After years of debate about Pluto’s status as a planet, hundreds of the world’s most prominent astronomers voted to totally redefine what classifies a planet.  And guess what? Pluto no longer qualifies.  Now, Pluto has a lowly position as a dwarf planet. Millions of textbooks will have to be re-written and toys galore are now [...]

A new planet has been discovered and named HAT-P-1. The use of a network of telescopes known as a HAT discovered this planet. The HAT network consists of six telescopes, four at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Whipple Observatory in Arizona and two at its Submillimeter Array facility in Hawaii. These telescopes conduct robotic observations every [...]

Okay, so the expression ‘just beyond’ is a bit of stretch to Earthlings for which hundreds of thousands of light years constitutes quite a significant distance, not in any way a slight distance.  However, for scientists, the discoveries are absolutely fascinating and continue to drive space programs into more and more advanced technology for research.  [...]

Life requires a few basis ingredients: raw materials, a solvent (water), and energy to drive it all. It is believed that within our solar system, there are at least eight possible places where life can exist.
The first and most obvious place for life within our solar system is Earth. Earth is powered by the nuclear [...]

It’s an unfortunate name: Uranus.  If you haven’t thought about it lately, ask your son or daughter’s fifth grade teacher if you can sit in on their unit on the Solar System and you won’t be able to forget for weeks afterward just how unfortunate this planet’s name really is. 
As English speakers, we cannot imagine [...]

A tenth planet was just recently discovered less than two years ago. On January 8, 2005 the planet, which is currently called 2003UB313, was found. It was later names as Eris.
It took awhile for scientists to realize that this was indeed a planet. The time-lapse photograph, in which the new planet was discovered, was first [...]

Venus has been known since prehistoric times. It is the brightest object in the sky except for the Sun and the Moon. Originally, it was popularly thought to be two separate bodies: Eosphorus as the morning star and Hesperus as the evening star, later scientists proclaimed that was inaccurate.
Venus is usually visible with the unaided [...]

Evidence suggests that life exists on other planets. In fact, many earth-like features have been seen on Mars.
Some of the materials that have been seen on mars include the possible presence of water, sand, and various minerals. In addition, some of the same particles that exist in the earth’s atmosphere also exist on Mars. This [...]

European astronomers have made a surprising discovery. They have found one of the smallest planets known outside of our solar system. Oddly this small planet is rocky and is orbiting a regular star similar to our Sun. The discovery was made with a European Southern Observatory telescope at La Silla, Chile, using a HARPS spectrograph [...]

Planning a successful stargazing session requires considering factors such as weather, clothing, sunset time and season, the horizon, moon, equipment, and planets and satellites, and light pollution.
Consider the weather when planning your stargazing session.  You cannot guarantee a clear sky in most parts of the world, so it is important to be flexible with your [...]