week's Sky at a Glance, July 29 – August 6 29 Jul 2022, 5:57 am

As the Big Dipper dips and the Guardians of the Pole align one over the other, Saturn looms low in the southeast and the False Comet teases at its highest.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 29 – August 6 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

FaviconSolving an Earthshine Mystery 27 Jul 2022, 10:05 am

Something we take for granted about the crescent Moon's appearance may be nothing more than an optical illusion.

The post Solving an Earthshine Mystery appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

FaviconThis Week's Sky at a Glance, July 22 – 30 22 Jul 2022, 4:54 am

Bright Arcturus is still pretty high after dark, but as summer progresses, it moves down the western side of the evening sky. Its pale ginger-ale tint always helps identify it.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 22 – 30 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

FaviconThis Week's Sky at a Glance, July 15 – 23 15 Jul 2022, 11:58 am

The waning Moon says hi to late-night Saturn, the Teapot starts tilting, the Great Square thrusts up, and the Milky Way arches high.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 15 – 23 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Astronomy & Observing News – Sky & Telescope

The essential guide to astronomy

FaviconHubble's Future in the Webb Era 3 Aug 2022, 9:49 am

Even though it's far past its warranty, Hubble is still proving its worth in this new era that includes the James Webb Space Telescope.

The post Hubble's Future in the Webb Era appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

FaviconAugust: Saturn & the Perseids 1 Aug 2022, 2:00 pm

August marks the return of the Perseid meteor shower — and as you’re looking out for shooting stars while listening to this month’s Sky Tour podcast, look for Saturn low in the southeast as soon as night begins to fall.

The post August: Saturn & the Perseids appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

(audio/mpeg; 4.62 MB)

FaviconWhy Are Jupiter's Rings So Thin? 1 Aug 2022, 12:00 pm

Why does the biggest planet in the solar system have such flimsy rings? New research shows Jupiter's moons may be to blame.

The post Why Are Jupiter's Rings So Thin? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

FaviconThin Red Lines: Webb Space Telescope Captures Star Creation on Grand Scale 30 Jul 2022, 12:00 pm

New imagery from the James Webb Space Telescope shows a nearby galaxy in a whole new light.

The post Thin Red Lines: Webb Space Telescope Captures Star Creation on Grand Scale appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

FaviconThis Week's Sky at a Glance, July 29 – August 6 29 Jul 2022, 5:57 am

As the Big Dipper dips and the Guardians of the Pole align one over the other, Saturn looms low in the southeast and the False Comet teases at its highest.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 29 – August 6 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

NASACast Video

NASACast combines the content of all the NASACast subject area podcasts into a single omnibus podcast. Here you'll find the latest news and features on NASA's missions as well as the popular "This Week @NASA" newsreel.

FaviconThis Week @NASA Sept. 22, 2023 22 Sep 2023, 3:15 pm

Tracking Our First Asteroid Sample Return Mission and more ...

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FaviconThis Week @NASA Sept. 15, 2023 15 Sep 2023, 5:01 pm

Rubio Sets U.S. Record for Longest Single Spaceflight and more ...

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FaviconThis Week @NASA Sept. 8, 2023 8 Sep 2023, 3:06 pm

Our SpaceX Crew-6 Mission Safely Returns to Earth and more ...

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FaviconWhat's Up - September 2023 1 Sep 2023, 6:07 pm

Enjoy the bright beacon of Venus on September mornings, end the month with a Harvest Moon, and seek the elusive zodiacal light under dark skies.

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FaviconThis Week @NASA Sept. 1, 2023 1 Sep 2023, 4:52 pm

Our SpaceX Crew-7 Mission Launches to the Space Station

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StarDate Online - Your guide to the universe

FaviconMoon and Jupiter 30 Sep 2023, 1:00 am

Jupiter, the largest and heaviest planet in the solar system, teams up with the Moon the next few nights. Jupiter looks like a brilliant star. It’s well to the lower left of the Moon tonight, but will huddle quite close tomorrow night.

FaviconMoon and Jupiter 30 Sep 2023, 1:00 am

“Hot Jupiters” aren’t very friendly. Few of the giant planets have nearby companion planets. That could mean that the hot Jupiters have kicked other planets away.

Hot Jupiters were the first planets discovered in other star systems. They’re big, heavy balls of gas, like Jupiter, the giant of our own solar system. But while Jupiter is far from the Sun, hot Jupiters are quite close in, so they’re heated to hundreds or thousands of degrees.

Such planets can’t form that close to a star — it’s just too hot. They must have been born farther out, then moved inward. The question is whether that’s a gentle process, allowing the Jupiter to co-exist with other planets, or a more violent one that boots the other planets out of its way. And so far, the “violent” scenario has been the most likely, because astronomers have found few close companion planets.

But in a recent study, about one in eight hot Jupiters did have a nearby companion. Those Jupiter-like worlds must have migrated inward in the gentler process, sparing their sibling worlds. And warm Jupiters — those that are a little farther out — were more hospitable: about two-thirds had close companions. So there may be more than one way for a Jupiter to fall toward its parent star.

