For more than five years, astronomers have sounded alarms about the effect satellite megaconstellations would have on their observations. The launch in 2019 of the first Starlink satellites, initially bright enough to be seen by the naked eye, led astronomers to spring to action to both raise awareness about the threat and to work with…

What is National Astronomy Week? National Astronomy Week 2025 runs from 1-9 February and is supported by the Royal Astronomical Society, British Astronomical Association, Federation of Astronomical Societies, and Society for Popular Astronomy. National Astronomy Week doesn’t occur at the same time each year; it’s instead held when there is a significant astronomical event that…

Astronomers have spotted a “bull’s-eye” galaxy with a whopping nine rings, smashing the previous record by six rings. The discovery of the galaxy, known as LEDA 1313424, is helping researchers understand what happens when galaxies collide. Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope spotted LEDA 1313424 “serendipitously” while reviewing a sky survey completed in 2019. The…

PALMYRA, N.Y. — Some Palmyra-Macedon High School students had a chance to share their space research at the largest gathering of astronomers in the world. The NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program is all about connecting aspiring astronomy students to data collected by NASA and its space telescopes. Pal-Mac earth science teacher Joe Perry’s enthusiasm for…

What it is: An open cluster of stars called NGC 346 Where it is: 210,000 light-years away, in the constellation Tucana When it was shared: Dec. 16, 2024 Why it’s so special: This James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) image has helped astronomers untangle a long-standing mystery about how planets form. The mystery arose more than…

The exoplanet K2-18 b may have an ocean of water beneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, as shown in this artist’s concept. Credit: Illustration: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI). Science: Nikku Madhusudhan (IoA) This past year brought much of the world together through events both anticipated and unexpected. April’s highly awaited total solar eclipse delighted millions…

Explore On a nearly cloudless day in 2023, a helium balloon the size of a United States football stadium lifted off from an airport in New Zealand. It quickly rose 110,000 feet above the Earth, ascending into the stratosphere, a layer of the atmosphere that is out of reach of clouds, rain, and storms. Beneath…

Astronomers have been left red-faced after announcing the discovery of a new near-Earth asteroid — only to realize that the supposed space rock was the remains of Elon Musk’s cherry-red Tesla Roadster and its spacesuit-clad driver “Starman.” The misidentified object, which was launched into space on board a SpaceX rocket in 2018, highlights a growing…

Astronomers are calling for a global ban on space advertising, in hopes that the issue can be nipped in the bud amid a period of rapid commercialization and privatization in spaceflight. In a statement adopted in October 2024, the American Astronomical Society declared that humankind’s scientific understanding of the universe is under threat from space…

Astronomers are calling for a global ban on space advertising, in hopes that the issue can be nipped in the bud amid a period of rapid commercialization and privatization in spaceflight. In a statement adopted in October 2024, the American Astronomical Society declared that humankind’s scientific understanding of the universe is under threat from space…