Space

The atmosphere of exoplanet HD 189733b, about 60 light-years from Earth, changed dramtically after a violent flare on its parent star bathed it in intense X-ray radiation. Result: A powerful burst of…

Astronomers have found a puzzling arc of light behind an extremely massive cluster of galaxies residing 10 billion light-years away. The galactic grouping was observed when the universe was roughly a…

Well, so as predicted Venus passed over the disk of our Sun yesterday (this morning, if you live in Europe), and it produced quite a show, as many pictures and videos available around testify. To…

This afternoon I will attempt to stream the transit of Venus live on an embedded stream on this website.  Meanwhile here are some resources on observing the transit.   First a personal…

Michael Richmond of  Rochester Institute of Technology created a simple example for how to determine the astronomical unit - the distance from Earth to the Sun and therefore the basis for all…

For the second and last time this century, the planet Venus will pass over the visible disk of our Sun for observers located in the Americas (in the evening of June 5th) and western Europe (in the…

The word 'lunacy' is derived from the longheld belief that people act a little crazier during a full moon.  We know the moon - Luna - effects us, its gravitational pull creates ocean tides and…

Recently I was taking pictures of the night sky.  My intention was to photograph the double star Epsilon Lyrae.  It’s actually a double-double, made of two closer pairs, as one can see…

June 5, 2012 you get to share a communal experience with scientists from hundreds of years ago.  No, I don't mean Calculus, I mean one of the rarest and more interesting recurring events science…

For Douglas’s sake, don’t forget your towel on Friday! 5/25/12 is not just the annual Towel Day to honor the genius of Douglas Adams, but Super Towel Day (5 + 25 + 12 = 42!!!!) A day that won’t…