Clear Dark Sky Forecast
AstroBackyard
- I Captured The Same Nebula with a DSLR, Astro Camera, & Smart Telescope May 23, 2026Recently, I captured the same deep-sky object using three very different camera systems. A full-frame mirrorless DSLR-style astrophotography setup. A dedicated astronomy camera rig with autoguiding. And a smart telescope that handled almost everything on its own. The target was the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula, a beautiful emission nebula in the constellation Cepheus. Each setup collected... […]Trevor Jones
- ToupTek StellaVita Review: Better Than Ever, But Not Perfect May 15, 2026The ToupTek StellaVita is a control box that can run an entire astrophotography setup from your phone or tablet. It supports a wide range of cameras and accessories, so you’re not locked into a single ecosystem, and that alone makes it one of the more interesting alternatives to systems like the ASIAIR. After... […]Trevor Jones
- Dark Sky Camping: RV Lighting Etiquette and Setup April 28, 2026Dark sky camping has become a big part of how we travel. Whether we’re heading to a remote site or setting up at a star party, the goal is always the same: get away from artificial light and experience the night sky the way it’s meant to be seen. What we’ve learned, though, is that... […]Ashley Northcotte
NASA Solar System & Beyond
- Low Water at San Carlos Reservoir June 17, 2026Drought and water releases drained the Arizona reservoir to levels that have led to widespread fish deaths.
- NASA’s Webb Catches Exoplanet Getting Roasted June 16, 2026One well-done gas giant, coming right up! That’s the latest from researchers analyzing NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s observations of HD 80606 b, an exoplanet four times the mass of Jupiter with an extremely elliptical orbit that sweeps close by its Sun-like star. The research team is presenting their study and preliminary findings Tuesday at […]
- Astronaut Jessica Meir Assists With Hardware Updates for NASA’s Cold Atom Lab June 16, 2026Description NASA astronaut Jessica Meir inspects optical fibers while installing hardware updates to the agency’s Cold Atom Lab, or CAL, aboard the International Space Station on May 8, 2026. About the size of a minifridge and operated from Earth, CAL chills atoms to temperatures below minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 273.15 degrees Celsius), so close […]
Sky & Telescope
- "Little Red Dot" Is a Cocooned Black Hole June 16, 2026A deep spectrum of a mysterious "little red dot" reveals a supermassive black hole cocooned in gas so dense it's opaque — but glowing in the infrared. The post "Little Red Dot" Is a Cocooned Black Hole appeared first on Sky & Telescope.Colin Stuart
- See Venus Disappear in Broad Daylight on June 17th June 15, 2026On June 17th, much of North America can watch the Moon occult Venus in the daytime sky. All you need are binoculars. The post See Venus Disappear in Broad Daylight on June 17th appeared first on Sky & Telescope.Bob King
- Did A Moon-Size Planet Grow Fast and Die Young in the Early Solar System? June 12, 2026A rare meteorite recovered from the Sahara Desert could be a fragment of a Moon-size body that met a violent end in the earliest days of the solar system. The post Did A Moon-Size Planet Grow Fast and Die Young in the Early Solar System? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.Javier Barbuzano