Supernovae like this one - designated iPTF14hls - usually remain bright for about 100 days. This one stayed bright for 600 days. Then, astronomers found a 1954 explosion in the same spot in the sky.
The craft that flew by Pluto in 2015 is heading for the Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69. NASA and the New Horizons spacecraft team want you to help nickname it.
Cameras have come a long way since the first Mars rover in 1997. The newest Mars rover from NASA - on the Mars 2020 mission - will have a wider field of view, plus more color and 3-D imaging.
This is only a test. Astronomers report on the TC4 Observation Campaign, which, in October, used a real Near-Earth Asteroid to practice our global response to a potential asteroid threat.
If you travel from the Northern to the Southern Hemisphere, or vice versa, you'll see familiar constellations. But their location in the sky will be shifted in surprising and delightful ways.
Deborah Byrd (asteroid 3505 Byrd) helps edit EarthSky.org and is a frequent host of EarthSky videos. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named in her honor in 1990, a Public Service Award from the National Science Board in 2003, and the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society in 2020. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.