Latest Astronomy News
Thousands greet the winter solstice at the ancient Stonehenge monument
LONDON (AP) — Thousands of tourists, pagans, druids and people simply yearning for the promise of spring marked the dawn of the shortest day of the year Saturday at the ancient Stonehenge monument. Revelers cheered and beat drums as the sun rose at 8:09 a.m. (0809 GMT) over the...
The last meteor shower of the year peaks a few days before Christmas
The last meteor shower of the year — the Ursids — peaks Sunday, a few days before Christmas. While usually not as bright as the Geminids, the Ursid meteor shower can yield surprises. “The Ursids are generally a sparse meteor shower," producing about 5 to 10...
The winter solstice is almost here, the Northern Hemisphere's darkest day
The winter solstice is Saturday, bringing the shortest day and longest night of the year to the Northern Hemisphere — ideal conditions for holiday lights and warm blankets. For those who would rather have more sunlight, you can try to make your way to the Southern Hemisphere, where...
Two stars may be orbiting each other near a supermassive black hole in our Milky Way galaxy
NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have spotted what appear to be two stars whipping around each other near the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Nearly every large galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its heart. The one in the middle of the Milky Way,...
How old are Saturn's rings? Study suggests they could be 4.5 billion years old just like the planet
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — New research suggests that Saturn’s rings may be older than they look — possibly as old as the planet. Instead of being a youthful 400 million years old as commonly thought, the icy, shimmering rings could be around 4.5 billion years old just like...
How to catch the Geminids, one of the strongest meteor showers of the year
The Geminids — among the few major meteor showers to come from asteroids — will be visible until Dec. 21, although peak viewing was on Dec. 13. Here’s what to know about the Geminids and other meteor showers. It's one of the year's last chances to see fireballs in the sky. The...
European satellites launched to create artificial solar eclipses in a tech demo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A pair of European satellites rocketed into orbit Thursday on the first mission to create artificial solar eclipses through fancy formation flying in space. Each fake eclipse should last six hours once operations begin next year. That's considerably...
European satellites launch from India on a mission to create artificial solar eclipses in a tech demo
Northern lights may be faintly visible across parts of the US this Thanksgiving
NEW YORK (AP) — This Thanksgiving, solar storms may produce faint auroras across the northern rim of the United States. Pale auroras may be seen across many northern states Thursday and Friday, but they may be brief and and seeing them will depend on how intense the solar storms...
Earth bids farewell to its temporary 'mini moon' that is possibly a chunk of our actual moon
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Planet Earth is parting company with an asteroid that’s been tagging along as a “mini moon” for the past two months. The harmless space rock will peel away on Monday, overcome by the stronger tug of the sun’s gravity. But it will zip closer for a...