Our own Jupiter teams up with the Moon the next few nights. It looks like a brilliant star. It’s well to the lower left of the Moon tonight, but will huddle much closer tomorrow night.
 

Script by Damond Benningfield

Keywords:

StarDate: 
Saturday, September 30, 2023
Teaser: 
Some friendlier “hot Jupiters”

FaviconHot Worlds 30 Sep 2023, 1:00 am

The "hot Jupiter" planet Wasp 18 orbits its parent star in this artist's concept. Hot Jupiters are giant worlds similar to Jupiter, the largest planet in our own solar system, but much closer to their parent stars, so they are extremely hot. Such planets probably were born much farther out, then migrated inward to their current positions. [NASA/CXC/SAO/I.Pillitteri et al]

artist's concept of a giant planet orbiting close to its star

FaviconHeading West 29 Sep 2023, 1:00 am

Lyra, the harp, is high overhead at nightfall. Its leading light, Vega, is one of the brighter stars in the night sky. In the 1800s, the government built observatories in the western U.S. to use Vega and other bright stars to establish the exact locations of cities and towns.

FaviconHeading West 29 Sep 2023, 1:00 am

As the United States expanded westward in the late 1800s, it didn’t really know where everything was. The precise locations of towns and other landmarks were a little fuzzy, so maps could be off by quite a bit. To clear things up, the country turned to the stars. It dispatched surveying parties and established special observatories from Nebraska to Utah and Nevada. And one of those observatories took its first official look at the stars 150 years ago today.

The observatory was atop a hill near Ogden, Utah, a railroad junction with a population of about 2,000. The facility consisted of three rooms covered by a tin roof, including one room for recording the weather.

The observatory used a “transit” telescope to measure the positions of the stars. It then used telegraph signals to obtain the time from several cities whose exact positions were known. Comparing the star positions with the time allowed astronomers to accurately compute the location.

Ogden’s observatory operated through 1874, and took thousands of star sightings. In addition, several groups fanned out from Ogden to determine the positions of other locations.

The first stars observed from Ogden included several bright stars of Lyra, the harp, which is high overhead as night falls. Its leading light, Vega, is one of the brighter stars in all the night sky, so it’s easy to pick out — a bright light that helped illuminate the western United States.
 

Script by Damond Benningfield

StarDate: 
Friday, September 29, 2023
Teaser: 
Mapping the west by the stars

ESOcast HD

ESOcast is a video podcast series dedicated to bringing you the latest news and research from ESO, the European Southern Observatory. Here we explore the Universe's ultimate frontier.

FaviconThe furthest ever galactic magnetic field (ESOcast 267 Light) 6 Sep 2023, 11:00 am

Using ALMA, astronomers have detected the magnetic field of a galaxy so far away that its light has taken more than 11 billion years to reach us. Never before had we detected a galaxy’s magnetic field this far away. This video summarises the discovery.

FaviconESO telescopes help solve pulsar puzzle (ESOcast 266 Light) 30 Aug 2023, 8:00 am

FaviconMysterious Neptune Dark Spot Detected from Earth (ESOcast 265 Light) 24 Aug 2023, 11:00 am

FaviconNew type of star gives clues to magnetars' origins (ESOcast 264 Light) 17 Aug 2023, 2:00 pm

Using multiple telescopes around the world, including European Southern Observatory (ESO) facilities, researchers have uncovered a living star that is likely to become a magnetar, an ultra-magnetic dead star. This video summarises the discovery.

FaviconDoes this planet have a “sibling” sharing the same orbit? (ESOcast 263 Light) 19 Jul 2023, 8:00 am

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have found the possible ‘sibling’ of a planet orbiting a distant star. This video summarises the discovery.

HD - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

High-definition (HD) videos from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory feature the latest news on space and science findings from JPL and NASA. Topics include discoveries made by spacecraft studying planets in our solar system, including Mars, Saturn and our home planet, Earth. Missions also study stars and galaxies in our universe.

FaviconWhat's Up - August 2020 31 Jul 2020, 3:00 am



What are some skywatching highlights in August 2020? See the Moon posing with various planets throughout the month, plus catch the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower.



FaviconNASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Launches With Your #CountdownToMars 30 Jul 2020, 3:00 am



To get ready for the launch of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, NASA invited the public to join a global, collective #CountdownToMars project.



FaviconNASA's Perseverance Rover Launches to Mars 30 Jul 2020, 3:00 am



NASA’s Perseverance Rover began its long journey to Mars today by successfully launching from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a ULA Atlas V rocket.



FaviconMission Overview: NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover 27 Jul 2020, 3:00 am



NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover is heading to the Red Planet to search for signs of ancient life, collect samples for future return to Earth and help pave the way for human exploration.



FaviconGetting Perseverance to the Launch Pad 22 Jul 2020, 3:00 am



In February 2020, NASA’s Perseverance Rover began its long journey to Mars by first traveling across the United States.