Hera Mission Launches

The European Agency’s Hera mission has launched, following up on the destructive impact of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test on the asteroid Didymos.

Barnard’s Star Has a Confirmed Planet — At Last!

Astronomers have found a sub-Earth-mass planet orbiting Barnard’s star, just six light-years away — for real this time.

Webb Telescope Images Planet-Shaping Winds

Astronomers have obtained the first sharp images of winds blowing from gaseous disks around young stars, paving the way for improved models of planet formation.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Shimmies to a Beat

Hubble observations reveal that the storm’s size and shape change in a cyclic pattern.

This Week's Sky at a Glance, October 11 – 20

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2003 A3) swung through perihelion on September 27th. Now, it emerges low into the Northern Hemisphere's evening-twilight sky. If you're up before dawn, watch Mars moving farther east (left) across Gemini.

Get Ready for Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS — The Best Is Yet to Come!

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS has delighted observers for the past two weeks, but its morning run was only a warm-up.

Meet the Draco Constellation: The Dragon Between the Dippers

Meet Draco, the Dragon, a constellation that lurks between the Dippers and circles ’round the northern sky.

Should We Expect a Second Bright Comet This Month?

Newfound Comet ATLAS (C/2024 S1) could dazzle – or fizzle.

October Podcast: The Moon’s Waxing and Waning

Come along on a guided tour of the stars and planets that you’ll see overhead during October.

Presented by: Celestron.

Nightfall

This autumn star party is unique among star parties because it takes place at a desert resort that creates a dark sky environment throughout the property for at least three nights, yet there’s a hardware store, grocery store, and restaurants just down the street.