Astronomers

A copy of a photograph of a solar eclipse taken by the English astronomer Arthur Eddington in 1919.

Long-Lost Photos of Eclipses and Stars Found in an Observatory Basement

The stash of old negatives includes a 97-year-old copy of the photo that helped confirm the Theory of Relativity

The "Dog Star" Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky.

Night Sky Wonders to Ring in the New Year

The star Sirius is high in the sky, and comet Catalina is at its brightest

Astronomers have discovered strange chemicals in interstellar objects like the Horsehead Nebula.

Scientists Are Searching for Space Chemicals That Could Never Exist on Earth

Bizarre chemicals in deep space could help explain the origins of life

The Ursid meteor shower appears to radiate from the Little Dipper (top right).

Two Sparkling Meteor Showers Will Bookend the New Year

Sky-watchers should be on the lookout in coming weeks for the Ursid and Quadrantid showers

A new exoplanet was discovered by telescopes at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory

A New Earth-Sized Planet Is Getting Astronomers Riled Up

It could be a rare opportunity for scientists to study an exoplanet’s atmosphere

New Horizons snapped this image of Pluto on July 12, 2015.

How Pluto Got Its Name

New Horizons carries an instrument named for Venetia Burney, the 11-year-old girl who named Pluto

The last of the data from the New Horizons flyby won’t arrive until late 2016.

One Man's Lifelong Pursuit of Pluto is About to Get Real

When the New Horizons spacecraft races by the quasi-planetary body, Alan Stern will have finally met his match

Why Astronomers Are Fighting Back Against Robotic Lawnmowers

It’s a feud fueled by radio frequencies

An artist’s interpretation of an alien planet and its star

Planets Formed Close to Their Stars Are Named for Vulcan, the Roman God of Fire

Closer to their stars than Mercury is to the Sun, these hot worlds deserve an explanation

The scales on Fragment C divide the year by days and signs of the zodiac.

Decoding the Antikythera Mechanism, the First Computer

Hidden inscriptions offer new clues to the origins of a mysterious astronomical mechanism

How One Physicist’s Pursuit of the Cosmos Took Off in Antarctica

Francis Halzen’s amazing experiment heralds the beginning of a new era in astronomy

Why Carl Sagan is Truly Irreplaceable

No one will ever match his talent as the “gatekeeper of scientific credibility”

One of the many mysteries baffling astronomers is how galaxies such as the Milky Way are able to form new stars at an unsustainable rate.

Top Ten Mysteries of the Universe

What are those burning questions about the cosmos that still baffle astronomers today?

None

Astronomer Mike Brown Is the Guy Who Killed Pluto

On the streets of Alexandria, Egypt, a mob led by Peter the Lector brutally murdered Hypatia, one of the last great thinkers of ancient Alexandria.

Hypatia, Ancient Alexandria’s Great Female Scholar

An avowed paganist in a time of religious strife, Hypatia was also one of the first women to study math, astronomy and philosophy

Galileo was the first to discover the moons of Jupiter.

Galileo's Revolutionary Vision Helped Usher In Modern Astronomy

The Italian scientist turned his telescope toward the stars and changed our view of the universe

The team gathers at the top of the proposed Giant Magellan Telescope site on top of Las Campanas looking back toward the twin Magellan telescopes and homebase.

Day 4: Peak Conditions for a New Telescope

Secretary Clough scopes out the site for the Giant Magellan Telescope and bids goodbye to Las Campanas

An eyepiece on the 6.5 meter Magellan/Clay telescope allows Secretary Clough to see amazing sights in the night sky, including the planet Saturn, the star Eta Carinae and the Omega Centauri.

Day 3: The Excitement of Astronomy

A daytime tour of the Magellan facility and its surrounding hillside is topped off by a perfect evening of stargazing

Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough (yellow hat) standing on a scaffolding with a group of Smithsonian employees outside the DuPont telescope.

Day 2: Stargazing in the Andes Mountains

Up high among wild burros and llamas, a Smithsonian astronomer observes and studies the millions of stars in the sky

The Chilean Andes

Day 1: A Stop in Santiago

Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough explores Santiago before heading to the Las Campanas Observatory in the Chilean Andes

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