Sign Up for Our Amazing Newsletter!
A daily update by email. Science news, great photos, sky alerts.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Summer Triangle star: Altair is variable and spins fast!
Altair is only 16.8 light-years from Earth, making it one of our closest stellar neighbors. It's variable in an usual way, and it spins very fast!
July 20, 2023
Summer Triangle star: Deneb is distant and luminous
When you gaze at the bright star Deneb, you’re gazing across thousands of light-years of space at one of the bright stars of the huge Summer Triangle asterism.
July 20, 2023
Summer Triangle star: Vega is bright and blue-white
There's a noticeable star pattern called the Summer Triangle in the east on July and August evenings. Its brightest star is blue-white Vega.
July 20, 2023
Exquisite Albireo, a much-loved double star
Albireo, in the constellation Cygnus, is a favorite for stargazers. Through a small telescope, it appears as a stunning gold star with a dimmer blue companion.
July 15, 2023
Eltanin and Rastaban, the Dragon’s eyes on summer evenings
These 2 famous stars shine down from the northern sky. Eltanin and Rastaban represent the fiery eyes of the constellation Draco the Dragon.
July 5, 2023
Epsilon Lyrae is the famous Double Double star
To the unaided eye, Epsilon Lyrae appears as one star. But it’s actually a system with at least five stars. Learn how to find it here.
July 4, 2023
Massive ruby red Antares is the Scorpion’s Heart
Red Antares, Heart of the Scorpion in the constellation Scorpius, is a mighty star, a red supergiant in the last stages of its life span.
June 29, 2023
See Mira the Wonderful at its brightest
Catch elusive wonderful Mira, a famous variable star in the constellation Cetus, at its maximum brightness in June 2023. Now you see it ... now you don't!
June 11, 2023
Spica, the bright beacon of Virgo, is 2 stars
Spica is a very close, scorching-hot pair of stars, whirling around one another. One of them may go supernova someday. It's the brightest star in Virgo.
May 11, 2023
Meet Regulus, the Lion’s Heart
The bright star Regulus in Leo the Lion is prominent in the evening sky in May. It looks like a single point of light, but is really four stars.
May 9, 2023
