NASA Ames / JPL-Caltech
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Almost Earth-like Exoplanets
April 18, 2013 | NASA’s Kepler mission has discovered a 5-planet system that includes a hot Mars and four super-Earths, two of which might host liquid water. These aren’t quite the Earth-like exoplanets Kepler’s been looking for, but they’re close. > read more
A Tumbling Apophis: Good News for Earth
April 19, 2013 | Careful observations of asteroid 99942 last January show it to be both elongated and tumbling — which is good news to the celestial dynamicists trying to predict this body’s future close brushes with Earth. > read more
When Supergiants Explode: Taking It Slow
April 17, 2013 | Astronomers have announced a new class of gamma-ray bursts, possibly created when some of the biggest stars in the universe go supernova. > read more
Homing in on Dark Matter
April 16, 2013 | Three potential detections from deep underground could be from dark matter particles. While still uncertain, the result suggests a particle mass in keeping with hints from several other experiments. > read more
The Most Distant Star Ever Seen?
April 15, 2013 | Astronomers have detected what might be the farthest star ever spectroscopically observed. The bright object blazes in an unusual location, too, perhaps giving insight into star formation in unconventional environments. > read more
Sky & Telescope diagram
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Lyrid Meteor Shower in 2013
April 18, 2013 | Even though moonlight will interfere with this year’s Lyrid meteor shower, skywatchers should be alert for a possible outburst on the night of April 21-22. > read more
April 25th’s Partial Lunar Eclipse
April 19, 2013 | Truly dedicated eclipse-watchers — who live in the Eastern Hemisphere — have a chance to watch the Moon barely graze Earth’s umbra during the first eclipse of 2013. > read more
Tour April’s Sky by Eye and Ear!
March 29, 2013 | Celebrate “Global Astronomy Month” by strolling outside to take in all the evening sky sights. Jupiter and Sirius frame Orion nicely in the west, while Saturn is low in the east an hour or two after sunset. > read more
This Week’s Sky at a Glance
April 19, 2013 | The bright Moon pairs with Spica and Saturn. Orion and family are lying down in the west. And will the Lyrid meteors perform? > read more
