Astronomy Magazine

Sept. 26, 2005: Cassini visits Saturn’s weirdest moon Resembling a lumpy chunk of coral floating through space, Hyperion is one of the weirdest moons not just of Saturn, but in the whole solar system. Its shape is irregular, its rotation is chaotic, and it looks oddly spongelike. On Sept. 26, 2005, Cassini completed its first flyby of this bizarre moon, giving NASA both Continue reading "Sept. 26…

The Sky Today on Saturday, September 26: The Harvest Moon Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  September 25: Neptune at opposition Full Moon occurs at 12:49 P.M. EDT. The Moon then passes 5° north of Neptune at 3 PM EDT.  Rising around sunset and setting around sunrise, the September Full Moon is traditionally called the Corn Moon, as Continue reading "The …

What is the Harvest Moon effect? The Full Moon closest to the autumnal equinox hides an added bonus: more moonlight for your money. The post What is the Harvest Moon effect? appeared first on Astronomy Magazine .

Sept. 25, 1644: The birth of Ole Roemer On Sept. 25, 1644, Ole Roemer was born in Aarhus, Denmark. Beginning in 1662, he studied at the University of Copenhagen with physicist Erasmus Bartholin, who tasked him with editing the manuscripts of Tycho Brahe; then, after a 1672 move to Paris, he spent eight years at the Paris Observatory and tutored the crown prince Continue reading "Sept. 25, 1644: T…

The Sky Today on Friday, September 25: Neptune at opposition Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  September 24: Blue Neptune, yellow star Neptune now reaches opposition this evening at 10 P.M. EDT, placing the planet at its best for viewing. However, with the nearly Full Moon (more than 99% lit and appearing Full to the naked eye) nearby, Continue reading "…

The Sky This Week from September 25 to October 2: Neptune at opposition Friday, September 25Mercury passes 1.0° north of Spica at 9 P.M. EDT. You can find more details on how to observe them shortly after sunset in last week’s column, as today we’re focusing on another event. Neptune reaches opposition this evening at 10 P.M. EDT, placing the planet at its best for viewing. However, with Continue…

Scientists spot a new crater on the Moon Sometime between April 11 and May 22, 2024, a comet or asteroid roughly the height of a three- to six-story building smashed into the Moon, leaving a crater 728 feet (222 meters) wide in its wake. A year and a half later, a NASA scientist spotted it, making it the largest newly formed crater humans Continue reading "Scientists spot a new crater on the Moon…

Sept. 24, 1970: Luna 16 brings back regolith On Sept. 24, 1970, Luna 16 blazed a new trail in lunar sample collection – one traversed by robots. Although the Apollo astronauts had collected lunar samples on their missions, Luna 16 was the first instance of samples being gathered and returned to Earth fully robotically, with no astronauts (or cosmonauts) involved. After blasting off Continue readi…

The Sky Today on Thursday, September 24: Blue Neptune, yellow star Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  September 23: Around Reiner Gamma Neptune stands close to a slightly fainter background star this evening, offering a colorful contrast between the two.  Just one day from opposition, Neptune rises around sunset and is 30° high in the southeast by 10 P.M.…

A wind-blown crescent Aloke Palsikar, taken from Pie Town, New Mexico The Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888) is an emission nebula about 5,600 light-years away in Cygnus. Its distinctive shape was formed by fast stellar winds from the Wolf-Rayet star at its center colliding with material the star shed earlier in its life. The astroimager took 3 hours of Continue reading "A wind-blown crescent" The post A…