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Astronomy

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Geoff Marcy’s Heart Will Go On

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Super Supernova

A view of the Thirteen Towers of Chankillo, in Peru.

Return of the Sun Cult

In Peru, scientists discover the oldest solar observatory in the Americas

Image of the night sky above Paranal on 21 July 2007, taken by ESO astronomer Yuri Beletsky.

Are We The Armpit of The Galaxy?

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Mr. Chambers, Don’t Get On That Ship!

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What Hath Archimedes Wrought?

A Space-Time Anomaly of Matter-Energy Reactions

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They Came For The Martians, And I Was Silent Because I Was Not A Martian

Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico with its 300 m (980 ft) dish, one of the world's largest filled-aperture (i.e. full dish) radio telescope, conducts some SETI searches.

Earth to Space

Prague's astronomical clock has marked time since the 15th century. Legend holds that local officials ordered the maker of this famous timepiece blinded to prevent him from duplicating his great achievement elsewhere.

Time for a Change

One professor’s mission to revise the calendar

Though the exoplanets found to date are in our galaxy, most are about 100 light-years away.

The Planet Hunters

Astronomers have found about 200 planets orbiting other stars, and they say it’s only a matter of time before they discover another Earth

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What Makes a Planet?

Why our solar system just shrank

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An Interview with Rob Irion, Author of “The Planet Hunters”

Rob Irion spoke with Amy Crawford about his article, “The Planet Hunters”

35 Who Made a Difference: John Dobson

Come one, come all. Share the sky with the father of sidewalk astronomy

Stars are being born within the smoldering Swan Nebula 5,500 light-years away.

Hubble’s Last Hurrah

The orbiting space telescope has captured star births and deaths, galactic collisions and the accelerating expansion of the universe

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To Touch the Heavens

Noreen Grice has given the visually impaired a feel for the universe

Star formation in the constellation Orion as photographed in infrared by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope

Astronomy’s New Stars

Thanks to new technology, backyard stargazers have traveled light-years of late to join professionals in mapping the heavens

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Stars in Their Eyes

The exquisite telescopes crafted by Alvan Clark and his sons helped make the last half of the 19th century a golden age of astronomy

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Mapping Galactic Foam

Smithsonian astronomer Margaret Geller plotted the bubble structure of the universe. Now she’s working to find out how it got that way

Chandra X-ray space observatory of the NASA

A Stellar Imagemaker

Smithsonian and NASA’s Chandra x-ray observatory sheds new light on the mysteries of the universe

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