Ten years ago, a strange blue smear flashed across the computer screen of Hanny von Arkel, a Dutch elementary school teacher. That anomalous blue smudge was located on a powerful telescope tracking movement. Thanks to the efforts of von Arkel,…
After 11 years, Pluto could become a planet again
BY: PHILIPPE DE JOCAS Quick! Name the planets! Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune… and Pluto? Except – as any child of the 2000s will tell you – Pluto’s not a planet, at least not anymore. In 2006,…
Eclipse chasers will travel anywhere to see the most beautiful sight in nature
BY: TIM O’NEAL Featured Photo: SUNSET TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE AT EL CALAFATE, ARGENTINA ON JULY 11, 2010. © 2010 LUKAS GORNISIEWICZ & DAVID MAKEPEACE Michael Zeiler had never been an adventurous traveler, until he saw his first total solar eclipse. He has…
A spectacular collision of stars is expected to light up the sky in 2022
BY: PHILIPPE DE JOCAS Doesn’t the sun seem so immobile and, well, fixated in the morning sky? We’re all told from an early age that, although ancient people once argued that the sun revolved around the Earth, we now know…
Millions of images make up this epic map of the universe and it will blow your mind
BY: PHILIPPE DE JOCAS In the words of the late author Douglas Adams, “Space is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the…
The Great American Eclipse – Find your spot to view the only total solar eclipse in decades
BY: TIM O’NEAL This close to the winter solstice it can sometimes be difficult to remember what the sun even looks like, especially in western Oregon. It’s even more difficult to imagine getting excited about an event that will completely…
You’ve never seen the night sky quite like this blind astronomer
BY: CAROLINE ROLF Born with cataracts and undergoing surgery to remove the lenses from his eyes, Tim Doucette was pronounced legally blind. Although discouraged as a child because of his condition, he refused to give up on his passion for…