Things to do while in self isolation
While you are locked up at home doing your bit to combat the Corona virus we though you might like some things things to do when boredom sets in. We […]
Interesting Stuff
Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand astronomy conference competition
Update: Because of the current COVID-19 situation the dates for the RASNZ conference have changed. Please see the RASNZ conference website site at http://www.rasnz.org.nz/groups-news-events/rasnz-conference for the latest conference information. For […]
Dust Storm Leaves ‘Opportunity’ to Fend For Itself
Nearly all of Mars has been under the assault of a planet-wide dust storm since June. The nerve-wracking question: Is the Opportunity rover okay? The 15-year-old rover has been incommunicado […]
NASA – The Music Video
The scientist/artists in NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio created this magnificent video to accompany a recent performance by the National Symphony Orchestra Pops of Claude Debussy’s “Clair de Lune.” For more […]
High Schoolers Discover Mysterious X-Ray Source
High school students’ data-mining project revealed an enigmatic X-ray source in the archive of the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton X-Ray Observatory. A group of 12th graders in Italy—most not even […]
Building the world’s highest-resolution telescope
The best way to improve imagery on traditional telescopes is to increase the diameter of the mirror catching light. But this has its limits—perfect mirrors can only be built so […]
Amateur astronomer looks at a distant star just as it explodes
Amateur astronomer, Victor Buso, struck lucky in September 2016 when he decided to test out a new camera attached to his 16 inch telescope. Keen to make sure his new […]
Mars Orbiter in Standby Mode After Battery Problem
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), at Mars since 2006, put itself into a precautionary standby mode on Feb. 15 in response to sensing an unexpectedly low battery voltage. The orbiter […]
Rocket Lab and the “Secret” Disco ball
Last weekend, Rocket Lab successfully reached orbit for the first time with its Electron booster. It turns out the rocket also carried a secret payload into space at the […]
First Blue Moon Total Lunar Eclipse in 150 Years Coming This Month
The first eclipse of 2018 will be a lunar one that comes at the very end of the month, on Jan. 31. It will be a total eclipse that involves […]