The Cassini probe can observe occultations of stars by Saturn’s rings to produce images of distant stars.
E.T. Phone Home
It’s a popular idea that our television shows could be seen by aliens light years away, but our signals aren’t quite that clear.
In the Air Tonight
Airglow is a faint glow of the night sky. It’s beautiful, but it’s bothersome for astronomers.
Take the Shot
This image was produced from a series of long exposures by Petr Horálek, and it captures a range of astronomical objects in a single image.
Slow Light
We think of light as being fast, but on a cosmic scale it’s incredibly slow.
Body in Motion
[av_video src=’http://vimeo.com/114099764′ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′] Standing upon the Earth, we feel at rest. The Sun rises and sets, the stars drift across the night sky. The very universe spins around us. But that’s only how it appears.
Evening Star
[av_video src=’http://vimeo.com/112644328′ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′] When Venus is in the western sky after sunset, it is known as the evening star. It is a time when Venus is most prominently seen. For most of 2015 Venus will be quite visible in the evening as it approaches greatest elongation in May.
High Noon
Normally we think of “noon” as being when the clock reads 12:00 pm, but in astronomy noon can also mean when the Sun is at its highest point in the sky, or when it transits the meridian (the middle of the sky). These aren’t quite the same thing.
Starry Hunter
As we edge toward the winter season, the constellation of Orion becomes prominent in the night sky. A favorite of many, Orion is distinctive because of its three belt stars, which makes is easy to locate in the night sky. It’s a particularly bright constellation, with seven first and second magnitude stars.