Space

This week, Astronomy magazine Editor Emeritus Dave Eicher invites you to check out Mercury, which will be at its greatest elongation on April 3. This is when the planet appears farthest away from the Sun in the morning sky, making it easier to see. Good luck! Video transcript: Welcome to This Week in Astronomy, broughtContinue reading “Mercury at greatest elongation on April 3”

The post Mercury at greatest elongation on April 3 appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

When Heinrich Olbers spotted asteroid Pallas on March 28, 1802, it called into question the recent discovery of Ceres as the “missing” planet between Mars and Jupiter. The Titius-Bode law, a mathematical formula that predicted the expected distances of planets from the Sun and had accurately posited the location of Uranus, suggested there should beContinue reading “March 29, 1807: Heinrich Olbers discovers Vesta”

The post March 29, 1807: Heinrich Olbers discovers Vesta appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

In the 18th century, an international group of astronomers referred to as the “Celestial Police” devoted themselves to the search of the “missing” planet between Mars and Jupiter. A planet was expected in that zone based on the extrapolations of the Titius-Bode law, a mathematical formula developed by Johann Titius in 1766 and popularized byContinue reading “March 28, 1802: Heinrich Olbers discovers Pallas”

The post March 28, 1802: Heinrich Olbers discovers Pallas appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Sol 100mm Dedicated Solar Telescope DayStar FiltersWarrensburg, Missouri DayStar’s Sol 100 Hydrogen-alpha telescope is a 4-inch instrument that allows safe viewing of normally invisible solar features. The design offers a ¾° field of view and unique coatings, optimizing the Sol 100 for the Hα wavelength $4,9951-866-680-6563www.daystar.comShop at High Point Scientific SkyMaster Pro ED 15x70mm PorroContinue reading “March into this month’s new astronomy products”

The post March into this month’s new astronomy products appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Astronomers typically describe the cosmos with numbers that are, well, astronomical. They measure distances within our galaxy in light-years, where 1 light-year equals 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion kilometers), while other galaxies lie millions or even billions of light-years away. And stars typically live billions of years within a universe some 13.7 billion years old.Continue reading “JWST reveals how dust becomes planets”

The post JWST reveals how dust becomes planets appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

American astronomer Alan Hale, observing from Cloudcroft, New Mexico, and American amateur astronomer Thomas Bopp, observing near Stanfield, Arizona, independently discovered Comet Hale-Bopp July 23, 1995. Both observers had been viewing the globular cluster M70 in Sagittarius and spotted the comet nearby. Orbital calculations showed that on the night they found it, Hale-Bopp lay someContinue reading “March 22, 1997: Comet Hale-Bopp peaks”

The post March 22, 1997: Comet Hale-Bopp peaks appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Born March 21, 1866, in New York, Antonia Maury was born into a family with an astronomical legacy: Her grandfather, John William Draper, was the second person to photograph the Moon (and the first whose photo survived to be shown publicly). Her uncle and aunt, Henry and Anna Draper, made several landmark astrophotographs themselves andContinue reading “March 21, 1866: The birth of Antonia Maury”

The post March 21, 1866: The birth of Antonia Maury appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Astronomy advocacy groups are ringing alarm bells about two proposed satellite constellations, warning that they threaten to change the sky forever. SpaceX has applied to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch up to 1 million satellites as orbital data centers for artificial intelligence. California-based startup Reflect Orbital wants to deploy as many asContinue reading “New satellite constellations could ruin the night sky, astronomers warn”

The post New satellite constellations could ruin the night sky, astronomers warn appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Are you ready to meet Rocky? Project Hail Mary opens March 20, 2026, sending science teacher (and former molecular biologist) Ryland Grace, played by Ryan Gosling, on an adventure light-years from Earth in a last-ditch effort — one might even say a Hail Mary play — to save the Sun. Based on the best-selling novelContinue reading “Ahead of tomorrow’s premiere, rewatch the final trailer for ‘Project Hail Mary’”

The post Ahead of tomorrow’s premiere, rewatch the final trailer for ‘Project Hail Mary’ appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Born in 1934, Alexei Leonov became the 11th Soviet cosmonaut and achieved several major milestones of space exploration. During the Voskhod 2 mission, on March 18, 1965, he exited his capsule for 12 minutes, performing the first human spacewalk. Leonov barely survived the excursion after a malfunction with his suit forced him to drop itsContinue reading “March 18, 1965: The first spacewalk”

The post March 18, 1965: The first spacewalk appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

America’s second satellite, Vanguard 1, was launched into space on March 17, 1958. And though it only blasted off some six months after the Soviet’s Sputnik satellite, Vanguard 1 still remains in orbit — more than 60 years later. This makes it Earth’s longest-orbiting artificial satellite, as well as the oldest human-made object still inContinue reading “March 17, 1958: Vanguard 1 blasts off”

The post March 17, 1958: Vanguard 1 blasts off appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Why are craters perfectly round even though meteorites are irregularly shaped? Steven RiserConyers, Georgia To answer your question, let’s have some fun. First, watch as I throw this irregularly shaped rock down at an angle onto a smooth mudflat. The rock strikes the flat and, in the process, splatters mud in all directions. Now let’sContinue reading “Why are craters perfectly round even though meteorites are irregularly shaped?”

The post Why are craters perfectly round even though meteorites are irregularly shaped? appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

After training in theology and becoming a deacon, Nicolas-Louis de La Caille (born March 15, 1713) turned his focus to geometry and astronomy. He studied at the Paris Observatory, and by 1739 had become professor of mathematics at Paris’ College Marzarin.  Though he constructed a rooftop observatory, published multiple textbooks, and took part in aContinue reading “March 15, 1713: The birth of Nicolas-Louis de La Caille”

The post March 15, 1713: The birth of Nicolas-Louis de La Caille appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

On March 14, 1879, Albert Einstein was born in Germany. Early in his life, he demonstrated passion for music and science; in 1896, he began studying physics and mathematics at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich. When his degree was completed, he was unable to find a position as a teacher, and instead beganContinue reading “March 14, 1879: The birth of a genius”

The post March 14, 1879: The birth of a genius appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

In March of 1989, a highly active sunspot region released multiple extreme solar flares, including an X4.5 flare on March 10 and a M7.3 flare on March 12.  Solar flares are ranked as B, C, M, and X class, with B being the weakest and X the strongest. Within B, C, and M classes, flareContinue reading “March 13, 1989: Quebec goes dark”

The post March 13, 1989: Quebec goes dark appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

A team of scientists has confirmed that the nearby star GJ 887 hosts at least four planets, one of which could be a habitable world — the second closest to our own solar system. M dwarfs are the most prevalent stars in our galaxy and are some of the best targets for hunting exoplanets. TheirContinue reading “Astronomers confirm potentially habitable exoplanet in the solar neighborhood”

The post Astronomers confirm potentially habitable exoplanet in the solar neighborhood appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Sky This Week is brought to you in part by Celestron. Friday, March 6With no Moon in the early-evening sky, let’s chase down a classic deep-sky object tonight: M1, the first entry in Charles Messier’s list of “not comets” and also known as the Crab Nebula.  This smudge of gas and dust left over fromContinue reading “The Sky This Week from March 6 to 13: The Moon and Antares”

The post The Sky This Week from March 6 to 13: The Moon and Antares appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.