Eclipse alert… but just barely May 20
The most minimal of penumbral lunar eclipses takes place Saturday night, though with clear skies, anyone can enjoy the nice May full moon. Look for Saturn east of the moon Wednesday night. Sunset triumvirate - Mercury, Jupiter, Venus are positioning themselves for a rare match-up.

Nominate your name to travel to Mars May 13
Not as big as the Big Bang, but this Big Blast blows away any other explosion ever seen by astronomers. The supermassive black hole at the core of our Milky Way galaxy is generating more heat than expected. And when NASA's MAVEN mission launches, you can add your name to those going along on the trip.

New moon = Dark skies = Great celestial viewing opportunities May 6
For a challenge, check out the Eta Aquarid meteor shower through Friday, 5/10. For an easier challenge, there are planets aplenty overhead. Richard Branson's successful SpaceShip One Test last week puts the project on pace to offer passengers an out-of-this-world experience by this time next year.

Not too old for an "out of this world" walk April 29
At the age of 59, International Space Station cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov set a new record last week by becoming the oldest spacewalker ever. Interested in going to Mars? Mars One project applications are being accepted through August 31! Night Sky highlights this week: Jupiter, Saturn and Venus.

Philadelphia Science Festival Continues April 22
Tonight's Lyrid Meteor shower and Thursday's lunar eclipse are noted, though not noteworthy. The Kepler satellite reveals three planets in the so-called Goldilocks zone; not so close to the sun that the planet boils, or not so far it freezes, but an orbiting distance where the temperature is just right for liquid water.

Come to the Carnival! April 15
The Philadelphia Science Festival gets underway Thursday, with the bigger-than-ever Carnival on the Ben Franklin Parkway scheduled for Saturday; NASA proposes bringing an asteroid into lunar orbit; and Wallops Island Launch Facility to launch its first commercial Antares launch vehicle.

Shedding light on dark matter April 8
A scientific experiment aboard International Space Station offers up data indicating the presence of a type of particle that might be the product of dark matter interactions. The Mars Rovers are on "light duty" this month - blame the sun! And Friday is the 52nd anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s flight as the first human in space.

NASA considers cutbacks due to sequestration April 1
NASA's education and public outreach activities may come to a halt - part of efforts to pare $1.2 trillion dollars over the next decade. SpaceX Dragon completes the second of 12 cargo missions contracted with NASA for International Space Station resupply.

Faster than a speeding bullet . . . WAY faster than a speeding bullet March 25
Astronomers catch sight of the fastest orbiting body yet - a small star circling a black hole every two-and-a-half hours! Remarkable land-based telescope technology allows scientists to confirm the existence of water vapor on a planet 130 light-years away.

Curiosity generates 'thirst' for more information about the Red Planet March 18
The Mars Rover hits paydirt, or more appropriately pay-clay pointing to water, water everywhere; including possibly drops to drink. It's a testimony to technology, and the rigor of scientific methodology. Also, we get tips for continued viewing of Comet Panstarrs.

Spring is the season for comets March 11
Scientists are studying other moons in the solar system and it turns out our moon is much less dynamic than others. Europa, a moon of Jupiter, is smaller than ours, but much more interesting. It has a liquid ocean beneath an icy crust and the water can actually [...]

Clocking the speed of a Supermassive black hole March 4
What can spin nearly as fast as the speed of light? A Supermassive black hole of course.

Asteroids falling towards Earth February 25
What to do when an asteroid is heading our way.

Digging deep on Mars February 18
Curiosity Rover is digging deep into Martian rock, well, maybe not that deep.

Will an asteroid pass too close for comfort? February 11
Celebrate Galileo’s birthday with an asteroid zooming passed Earth

Mars Curiosity drills to new depths February 4
The Mars rover Opportunity begins its 10th year of operation and Curiosity is just about to go to the next level by drilling into a rock to identify light-colored mineral veins deposited by water millions of years ago.

The shadow doesn't know much about the end of winter plus the Brown Dwarf stars story January 28
The amazing universe of Brown Dwarf stars: the most numerous of all in the galaxy, they form like normal stars do but lack the mass needed to fuse hydrogen and helium. They are considered to be more like gas giant planets [...]

Yes, Mars has a liquid past, the rocks tell the story January 21
Mars Science Lab Curiosty has discovered fractures filled with calcium sulfates in sedimentary rock units. On earth, fractures like these are often filled with percolates like calcium sulfate – gypsum - drywall - possibly even. The significance is that the percolate material [...]

Hopping down the Milky Way plus this week's sky January 14
Tips for mapping a path through the winter Milky Way? Since the Milky Way is now stretched across from the SE up to the NW, find a basic star map and draw a line from bright Sirius up through bright Capella at the top of the sky on and down through Deneb low on the NW horizon. You'll also find [...]

Rogue planets wander the skies and mini shuttles return to orbit January 7
So what happens with all the inner planets, rocky planets, gas giant planets, outer planets, dwarf planets, minor planets, exoplanets and ‘stray’ planets wandering around the planet unatached to stars? Astronomers and other scientists count them -ten are known to exist- [...]