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Pluto’s smallest moons receive their official names
The names of Pluto’s two smallest known moons, previously referred to as “P4” and “P5,” have been formally approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
July 2, 2013
Russian rocket explodes on liftoff from Kazakhstan desert
There were no immediate reports of casualties when a Russian Proton-M heavy lift rocket exploded on liftoff earlier today.
July 2, 2013
Cloud modeling expands estimate of life-supporting planets
Current data suggest there is approximately one Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of each red dwarf star. This study roughly doubles that estimate.
July 1, 2013
Voyager spacecraft explores final frontier of our solar bubble
Data from Voyager 1, now more than 11 billion miles from the sun, suggest the spacecraft is closer to becoming the first human-made object to reach interstellar space.
June 28, 2013
Gas-giant exoplanets cling close to their parent stars
Around many types of stars, distant gas-giant planets are rare and prefer to cling close to their parent stars. The impact on theories of planetary formation could be significant.
June 27, 2013
Coincidence that sun and moon seem same size?
The sun and moon appear the same size in Earth's sky because the sun's diameter is about 400 times greater - but the sun is also about 400 times farther away.
June 26, 2013
Ten thousandth near-Earth object discovered
More than 10,000 asteroids and comets that can pass near Earth have now been discovered. The 10,000th near-Earth object, asteroid 2013 MZ5, was first detected on the night of June 18, 2013.
June 25, 2013
One star, three habitable planets
A team of astronomers has combined new observations with existing data to reveal a solar system packed full of planets.
June 25, 2013
Video: Meet ALMA, a revolutionary new telescope
The ALMA telescope, high in the northern Chilean desert, was officially inaugurated this spring. EarthSky was there. Check out our video!
June 24, 2013
See a supermoon! Awesome photos of the June 2013 supermoon
Thank you for your photos! They're awesome!
June 23, 2013
