Astronomy Essentials
Jupiter’s moons: How to see and enjoy them
November and December 2024 are great months for seeing Jupiter's moons Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto with binoculars or a small telescope.
Space
Giant craters on Venus ‘hiding in plain sight’
Where are the giant craters on Venus? Huge concentric rings in the Haasttse-baad Tessera region may be the result of two back-to-back asteroid impacts.
Space

Final Parker Solar Probe flyby of Venus today

The final Parker Solar Probe flyby of Venus is today, November 6, 2024. NASA hopes to learn more about Venus' surface features during the flyby.
Tonight

Visible planets and night sky guide for November

Visible planets and night sky guide for November 2024. Tonight, after sunset, look for Jupiter shinning brightly near 3 stars and 2 star clusters.
Space

Green spots in rocks on Mars intrigue rover scientists

NASA's Perseverance rover has found some intriguing green spots in rocks on Mars. The spots are dark in the middle with fuzzy, green rims. How did they form?
Earth
Sun

Sun news November 6 UPDATE: X flare from AR3883!

Sun news for November 6 UPDATE: Sun activity remains high thanks to sunspot region AR3883, and it popped off an X flare! Read more here.
Earth

An ancient bug preserved in glittering fool’s gold

Scientists analyzed a newly discovered fossilized ancient bug species, 450 million years old, pristinely preserved in pyrite, or fool’s gold.
Space

First 3D view of globular cluster formation and evolution

For the 1st time, astronomers have analyzed a 3D view of globular cluster formation and evolution by tracking the motions of the star systems within.
Space

Could we find dark matter in clouds around neutron stars?

Researchers say that we might be able to detect dark matter clouding around neutron stars in the form of axions, a hypothetical subatomic particle.
Astronomy Essentials

Open star clusters are loose groups of stars

Open star clusters are young, loosely bound gatherings of stars that may still be surrounded by the nebula - or space cloud - in which they were born.