For the first time, astronomers are watching as a supernova’s light bends around a massive galaxy on its way to Earth.
Astronomers have found two just-born star clusters an incredible 16,000 light-years above the plane of the Milky Way galaxy.
New observations suggest that several dozen low-mass stars, and eventually perhaps even planets, are forming just 2 light-years from our galaxy’s supermassive black hole.
Cepheid variable stars are helping astronomers see what our galaxy looks like from within.
New observations of the Teacup Galaxy show that even black holes with wimpy radio jets can quench a galaxy's star formation. An unassuming nearby galaxy nicknamed The Teacup (more formally known as J1430+1339) hides a tempest inside. The supermassive black hole at this galaxy's center is chowing down furiously on gas — seen from...
Prepare for the upcoming solar eclipse with these basic facts and resources.
Astronomers have taken a behind-the-scenes look at a set of dense gas clumps, catching a quadruple star system in the fleeting act of formation.
Sky & Telescope features a Q&A between The Kavli Foundation and three astrophysicists who discovered two enormous and unexpected structures radiating from the center of our galaxy. They discuss what these mysterious bubbles can tell us about the history of the Milky Way and how they could help in the search for dark matter.
Thanks to the help of the general public, astronomers have discovered a new signature marking a hidden phase of star formation.
Citizen scientists are exploring exoplanets’ birthplaces, classifying more than 1 million infrared sources and finding 37 disk candidates (so far) for follow-up study.
As the Kepler mission shifts into its new mode of operations, multiple new searches for exoplanets are in the works.
The WorldWide Telescope (WWT), featured in the April 2015 issue of Sky & Telescope, isn't just another piece of planetarium software. Its incredible breadth and depth of data allow users to explore the universe in an interactive way. Coauthors Curtis Wong (Microsoft Research) and Alyssa Goodman (Harvard University and Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) teamed...
Amidst the release of a treasure trove of astronomical data, scientists announce the most precise “standard ruler” yet for cosmological distances.
The Hubble Space Telescope has turned its ultraviolet, visible-light, and near-infrared eyes to the queen of galaxies, M31, capturing the biggest and sharpest image yet of our neighbor.
NASA’s NuSTAR mission recently returned a striking image that shows the Sun’s active regions crackling with X-rays.
In our March 2015 issue, we ask noted amateur and professional astronomers to highlight the astronomy apps they use most. These are apps that every astronomer should have in their back pocket, ranging from practical planetarium and weather apps, such as Scope Nights and Sky Safari 4, to science guides, such as Exoplanet and...
The International Astronomical Union is hosting a public contest to name five of Mercury's craters, with a deadline of January 15.
In the February 2015 issue of Sky & Telescope, author Marcus Woo walks readers through the science of cosmic voids. Here, videos demonstrate a sense of cosmic perspective, taking the reader on flights through the universe both theoretical and observed.
Orphaned black hole or weird supernova? A mysterious source of radiation has left astronomers contemplating exotic explanations.
A bizarre set of galaxies in the Coma Cluster have lost most of their stars (or star-making material), making them especially rich in dark matter.
An ALMA submillimeter-wavelength image unveils the dawn of planet formation around a surprisingly young star in unprecedented detail.
The appropriately named Stella Kafka has been named the newest in a series of esteemed directors of the American Association of Variable Star Observers.
The University of Hawai'i, in partnership with the University of Arizona and Lockheed Martin, will sustain operations of the UKIRT infrared telescope.
Astronomers are peering into a galaxy cluster’s past, using Hubble’s Frontier Fields to measure the light from ghost stars cast adrift in galaxy collisions.
New IRIS results show a Sun rife with twisting and snapping magnetic fields, data that will elicit clues on what bakes the puzzlingly hot corona.